The argument behind Robert B. Reich’s “Why the Rich
are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” is that in today’s economy your fate will
either be one that is going downhill quick, one that is going downhill slow, or
one that rises steadily. All of this depending on one thing, the function you perform
in society, as he states “…your real competitive position in the world economy
is coming to depend on the function you perform in it.” Reich makes his
argument very clear in the opening of his essay. Throughout his argument he
maintains the same tone and follows the same ideas that lower wage jobs have
decreasing fortunes, while higher wage jobs fortunes are increasing. He has
supported each idea with several pieces of factual evidence that provide a
concrete example of the idea. He then supports this evidence with explanations
for why it matters to the economy and shows us the effect it has on it. For example,
to show his argument that routine producers fortunes are declining rapidly, he
gives us dates and factual evidence of instances where U.S companies have shut
down local producers for cheaper labor elsewhere. “So in the in the early 1980’s
they stopped hiring routine producers in Shreveport and began hiring cheaper
routine producers in Singapore.” Reich gives examples like this one along with
each one of his ideas. Because of his use of examples and explanations, Reich makes
a better argument than what is made by Cal Thomas in “Is the American Dream
Over?” Thomas is arguing that the traditional American Dream can no longer
exists because of the way society and the economy are today. Although his point
is clear, he provides little evidence for why this is besides quoting from the
opinion of a New York Times columnist
Bob Herbert. There is no concrete evidence that supports his claim. He also
lacks explanations in his argument. He says the reason we cannot achieve the
American Dream today is because of the Government, but he fails to fully
provide facts and evidence or actual accounts where this is true. This leaves
the reader to wonder how it is the Government is keeping us from fulfilling our
dream and his ideas cannot be truly dissected. Without the concrete evidence
and examples, Thomas creates an argument that is weak in comparison to Reich’s
fully rounded essay.
I agree with you Kaitlin, Reich does make the stronger argument than Thomas does. Thomas provides little evidence in his essay "Is the American Dream Over?” he basically just argues how the traditional American Dream can no longer exist because the way the society and economy are today. I mean that is a valid statement, but he gives little evidence to prove this. He quotes from the New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, but he gives no other evidence to his argument. And yes I do agree with you about how he lacks explanation in his argument too with the whole government claim. Thomas's argument is weak compared to Reich's. Reich brings in concrete examples and evidence to help further explain his argument which makes his claim better. Reich says in this economy your fate will be tumbling down fast, going down slowly, or rising steadily. He uses great examples from our economy today and has a great tone throughout the entire argument. His argument is so much stronger and more powerful than Thomas's argument.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Robert Reich’s “Why the rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” is a highly effective essay. His work included tons of data that actually prove his opening point and they don’t stray away from that point. He establishes his credibility with all these figures and it makes it really east for you to read and be convinced by his work. His work seems scholarly and it doesn’t appear to be biased or influenced by any religious or political views. He does make some comments about Democrats and such but he still gives you the information that lead him to this conclusion or the sentiment that he has for them.
ReplyDeleteCal Thomas’s “Is the American Dream Over?”, just gives this very biased feel because his entire work is based off of a column from one guy. Although that man, Bob Herbert, may be the end-all, be-all of American Dream Sentiment of our time, there is no real information about why I should take this man’s work seriously. It leaves room for you to doubt whether or not this source is really free from bias, which it really didn’t feel like it was.
The last reading both had information from personal experience so you are supposed to make of their experiences or things they’ve seen and actually studied for yourself. It’s unlike these reading because they aren’t trying to “prove” anything to you. Their stories speak for themselves and you make of them what you wish. These reading are the opposite in that they want to think something very specific like whether the American Dream is dead or if it can be saved or not.
I agree with Kaitlin, that Robert B. Reich in his article “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” gives a lot of examples and plenty of information as to why this is happening in society. “Is the American Dream Over?” by Cal Thomas explains why there really isn’t an “American Dream” anymore. He says, “Anyone who thinks dysfunctional government is going to help achieve their dreams is putting their faith in the wrong place.” He’s talking a lot about how politicians are not the ones that are going to help fulfill whatever goals or dreams we have. I feel like there’s a lot of truth in that statement, because when elections come around and politicians give their speeches about why they should be elected and what things they will change to make our country better. It seems to be a lot of broken promises, because of how the economy is suffering and only getting worse. Which also goes back to the huge inequality we have between the wealthy and poor in America. It’s really sad to think whether or not the “American Dream” is really attainable this day in age. Growing up we’re told that we can be anything we want to be, but is that really true? Are college degrees really worth as much anymore? We have this constant fear when we get put out into the real world on our own, if it’s still possible to have a career that we can both enjoy and make enough money.
ReplyDeleteRobert B. Reich's "Why the rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer" is definitely filled with evidence. He supports all of his points with piles and piles of evidence and goes on about each idea. While the essay has all of this concrete evidence and detail, I doubt that it is as effective as last week's reading "Nickel and Dimed". "Nickel and Dimed" gave me insight to the sinking boat known as blue collar work from a firsthand level, and kept me intrigued the whole way through. I think Reich was looking from the outside in, and while proving a lot of different points, didn't move me or inspire me to think. It really did inspire me to go to sleep, though. More evidence isn't necessarily more effective, especially if someone can't even comprehend what is being read. Reich's essay is more effective when writing a research paper, but I think that "Nickel and Dimed" was more effective at interesting and inspiring an audience to do something about poverty.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the essays make valid points, but I do have to agree that Reigh’s essay is more promising because it is backed up with factual information. In Thomas’ essay he talks about how the American Dream is becoming harder to achieve because of our economy and society. He states “rules for achieving the American Dream” which are, staying in school, getting a degree, avoiding drugs, getting married before you have children, etc. Although these are all supposed “rules” to achieving the American Dream, there isn’t really any true information to back up his argument throughout the essay. The essay does seem to be biased because all of the information is coming from one source, Bob Herbert.
ReplyDeleteRobert Reigh’s essay “Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” is clearly more effective because throughout the essay there is factual information that seems to make the essay a little less biased. His essay is more credible because he does back up all of his information with facts, unlike Thomas’ essay that has a more biased approach. The reason I think it is most effective is because he explains why it matters to us, how all of these things are affecting our society. Reading Reigh’s essay was more thought- provoking than Thomas’ just because he did include facts that made the information more realistic to the reader.
I have to agree with Kaitlin, Reigh's essay is a lot more effective in making his point and backing it up. I think factual evidence is always a must, especially with the topics at hand. Both essays to make very valid points, but like others have said, it is a lot easier to see the proof for yourself. I think had Thomas put a little more factual evidence rather than kind of just begging the question, he could have made a much more solid argument in his essay. In Reigh's essay, I liked a lot of points he made, and it gave me a new insight. However, I would have liked to have seen more from Thomas. I think that is what a lot of college kids today are worried about. Is the American dream even a real thing anymore? Who knows? The fact that he could not give more insight and facts against it is disappointing because he could have had a very good essay, one that would have related to his audience more. I think it was a lot easier for most of us to understand and support Reigh's essay more because he related it to actual events and things that are in our world, things that at this age we know little about. We have yet to be launched in the working force completely, as we are still getting our degrees, but when we get launched in to it I think Reigh’s essay will be of help in regards to knowing some things about economics and our society today.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Robert B. Reich’s essay is more effective than Cal Thomas’. I believe this because in his essay Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer, Reich presents a clearly structured essay along with a valid argument, which is in contrast to Thomas’s essay, Is the American Dream Over?, where Thomas’ ideas jump around making him lack a concrete focus. By including bias information and shallow evidence, his argument to the readers also becomes questionable.
ReplyDeleteFrom analyzing Reich’s essay, the reader can identify what is motivating the reader, which is the answer to why individuals are receiving different incomes. Reich further goes on to explain why the three different functions of jobs, specifically, routine producers, in-person servers, and symbolic analysts have the amount of income they have. Each topic is accommodated with multiple examples each focusing on his point. Reich then comes out to say his “so what” reason about why he’s writing his essay. In his conclusion he state that companies/corporations are finding that only specific people should get more money(special analysts) because other workers(like routine producers and in-person servers) are being replaced or can easily be trained, so then why should they put extra money into them? Therefore he also ends with an effective end to his argument on the reason to why people are getting the income they’re getting.
Cal Thomas’ essay starts with defining the American Dream and stating that is done with in the American society, but instead of evaluated the reasons, our author tries to address who is to “blame” for this. After a few rants about who’s to point the finger to, Thomas switches the view and mentions forgotten ways that the society used to achieve the American Dream. Then the author leaves us with a notion that the American Dream is indeed no longer attainable. Thomas approach was very bias in that he did not look at alternative views. He also attacked liberals at large and had no further evidence to support any of his claims. The unclear structure of his essay also made his argument less effective and because of his lack of research it could also appear to be invalid.