Unemployment
When I was in fifth grade my best friend, Melissa, moved away in the middle of the year because her father lost his job. In an effort to save money, the company that he worked for relocated some of their plants to Mexico. As a result, many factory workers, including Melissa's father, had been laid off. Her mother worked as a secretary at a law firm. She, however, did not make enough to support the family and after a few, short months the little amount of money that her parents managed to save quickly ran out. Consequently, her father decided that they would have to move to Dayton, Ohio where they could live with his mother rent-free. This cut down on their monthly expenses and allowed them to save a great deal of money while they tried to get their lives back in order. When Melissa told my classmates and I that she had to move, she did not seem at all phased by her family's situation and insisted that they would be back within a year. She told us that her dad was looking hard for another job and once he was able to find one, they would return. I, however, have not seen Melissa since her family moved away over eight years ago. Her father is currently working, at a fast food restaurant, a job that took him nearly two years
In addition, the lower population density creates additional problems for the community. Many people who leave, leave behind their homes, creating many abandoned buildings. These buildings give criminals a place to engage in drug use and other illegal acts, thereby giving them a strong foothold into the community. Furthermore, these neighborhoods find it difficult to develop and maintain any sense of community because there are so few people living there. This was all made evident in the documentary "Rodger and Me," which illustrated the many problems that arise in communities with high unemployment rates. "Rodger and Me" relays the troubles that the town of Flint, Michigan experienced after GM closed their factory, laying off hundreds of thousands of workers. Despite the fact that they were one of the richest companies in the world, Rodger Smith, CEO of General Motors, shut down many factories in the United States, including their largest factory in Flint and relocated them to Mexico, where the company was able to pay workers less. This saved GM millions of dollars and gave the corporation an advantage over competitors. However, this also caused the town of Flint to completely fall apart. General Motors meant everything to the Flint community. Their success as a town was dependent upon the corporation. Prior to the factory closing, GM employed the majority of Flint citizens. This kept the town's economy up and allowed Flint to remain well and prosperous. When GM closed the factory most of the community suddenly became unemployed. Though most individuals wanted to work, they found it extremely difficult to obtain employment elsewhere partly because there were very few jobs available but also because they were unskilled factory workers, who were not qualified to work anywhere else. Many went from one bad job to another, unable to maintain any type of long-term employment. The dramatic increase in unemployment caused Flint to completely deteriorate. Everyone became very frustrated with their situation and did not see any positive changes occurring in their near future. This frustration, in addition to the little amount of structure regulating their daily lives, caused many citizens to engage in illegal acts. As a result, crime increased dramatically; the city at one point the city had the highest crime rate in the country. With few so few working citizens, companies and corporations found it extremely difficult to remain in business and many were forced to close, leaving behind abandoned buildings. In addition, those who were financially able to, left Flint to escape the new found poverty the town was experiencing. This also created many abandoned buildings, which served as havens for drug use and other illegal acts, giving criminals an even a stronger foothold in the community. Despite the many efforts the town made to revive they all failed because they did not provide the citizens with what they really needed; jobs. Unemployment has plagued my community as well though not to the extent it affected the town of Flint. I am from Skokie, IL a large, rather diverse suburb of Chicago. Skokie is comprised of people from different economic backgrounds. Parts of the town are populated by doctors, lawyers, prominent businessmen, etc., who live in homes worth well over half a million dollars. Unskilled, uneducated individuals, most of whom work minimum paying jobs, however, encompass other parts. It has never been difficult to tell the difference between the two sections of town, they have always been marked by clear, distinct boundaries. However, in recent years the village of Skokie has tried very hard to renovate the town. Many of these workers find it very difficult to sustain any long tern employment and like Melissa's family are forced to move. They sometim
Some common words found in the essay are:
Consequently Americans, War II, CEO Motors, Chicago Skokie, Dayton Ohio, , Flint Michigan, pay workers, Skokie IL, social norms, society begin, illegal acts, town flint, abandoned buildings, lose jobs, long-term employment, engage illegal, little amount, found extremely difficult, drug illegal acts, amount balance control, neighborhood continues disintegrate, regulate society begin,
Approximate Word count = 2582
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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