In the article "Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer" by Robert Reich, a professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, says that if you don't have a high school diploma, or nothing more than a high school diploma, it will be difficult to find a steady and stable job. I completely agree with this because of the competitiveness in the job world today. For example, imagine there is one teaching position open at a high school and two teachers competing for the position. One teacher has a bachelor's degree in English, and the other teacher has a master's degree in English. The teacher with the master's degree will most likely get the job over the teacher because she has more knowledge than the teacher with just the bachelor's degree. It's the same with high school diplomas vs. college degrees. The employer is more likely to take the college degree candidate over the high school diploma candidate because they have a better level of education in the field.
In Blue Collar Brilliance by Mike Rose, he says the complete opposite. He says you don't quite need a college degree to live a "successful" life. I'm not sure if I agree with this or not because it depends on what the individual considers a successful life. Maybe a small town diner owner considers his/her life successful. Or a manager at a supermarket considers his/her career status successful. It all really depends on what you consider to be success. However I do still stand on what I stated earlier about the college degree. I feel that the higher the education the individual has, the more likely they are to get the job at hand. That doesn't mean they're any better over their opponent for what the job entails them to do, however from the employer's point of view it makes them look more distinguished.
Reich’s theory of the rich getting richer and the poor poorer is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of decrease in unions, job replacement, and the constant competition for hiring oversee people who will accept the lowest amount of wages. Reich expresses how production level jobs have decreased tremendously especially in the automotive industry. He expresses that without a college degree do not expect to get a high paying job it is just not fathomable anymore—which I agree with. He also brings to attention the expansion of transportation and worldwide communication technologies. This allows for more distribution of products which essentially allows for people to make more money.
ReplyDeleteRose’s narrative was extremely interesting and showed me a new perspective regarding blue collar work. Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to know that it basically boils down to the acknowledgement and appreciation of intelligence involved in seemingly less skilled jobs. Rose points out through his mother and uncle’s jobs the communication, problem solving, and physical work skills involved through blue collar jobs. I agree that society typically undermines blue collar work and it should be placed on a higher value.
I believe Reich and Rose would agree in part about the intelligence of blue collar jobs. I believe Rose places a higher value on labor, while Reich simply acknowledges how easily replaceable the type of people who work in these fields are.
I completely agree with both the statements you said, because it is a known concept that it is more difficult (not impossible) to be "successful" without a higher education. When Reich was going through all the outsourcing data, he kind of proves that in america there isn't even really a lot of factory jobs anymore. You have to be more educated (in most cases). Now I also agree with your statement that people who don't have degrees still find success based on personal definitions of success. I agree with this because, while its rare I know of plenty of people who are making good money working those blue color jobs Rose talks about. My deffiniton of success is going to differ from yours, and also from the next person and the next. some people are happiest working those jobs where physical labor, communication and problem solving is important, while some people want less and some people want more. These two authors say similar things so i believe they would agree on some of the points made, Rose is just a little more optimistic about the way he communicates his points.
ReplyDeleteIn the first essay, “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” by Robert Reich, I felt as if his main idea was stating that you need education from an institution like a school or you would not be able to live a successful life. I do agree that it is a necessity to have a degree of some sort nowadays. In the second essay “Blue Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose, he talks about how you can learn without school. It is possible to learn about budgets and management while working on a railroad as his brother did. His brother said that he learned constantly on the job. I do agree with this as well, as you can learn valuable skills and things on the job. Although those skills are not available to be put on resume.
ReplyDeleteMarisa, I completely agree with your take on the two essays. I feel we share similar views. I like how you said, “That doesn't mean they're any better over their opponent for what the job entails them to do, however from the employer's point of view it makes them look more distinguished.” When talking about the second essay. That is what I was trying to say when describing the second essay as well.
I agree with Robert Reich’s essay “Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer”. He explains how it is less likely that a person without a college education would be successful in finding a job that fully supports them. I completely agree with his logic because the competition with oversees workers throughout the working world is steadily increasing. Reich uses statistics like “in the early 1950’s, more than 40 percent..joined unions; by the late 1980’s less than 20 percent..” to show that the union, which is a lower class job to begin with, were beginning to hire more qualified men. In “Blue Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose, he successfully gave examples of how jobs considered to be less skillful can actually be quite demanding in intelligence and special skills. Rose narrated this through stories of his mother and uncle’s blue collar jobs. He shines a light on the many skills they both had to possess to effectively get their jobs done, and it is very surprising. I completely agree with Rose as he says blue collar jobs demand more skill than most people think, and once you work one for yourself you quickly find that out.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Reich would agree with Rose on the skills needed to complete blue collar job tasks since he highlights the fact that a person must have an education to complete some of the jobs. However, I feel that Reich holds blue collar workers at a lower level and this effects the stability of the workers jobs.
I agree with what Robert Reich says in The Rich Getting Richer and The Poor Getting Poorer when he states that it is difficult to land a steady job without any kind of diploma. The way the world is today and the level of completion in the work force, it’s hard enough getting a job even with a college degree. I do think that in certain cases you can be successful without a diploma or college degree however those particular skills are rare to society and it’s not for everyone. However, the common man or woman must graduate and get an education in order to have success. I get where Rose is coming from in Blue Collar Brilliance but I don’t think that applies to just anyone. I too think that it’s also important to know how each person measures success. Some people are satisfied with having less than the next person. Some people also strive to have more than everyone else by any means. I think that there is too much inequality however I know that not everyone sees it that way. Both authors have a valid argument but I think Reich has a better point when it comes to knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI liked Reich’s excerpt because he really highlights what caused this problem we are facing today. He shows how the concentration of money flow went to the big business owners, while the workers got no compensation and actually ended up losing their jobs due to the rise in technology. I agree with Reichs ideas in the since of reflecting on the past to fix the future. We need to make it possible to sustain on a normal working man’s pay without having to be a “professional” through years of schooling. While in the Blue Collar Brilliance, by Mike Rose, he states that people should give more credit to the working blue collar class. He is surely right about the importance of the working class. While they might not work from the top, they play a very important role in the world. I feel that the two authors would agree on a lot of things, because they both do see the issue between the falling middle class and the rising wealthy class. They view the situation from different points of view, one being from the lack of employment and the other about the lack of importance, I feel that they would have a pretty intense
ReplyDeleteI agree with Robert Reich when he state that, “Regardless of how your job is officially classified, or the industry in which you work, your real competitive position in the world economy is coming to depend on the function you perform in it.” Reich explains that it is less likely to be successful, and find a job that can support you if you don’t have a college diploma. There’s a lot of competition in the work force today, and it is gradually increasing. In Mike Rose essay, “Blue Collar Brilliance”, he states that we’re able to find success without an institution. I partially agree with both essays, because everyone’s definition of success is different. Some success is achieved by getting a college degree, while others are achieved by learning on the job, but regardless you still need to learn new things to be able to improve yourself and get the success you want to get. I somewhat disagree with your statement, “One teacher has a bachelor's degree in English, and the other teacher has a master's degree in English. The teacher with the master's degree will most likely get the job over the teacher because she has more knowledge than the teacher with just the bachelor's degree. It's the same with high school diplomas vs. college degrees. The employer is more likely to take the college degree candidate over the high school diploma candidate because they have a better level of education in the field.” Some employers look for experience, what the person has been through and more. Just because someone has a higher education then them does not mean that they’re the right person for the job. I have searched this myself…and found that some (if not most) employers would take experience over education any day. (Basically get a high education AND get the experience)
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