Group+5

=**Tyler McCracken, Collin Blahut, Nicole Bowar- //What has our society become?//**=

Breakdown of Society
In linking the stories "Push" and "The Veldt", it is clear that there are underlying themes in both that suggest that society as we know it is not as stable and secure as it seems. Both stories offer a variety of lenses through which to view this breakdown, ranging from as heartbreakingly obvious as the Welfare state in Harlem and the range of social problems that it contributes to, to the unspoken issue of our society's growing addiction and dependence on technologies that has done untold damage to the psyches, morals, and work ethics of this nation's youth. In both cases, establishments that were intended to benefit mankind have been misused to the point of exceeding any practical benefits they could offer society, ultimately damaging society as a whole, having left us trapped within systems that no longer benefit us. By extension, the social structures of Education and Social Security have also contributed to growing social problems in this country, having become less and less effective in serving the needs of the public. If left unchecked, systems such as these that we have deemed "safe" and "secure" will ultimately begin to unravel the fabric of our society.

**Addiction to Welfare?**

In this country, the welfare system is meant to act as a "safety net," to protect its lowest-class citizens from homelessness and absolute poverty, stemming from lessons learned during the Great Depression. However, the novel "Push" tells a different story, one of an entire suburb built on government housing projects and welfare income, a place where people are encouraged to submit to lives of near-poverty, and given incentives against finding a job, against becoming educated, and against making any forward progress in their lives. This results in what was supposed to be social aid becoming a form of social control, a tool to keep people quiet and afraid, to keep them hidden away, submissive to the will of Welfare.


 * Evidence:**

One can clearly see that increases in welfare spending coincide with increases in unemployment and poverty rates, while decreasing the median household income level. This suggest that high welfare spending creates more social problems than it solves, introducing people into an endless cycle of poverty from which they can never escape.

In these lowest of income areas, people often turn to violence, crime, and drugs, as a means of dealing with their entrapment in poverty, as depicted in Push. These areas also have higher rates of teenage pregnancies and unwed mothers, further compounding these social problems. These issues are signs that the welfare state has gotten out of control, and, without significant intervention, will surely contribute to the destruction of society as we know it.

Trouble with Social Security
Social Security was intended to support older workers after retiring, allowing them to stop working when they were no longer capable, while creating openings for younger people to find jobs. However, as the program grew, it became less financially viable, forcing a raising of the retirement age. This resulted in many workers retiring earlier than the "full-retirement age," causing them to receive fewer benefits than at full-retirement.

For quite a while, the Social Security program was very successful at fulfilling its promises, and in the 1950's and 1960's, there were many short-run surpluses, allowing Congress to grant sizable benefits increases. However, it wasn't long before projections of Social Security's finances started showing long-term deficits, and the program was almost labeled as immediate insolvency. The Social Security reform we enacted, resulting in tax increases and reductions to beneficiaries. [See "Milton Friedman - The Social Security Myth" video]

The Social Security system is being misused, abused, and makes promises to the people that it simply cannot, will not, and does not deliver. Employers are forced to pay an extra tax on all the wages they pay out, and workers are charged a tax simply for being productive. On top of that, Social Security beneficiaries do not receive benefits proportional to their contributions, and if they work beyond the retirement age, they lose all benefits, giving them incentive not to be productive. Additionally, welfare is funded by social security, and as discussed above, is fraught with its own set of problems.

This evidence is significant because it shows how two social systems, originally intended to help people, are poorly implemented without regard to its ultimate consequences, and are a danger to society.

=﻿ US citizens continue to live in welfare quagmire﻿  .......................... **Thomas Sowell - Welfare** = October 31st, 2009 ............................................................................................. September 4th, 2008 media type="youtube" key="KkpsQao-gvM?fs=1" height="294" width="371" media type="youtube" key="2GklCBvS-eI?fs=1" height="295" width="372"
 * []** ................ **[] **

March 5th, 2010 ........................................................................... May 29th, 2009 media type="youtube" key="rCdgv7n9xCY?fs=1" height="295" width="372" media type="youtube" key="S_wYD3nYB0s?fs=1" height="295" width="372"
 * Milton Friedman - The Social Security Myth** ............................ ** Does Welfare 'Ruin' Ambition? - James Bartholomew **
 * []** .................. **[] **

**Sources:**

"Social Security (United States)." // Wikipedia. // 28 November, 2010 <[]>

Klein, Ezra. "Raising the Retirement Age is a Bad Idea." //The Washington Post.// 1 December, 2010 <[|**http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/10/raising_the_retirement_age_is.htm**l]>

Ellis, Ryan. "Social Security Almost Out of Money, Medicare Already Broke, Will Tax Increases be Next?" //Americans for Tax Reform.// 7 December 2010 <[]>


 * Addiction to Technology **

In the pre-industrialized world, labor was all encompassing, the entire focus of practically all civilized life. People worked long hours in manual labor, primarily as farmers, in order to sustain their families through the harsh winter months. This changed quickly, however, as labor-saving technologies were developed and perfected, and people soon had a new concept to tackle: free time. Answering the question of how to fill it gave birth to a whole new branch of technology: entertainment.

Today, the reality of entertainment technology is inescapable. Television, the internet, social networking, portable music devices, smart phones, and video games are just a few of the many ways in which a person in modern society may entertain themselves. It can be argued that this idea of electronic entertainment has taken on a life of its own, becoming a dominant force in modern life, and there's evidence to back this statement. Entertainment, more than manufacturing, is the primary industry in America today. We now devote far more resources and productive effort to entertaining ourselves than anything else. What does this say about us as a society?


 * Evidence:**

Unfortunately, the more experts probe into these matters, the more grim a picture we can paint. There have been numerous studies done on video game addiction in the United States, which show that these kinds of entertainment can become the focus of many people's lives, especially children. Increases in daily hours of video games played by children have been linked to lower grades and standardized test scores, higher prevalence of ADD and other learning disorders, more discipline issues, and much higher rates of childhood obesity. These issues have been confirmed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Additionally, mobile phone usage while driving has been linked to increased auto accident fatalities, and excessive use of portable audio players has been linked to hearing damage.

These consequences of our addiction to entertainment technologies should be shocking, but we continue to indulge in these inventions despite the risks, like an addict looking for a more powerful high. Movies and video games increasingly become more violent and realistic, music and video more portable and accessible, and communication and social technologies more intrusive.

Proponents of these new inventions say that this is all progress, that more access to entertainment results in happier people. There is much evidence to say that they are wrong, that these forms of entertainment have evolved to the point at which they do more harm than good, and that we are slowly approaching a world resembling the dystopia presented in "The Veldt", where society has become so hopelessly engrossed in new technologies that it has become alienated from real life, while at the same time hopelessly reliant on the technologies which have changed us in this way. One could argue that this has already happened.


 * Related Video:**

= Violent Video Games May Affect the Brain. .............................................................. **Video Game Addiction** = November 29th, 2006 KSL News in SLC, Utah .................................................. July 25th, 2007, Art Fennel Reports media type="youtube" key="dFMk17nDUVM?fs=1" height="344" width="434" media type="youtube" key="OaBSvZMkjic?fs=1" height="345" width="434"
 * []** ...... **[] **


 * Sources:**

Rauh, Sherry. "Video Game Addiction No Fun" //Web MD.// 25 November, 2010 <[]>

Bell, James John. "Will Technology Take Over the World?" //Helium.// 2 December, 2010 <[]>

"The Impact of Video Games on Children" //Palo Alto Medical Foundation.// 20 November, 2010 <[]>

"Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children" //American Academy of Pediatrics.// 20 November, 2010 <[]>


 * Education Failure **

Education in the United States has begun to experience many problems in recent years. Teachers today have their efforts divided between teaching the material and parenting the students, as students often enter the school system without the tools to learn. This is a result of a lax standard of education in our society. In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education set up recommendations to address the dire need for change in the school systems. In spite of their best efforts to correct the problems, the education system in America is still floundering. The main problem with the education system is that it has not been brought up to date. The original system was intended to instill the values of punctuality, respect for authority, and work ethic, so that graduates would be effective in manufacturing and factory jobs. While these values are beneficial, there is very little focus on preparing students to take a proactive role in seeking higher education. Considering that there are very few manufacturing jobs in America today, higher education becomes a necessity, making the current out of date system hopelessly incompatible with the needs of modern society. The system ends up selling students a bill of goods that does not match up with the realities of a modern job market, and leaving them ill-prepared to be productive members of society, holding back social progress.

In other developed nations, values such as punctuality, work ethic, etc are taught in the home, and reinforced and reflected in their society and culture. With children who already posses these values, public education progresses at a much faster pace, and is much more effective at preparing students for the challenges of higher learning. In Germany, for instance, students take aptitude tests as early as the 8th grade to determine whether they will pursue higher education, vocational training, etc. This increased efficiency in their school system results in students that are more prepared to be productive members of society.


 * Evidence**

In terms of standardized testing, our students compare poorly against other developing countries. Statistics show that as the average American student progresses through the public school system, they score lower and lower on standardized testing in math and science when compared to the rest of the world. One of the many causes for this can be found in the outdated, non-comprehensive structure of curricula in American schools, which are too diffuse and too difficult to retain to any meaningful extent, resulting in little retention of the primarily fact-based subject matter. When comparing American textbooks with those from more successful countries, American textbooks typically cover 25-30 topics compared to 5-10 topics covered in others'. American children are not given an opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge on subjects, resulting in a lack of retained science and math ability.


 * Related video:**

=Katharine Birbalsingh criticises failed education system ............................ A Nation In Crisis: America's Education System Is Broken = October 08, 2010 .......................................................................................... August 07, 2007 media type="youtube" key="_L2l-MA-8Dk?fs=1" height="345" width="432" media type="youtube" key="UhmLxII-Xfc?fs=1" height="346" width="432"
 * []** ...................................... **[]**


 * Sources:**

"Problems and Weaknesses in the American Educational System" //Article Myriad.// 3 December, 2010 <[]>

"International Test Scores" //4choice.// 29 November, 2010 


 * Conclusions: **

In choosing our topics which we have examined, we used the stories Push and The Veldt as a jumping off point to really look at what's going around us in terms of social problems. These topics may not by themselves seem directly connected, but it's essential think about them not as separate issues, but as a collective of problems that will inevitably spell our downfall as a society if they are not resolved in an effective, permanent manner. Sincerely think about the implications of these states of disorder. We are not effectively caring for our poor, serving our elderly, or educating our children. We're not even aware of the implications to our physical and mental health posed by the technologies we've developed. These are immense problems that, in one way or another, profoundly affect each and every one of our lives. If not resolved, the future for this society looks bleak, and there will soon be breaking points on each of these issues, where people of conviction will be forced to make key decisions that will alter the course society as we know it. It is important to be aware of the problems we face in order to play an active role in bringing about their resolution. Turning a blind eye as we have done thus far is not good enough. It's time to start paying attention to the need for reform, before it's too late.