Comments for Social Welfare Institutions

Comment on Wal-Mart Is Not Entirely Wonderful by Marc

Marc — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:41:22 +0000

hah

Comment on Reforms = Social Bandaids? by Marc

Marc — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:39:28 +0000

I think you’re kind of thinking a little cynical. Sometimes some reforms can lead to more and some real change can occur. Couldn’t you say that a small victory is better that none? There are many problems that need to be fixed but they can’t all be solved at once with huge major reform. You need to start small and keep building up to major change. I think thats the point that McNally and the prof. were trying to illustrate.

Comment on Reforms = Social Bandaids? by lisadelgado

lisadelgado — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:06:48 +0000

Yea. I think thats a great analogy. I wasnt there in class to hear the discussions because I had to leave early for registration for classes but Yes I think that reforms are like band-aids. I think that there are many things wrong with this world we live in. I think that the idea of a band-aid is great because that is what is used in US. The government acknowledges that there is a problem and kind of addresses the issues and says “improvement is being made” when there isn’t. They say that something is being done about it to improve conditions, but one cant see that improvement.

I think that the government tries to find the easy way out to fix the problem instead of getting to the real root cause of it. Instead of covering things up, they should really completely fix the problem to begin with, so people dont get fed up and try to start a revolution.

Comment on Reforms = Social Bandaids? by John Pham

John Pham — Tue, 06 May 2008 06:30:19 +0000

I like the Band-Aid analogy: you can stop the bleeding this time, but if you don’t address the root causes, then you’ll keep getting new cuts.

The more meaningful the reform, the harder it is to fight for. I remember sitting in a meeting with the New York City Board of Elections (NYCBOE) as an intern with Citizens Union, a good government group. As a brief history, the City Board of Elections is very political and has a hard time getting important things done, so many groups, including Citizens Union, had been advocating for change for years. My boss presented a paper to the executive director of NYCBOE with different types of reforms. The funny thing is, the NYCBOE head actually laughed at the reforms that would fundamentally change business as usual for the Board, saying that it was impossible.

This example doesn’t really have anything to do with the class, but it’s a good example of why a Band-aid approach is sometimes the only victory a reformer can get. The meeting ended up being productive, since the City Board of Elections accommodated some smaller reforms.

Maybe what we have to keep in mind is, you’ve got to push for both feasible and long-term changes.

Comment on John Fabanwo by jfabanwo

jfabanwo — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:15:16 +0000

no colts fan sorry!!!

Comment on Life and Debt by Perla Benitez

Perla Benitez — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:34:15 +0000

I have to confess i was tearing in class while watching that movie. I know how its like to live in country like Jamaica, but it touched me when i saw every one so worried, helpless and trapped in their own birthplace. Thinking how lucky the other half of the world is.

At least we are taking the first step, which is getting educated, and getting a reaction from it. From here, we could take personal responsibility and act to make our world a better place, or just be aware world events so when the time comes for us to make a small or big difference… we make the most ethical decition.

I hope you guys learned as much in this class as I did and remember it long after the semester is over.

Comment on Life and Debt by lisadelgado

lisadelgado — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:22:14 +0000

i must agree with all you guys… Before taking this class, or any sociology course for that matter, I never really gave the idea of the economy or society much thought, until now. Its like a vicious cycle. People/ Governments continue to take out loans to then repay other loans. The IMF and World Bank, consistently do this to third world countries, and thats why they continue to keep them down, and not allow them them under and not allow them to strive. to prosper. There will always be that one group or one country that is dominant over all the others, and will do their best to keep. The poor gets poorer and the rich get richer!

Comment on Life and Debt by Maria

Maria — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:28:44 +0000

I also agree with you guys it’s sad that all these people care about is profit and nothing else… and what’s worse is that capitalist don’t care about what’s going on in Jamacia or anywhere else for that matter.

Comment on Life and Debt by kenndy

kenndy — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:33:36 +0000

I agree with you guys. Before attending this class, i know very little about the government, maybe because its all very complicated to me. Its hard to understand what the US government wants and who benefit from it all. But now that i’ve attained a little more knowledge from this course, it makes me want to get deeper into it. I would like to have a say in the government and hopefully make a difference to outside countries.
From the capitalistic side, i would understand why the government “attacks” poorer countries. It is obvious that PROFIT is key. And of course you would do anything to help benefit your own country. One of the reasons why the government does this, is so that we won’t be as bad as them (financially)

Comment on Life and Debt by Aparez

Aparez — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:30:54 +0000

Marc I think you answered your own question about what’s the point of lending them money? To have them totally reliant on us is exactly what they want bc now their vulnerable and poverty continues to get worse, which allows us complete control and of course being the bullies we are we will abuse that power in any way possible. It’s so sad how the U.S. continues to kick people when they’re already down.