Update of post # 3

The relation between the texts "Who Built the Pyramids ?" and the movie "Born Rich" may be in the description of how one social class (the working one) wishes to have more time for leisure, and how the second one (the rich one) is tired of too much time for leisure. The dream or fantasy of one is the life of the other !

Also, Mike in "Who built the Pyramids" says that all he wishes for is that one day there will be a place where the college kids and the steelworker could sit down and talk without any shame and difference. basically no separation of working class and rich class: Respect if not equality of classes.

In "Born Rich" we see that these kids are taught to not feel sorry for other people's poverty and to take pride in their life as they deserve what they got. They don't/can't even imagine what life looks like for poors and working families. There is also no chance from their perspective that a person from the working(or poor) class can mix with them. They always hang out together with no one else outside their social group. They all know each other and are all planning on making their future fiances sign a "Prenup" before getting married. So no chance for anyone who think that they can by getting married to a heir to get rich.

Am not sure if this what you were referring to Prof. T, let me know.

Will post essay #2 for you after this.

Update of 1rst bonus post

Here we go !

What I mean by increase in pre-tax is the amount of money people earn before taxes get deducted from it. In an effort to attract and retain employees, lately employers have been providing compensation packages that include wages and benefits. Benefits that are paid for by the employer generally are not taxable to the employee. If benefits, such as group life insurance, are paid for by the employee, generally the money used to pay for the benefits is taxable. In recent years, tax laws have been created that permit certain benefits like 401(k), retirement benefits, cafeteria benefits, and health savings accounts to be paid for with pretax money. Pretax benefits enable both employers and employees to set aside money on a tax-free, salary-reduction basis for retirement expenses as well as for qualified dependent care and healthcare expenses.
The others causes of increasing inequality we learn from Krugman's article are (to name only few):

Income inequality: apparently, some people are earning way much more than others;

The rich are living in a virtual world that separate them from other social classes;

Debt: middle class families are taking on more debt to either send their children to good schools, or to buy houses they can't afford;

Education: schools in the poor neighborhoods are degrading,

Lack of good healthcare for low income families;

Innequal opprtuny given to chidren based on their socio-economical environment;

The tax sytem that gives a break to the weathy, and not to the poor;

Working on writing

Hello Prof. T,

Thank you for calling me on Friday regarding tutoring !

Also,I think I am done working on essay # 1 now. I have a draft for the #2 essay which will be based on topic 1, and will start constructing it this week.

See you in class tomorrow.

Revision of essay # 1

Here is a new version of my essay #1, please feel free to give me a ffed-back.

Thanks.

Although, I agree with Sebastian Mallaby that Wal-Mart should make sure it secures profit for its shareholders and that low-income families benefit from the company’s low prices on food and other products, I support Karen Olsson’s point of view. People rush at Wal-Mart’s doors when a new store opens in their area to look for a job, because they need to work; and so far, this company is the one that is offering them one. Still, it is unacceptable to me that, in America, people get treated this way. Wal-Mart’s associates are working in conditions that can be described as slavery for a company that represents the world’s largest retailer with $220 billion in sales, and is the biggest private employer in America (Olsson 1). When Karen Olsson spoke to some of Wal-Mart’s employees, they described their working conditions in these words to her: “I was asked to work off the clock, sometimes by the store manager (…) they would know you’d clocked out already, and they’d say ‘do me a favor, I don’t have anyone coming in (…) could you stay here?’ ” says Liberty Morales Serna, a former employee in Houston, just to explain how he was made to work without been paid; a fact that goes against the labor law (Olsson 3). The associates should be paid at least for the work they do if the company cannot pay their overtime. The United States Department of Labor (USDL) has clear rules established regarding the rights of workers and responsibilities of employers, which are been deliberately ignored by Wal-Mart’s management. We should wonder where the people, who are responsible for the strict application of these rules by this company, are. These associates do not have a union, and cannot have one anyway to fight for them by negotiating a contract with Wal-Mart on their behalf. Wal-Mart is so determined to keep its costs low that it would stop at nothing to impose its anti-union politics in all its stores. Indeed, the company has engaged a firm of consultant that developed a program specifically designed to banish the unions in all its stores by using intimidation tactics. The store manager sometimes confronts his associates to make sure he is going to make the fight against union a personal problem to treat.

Bonus Post

In this article, the health care bill signed by president Obama is described as an attack to the economic inequality.Inequality that increased over the last 50years due to primarily to an increase of the pre-tax and, decrease of the rates of taxes for the wealthy. The middle class in the meanwhile, find itself with less expandable income in a world where the cost of living( food, fuel, education, health care,...) is more and more high. Health care for example, represent a major issue for middle class and poor families who, because of lack of financial resources end up not having one. The recently passed health care reform will do two(2) things immediately to help middle class: provide health care for those who lost their jobs, and remove the conditions that the insurance companies have often used to deny insurance to individuals with pre-existing conditions. Another important aspect of the reform is the fact that, the wealthy will bear a larger part of financing health care through their taxes for people(from middle class and poor families) who are getting it now; most for the first time.

To finish, this article is seen the newly passed health care bill as the weapon used by President Obama to reduce inequality between social classes in America by having the wealthy pay for a part of the middle class's health care.

The Social Class Business

In "Who Build the Pyramids" Mike Lefevre describe to us his workings experiences as a steelworker. He explains how frustrated he feels, and how he hates the job he's doing. He thinks or feels that people who do his job should be replaced by machines since the technology is getting so advanced, so he could get to work 20hrs a week, and spend the rest of his time with his family. To him it is horrible to not feel recognised in the society for the work he's doing. He wishes he could take his children or grand children to the places where he used to work just to show them something he contributed to make for the society.

In the movie "Born Rich" it is also about life style, but a way too different type of life style. This time it is about children of the richest people in America (mostly) and Europe. They described to one of their friend how they got to know that they were rich, what their school experiences were like, what are they up to now in life and mostly what do they do to earn leaving.

To theses people, being rich means partying, shopping, not having to worry about money and the people who don't have money to live with. Work ? not necessarily, unless you want to do it as a leisure. They live in a close circle that do not know what are the realities of the people who don't belong to their circle.

There is no connection to me between the actors of "Born Rich" and the one in "Who Built the Pyramids" . They belong two(2) separated classes that almost never meet. When you are born in a working class family, it is very hard then or even impossible to access the very rich class, as these children say it themselves: they don't thing of dating people who are out their circle of friends or lets say social class.

IRREGULARITY

5 aircrafts grounded, terminal One open 24hrs, passengers sleeping all over the place on cots given by PAPD: a sight never seen at T1. Thousands of AF passengers stocked both ways (CDG<--->JFK) every single day, now this is an irregularity !
Work usually is calm, sometimes slow but smooth, or some nights like Thursdays, very busy and noisy.
But right now, because of the Iceland volcano eruption, I don't know how to describe it. On the first day, it was like been a Social worker. You put passengers on buses which took them to hotels (exceptionally for the first night only, as the airline is not responsible of weather related irregularities). The second day, just talk to passengers, answers their questions, give them emotional support, distribute some drinks and so on. Passengers are calm though except some that are really "Waco", the one that are afraid of loosing their jobs, or missing school (like their safety wasn't a priority). For the first time, passengers are really understanding during an irregularity !
The only thing we know for sure is that we don't know when is this mess going to end, and when is the bigger mess going to start. The one that consist of deciding of who's going first, who's going to wait for the next flight, and checking them all in, when of course the sky will be clear again.
Am looking forward to the end of these days. I can see the line to sign the OT sheet already from here.
The only thing is that at least we get paid for the job done, and it feels good to lend a hand when it becomes chaotic, and passengers are thankful to you.