Question
families and social action forum and responses
Forum – 400 words
Responses – 100 words each
Consider the same topic you chose for Forum 5, and present an argument for the opposite side. You will also use this topic as a basis for Assignment 2.
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400 Level Forum Grading Rubric
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Possible points |
Student points |
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Met initial post deadline (Wednesday) |
10 |
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Initial post is substantive |
10 |
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Initial post is at least 400 words |
10 |
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Initial post employs at least two citations; one can be text; other must be from an academic source |
10 |
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Forum 5:
The federal minimum wage is a basic earning one gets for working for an hour. It was first introduced in 1938 during the great depression and has since then evolved through time of the growth and transformation of the United State’s economy. The current federal minimum wage stands at 7.25 dollars per hour which was set back in the year 2009 (United States, 2015). In a present Americas economy, it becomes so challenging to survive with such a kind of pay; with the ever increasing cost of living many citizens are challenged and generally straggle to enjoy a stable life. This has coursed Americans to work overtime and even secure more than two Jobs in order to afford life in America. If the federal government increased the minimum wage, it would spare its citizens and enhance Job growth for its economy. But on the other hand, to increase the minimum wage also means to force businesses to lay off workers due to high payments which could render them bankruptcy. It is also true that if the minimum wage was increased, the poverty levels in the nation would reduce drastically. Yet one should not forget that with high or increased minimum wage come a high cost of living (Fisher, Fortney & Practising Law Institute, 2016).
If people harvest huge payment from their work this means that businesses have to sell their products high in order to have the money needed for the salary payments. This brings the assumption that the effect of higher minimum wage bill causes high cost of living is actually a balance to reduce poverty rather than increase. Because with a higher minimum wage bill which increases the cost of living the citizens can be able to afford the cost of living. This is also true with the current federal minimum wage; if the cost of life is in proportion to the minimum wage then people should be able to afford the cost of life with the current federal minimum wage (Clemens, Wither & National Bureau of Economic Research, 2014). This implies that sometimes it is not all about increasing the federal minimum wage, the solution could also be in the lowering of the cost of living to proportionate the current minimum wage such that citizens should not be subjected to overtime work or to doing two or three jobs round the clock to earn that extra coin to afford life.
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References
Clemens, J., Wither, M., & National Bureau of Economic Research. (2014). The minimum wage and the Great Recession: : evidence of effects on the employment and income trajectories of low-skilled workers.
Fisher, M. R., Fortney, D. S., & Practising Law Institute. (2016). Wage & hour litigation and compliance, 2016. New York, New York: Practising Law Institute.
United States. (2015). Improving the federal wage and hour regulatory structure: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, second session, hearing held in Washington, DC, July 23, 2014.
First response:
New!Wk 6 Pt. 2: Opposing Argument to Juvenile Justice- Singleton
Artianna Singleton (Jul 11, 2016 9:15 AM) – Read by: 2Reply
Last Edited By Artianna Singleton on Jul 11, 2016 9:15 AM
Although juvenile delinquency was a problem in the past, there has been a major decline over the past decade. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2014) report that there has been a decline of 65% in the arrest rates of juveniles. Since there has been such a positive change in juvenile arrest, it might be time to focus less on the juvenile justice system and focus more solely on the criminal justice system.
Juvenile delinquency reached its highest point in 1996 and has since decreased. There has also been a dramatic change in the original mission of the juvenile justice system. The original mission of the juvenile court system was “to help young law violators get back on the right track, not simply to punish their illegal behavior” and offered a “informal, quasi-civil court precisely in order to free it of the procedural complexities that prevent the criminal court from acting too aggressively” (Butts 2000). However, the juvenile court system has strayed from the original objective and has become almost completely parallel with that of the criminal justice court system. Robert Dawson (2011) states, “the legal differences between the juvenile and criminal systems are now narrower than they have been at any point in our history.” Due to the similarities between the criminal and juvenile court system, it seems like there is no need for separate systems. It would be a better decision to merge the two and having policymakers put more focus on other policies such as minimum wage, health care, and homosexual rights.
It has also been noted that some believe “the juvenile court ideal never existed in reality and that juvenile courts never offered more than a mirage of treatment within a constitutionally defective process” (Butts and Mitchell 2000). I find this idea interesting, but not surprising. In some cases, policies tend to be created in a way that sounds appealing to the public. However, in the grand scheme of things, courts will continue to do what they find best for their community and economy. Policymakers and researchers are continuously putting their time and energy into a system that is starting to become more and more enmeshed in the criminal court system.
In my opinion, the best decision will be to eliminate the juvenile justice system as one single system and integrate it into the criminal justice system. There should still be some consideration when it comes to the age and crime of the juvenile, however, I do not see the need for a completely separate system for juveniles. The line between the two systems has already begun to fade away, so we might as well go ahead and call quits. It is time to focus on larger things in order to make longer strides in bettering this nation.
Reference:
Butts, J. (2000). Can we do without juvenile justice? The Urban Institute. Retrieved fromhttp://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/1000232-Can-We-Do-Without-Juvenile-Justice-.pdf
Butts, J. and Mitchell O. (2000). Brick by brick: Dismantling the Border Between Juvenile and Adult Justice. Boundary Changes in Criminal Justice Organizations, Vol (2). Retrieved fromhttp://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/1000234-Brick-by-Brick-Dismantling-the-Border-Between-Juvenile-and-Adult-Justice.PDF
Dawson, R. O. (1990). The Future of Juvenile Justice: Is It Time to Abolish the System? The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,81(1), 136. doi:10.2307/1143781
Juvenile Arrest Rate Trends. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2016, fromhttp://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/JAR_Display.asp?ID=qa05200
Second response:
Legalize Gambling
AMANDA MCNEELY (Jul 12, 2016 6:56 PM) – Read by: 2Reply
Legalizing gambling has its up and down sides. I will present the negative effects of legalized gambling.
Along with casinos comes entertainment, dining, and tourist activities (concerts, shows, etc.), and although they sound great, they may not be so great for the businesses that have already been well established. Although legalizing gambling would create many new jobs in the communities where they are built, the casinos themselves could end up monopolizing the entertainment businesses in the area, which in turn could jeopardize other businesses and cause them to downsize their staff because of lost business.
Regarding families, legalizing gambling could negatively affect families by causing a gambling addiction. “Using criteria developed by the American Psychiatric Association, the authors estimate that about 2.5 million adults are pathological gamblers and another three million adults are considered problem gamblers (Kearney, 2005).” Costs associated with gambling, especially from a problem gambler could pose financial burdens on those with families. According to a 1999 survey done by the National Opinion Research Center, the average divorce rate was more than double the rate of non-gamblers (Potenza et al, 2002).
Gambling can be directly associated with higher rates of suicide. Las Vegas has one of the highest suicide rates in the U.S. (Phillips, 1997). After casinos were opened in Atlantic City, the suicide rates rose in the area also (Phillips, 1997). Suicide does not only affect the residents of these communities, but the visitors to them as well. People most at risk for committing suicide associated with gambling are people that are visiting a gambling area (Las Vegas), spouses or children or other family members of problem gamblers, gamblers that live in the area (not visiting), and employees of the casinos (Phillips, 19997). So not only does gambling affect the gambler themselves, it affects their families and the community as well. People, especially those with other addictive behavior, can get sucked into the world of gambling quickly and never recover. If these problem gamblers were in closer proximity to gain access to gambling their lives could be negatively affected.
Overall, I am still uncertain which to choose. I enjoy gambling occasionally. I have gone to Las Vegas one time, and it was a lot of fun. I have visited several Indian casinos in Colorado and South Dakota, and have also been to Canada a few times to gamble. I have never lived around an area that had casinos, so I am not sure the impact to the community first hand.
References:
Kearney, M. S. (2005). The economic winners and losers of legalized gambling. National Tax Journal, 58(2), 281-302. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/203277669?accountid=8289
Phillips, D. P., Welty, W. R., & Smith, M. M. (1997). Elevated suicide levels associated with legalized gambling. Suicide & Life – Threatening Behavior, 27(4), 373-8. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/224895942?accountid=8289
Potenza, M., Fiellin, D., Heninger, G., Rounsaville, B., & Mazure, C. (2002). Gambling: An Addictive Behavior with Health and Primary Care Implications. General Internal Medicine. 2002 Sep; 17(9): 721–732. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2002.10812.x
