Chapter 13

Chapter 13 walks us through the challenges of balancing our work with our families. At the beginning we see how different social classes are responding to the current state of our country. It is extremely evident that, while our minimum wage has gone up, the wealthy citizens have maintained their monetary means while what's left of the middle class and lower class continue to fall comparatively. With such devices being used as globalization and offshoring, it is increasingly difficult for a middle or working-class citizen to make enough money to support a family. While this is a terrible truth, it seemingly comes down to education. With over a third of our nation gaining only or less than a high-school degree, it is not all that unnerving to see that our economy is in a downward spiral. While the economy is the main problem, the difficulties produced are threatening society as well. If a worker has been laid off and is otherwise unemployed, this creates an extremely stressful environment in the home and may in turn push a family into extreme poverty. The chapter goes on to talk about family relations with both the mother and father in the work force. Women are working a great deal more now than in past years and with this distinct increase may come a certain level of tension in the household between a laid off father and working mother. Finally we are introduced to many policies that make it plausible for a new family to adjust schedules, bring newborns to work, and even work from home in order to make ends meet.

While I found many points of interest in this chapter, the fact that a parent is allowed to bring their newborn child to work was quite interesting. Being well aware of the difficulties of a nweborn, I would expect this to severly take away from the parent's ability to do work efficiently. This fact amongst many others caught my attention.

One question I drew from this chapter is, at what point do we finally allow women the ability to feel equal in the work force? I feel that women are proven to be resourcefull and just as intelligent as any other man so why then do we still attempt to pay less for the same services of a male?