Essay on American Economy

Submitted By mariamariaac
Words: 880
Pages: 4
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Maria Acevedo
Mr. Treviño
WRC 1013.009
22 February 2012
“Those Afloat” Regarding the American economy, Robert Reich and Barbara Eichenreich both illustrate how educated people have an advantage over the ones who have not pursued a career. These individuals provide ideas or jobs for uncultured people. People with a career and a job have the opportunity to receive a variety of benefits, including, having the opportunity for others to do their jobs. The authors above mention how people who have taken the time to prepare themselves stand now above others, and they within themselves are struggling too. On Robert Reich’s essay “Why The Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer”, he mentions how he pictures our economy with three boats. He indicates the economy emerged from everyone being on the same boat to the separation of three new ones. The first boat holds routine producers, the second in-person servers and the third boat symbolic analysts. Reich states that “we are now in different boats, one sinking rapidly, one sinking more slowly, and the third rising steadily” (Reich, 229). The first boat containing routine producers includes assembly line workers, people in management, works in production, skilled laborers, maids etc. According to Reich this boat is sinking rapidly because routine producers are in direct competition with millions of other workers in other nations (Reich, 229). People in developing nations perform jobs for extremely low wages, and when American companies offer to double their pay, which is still much lower than the US minimum wage, they favorably do the job. Jobs of routine producers are not only being replaced by cheaper workers around the world but also by robots and other machinery. In-person servers stand on the second boat. Reich claims this boat “...is sinking as well, but somewhat more slowly and unevenly” (234). Waitresses, cashiers, retail workers, jobs involving social interaction, owners of small businesses, are some of the jobs that this boat includes. These people don’t receive a lot of benefits (health care, life insurance, disability), and their jobs are typically paid a little over the minimum wage. Agreeing with Reich, most are part time jobs and the workers in this area have received competition with growing numbers of legal and illegal immigrants, for whom the jobs are more accessible. In-person servers also receive competition form production workers or routine producers because of the lack of opportunities on their field. Their position and dispersed work situation does not allow them to organize themselves into labor unions to limit the impact of the competition. Reich describes the third boat as being the one that basically dominates the world. Symbolic analysts stand on this boat and they are the ones who sell their ideas, skills and discoveries, create solutions for problems and produce a service every other boat has created a demand for. This boat is rising and people here continue to get rich. We need symbolic analysts in our country for it to prosper. Symbolic analysts make the best decisions for their companies, in order to save them money and make their profits greater. Since they solve problems, Robert reich points out that “Most of the problems to be identified and solved had to do with enhancing the efficiency of production and improving the flow of materials, parts, assembly, and distribution” (239). This means that symbolic analysts always look for the best,
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