Select two (2) of the choices below and develop a clear & concise responses. Follow the guidelines for writing sociology papers. If you provide a well-developed response to the question, you will have included an introduction to the issue (include the question to be clear.) Your response will provide personal & documented examples to support any claims made. Connect ideas to readings from the text. ( A three sentence response– most likely will score low on the rubric)
– Although a slight majority (51 percent) of Millennials and Gen Zers view capitalism positively, this is a steep drop over the past decade—down from 66 percent in 2010. Among older generations, positive views of capitalism have slightly increased over the past decade. What do you think contributes to this generational divide in views of capitalism and socialism?
– Which jobs are the most important to society? Structural functionalists argue that pay inequalities are necessary in order to motivate people to go into the most difficult and important occupations. Brainstorm a list of occupations that meet these criteria: (1) perform an extremely important role in society and (2) require a high level of education and training. Then, go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website for Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. Are the jobs you listed among the most highly paid? Do you think the occupations that have the highest average salaries (as listed by BLS) meet both of these criteria?
– Although inmates technically volunteer to work, most say prison rules compel them to work, even against their will. For example, refusing to work is considered a rule violation, which can result in being ineligible for parole, being placed in solitary confinement, or being placed in housing units with rampant violence (NPR 2020). Furthermore, inmates are pressured to work in order to pay for things like phone calls or hygiene items from the prison canteen. Prison administrators justify the extraordinarily low wages of inmates by arguing that they defray the costs of imprisonment: In most cases, inmates are actually paid fair market value for the labor, but their paychecks are cut by 80 percent to pay for the cost of their room and board. Do you think prisoners should be compelled to work to pay for the cost of their incarceration?
– Suppose that a corporation is guilty of a serious violation of health and safety laws, in which “serious violation” is defined as one that poses a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to workers. What penalty do you think that corporations should pay for such a violation? Serious violations of workplace health and safety laws in 2019 carried an average federal penalty of $3,717 or a state penalty of $2,032 (AFL-CIO 2020). Even when violations result in worker fatalities, the median penalty in 2019 was only $17,830 for federal and state penalties combined. Under criminal law, a willful violation that results in a worker’s death is considered a misdemeanor. Since 1970, only 99 cases of willful workplace health and safety violations have been prosecuted, with defendants serving a total of 112 months in jail (AFL-CIO 2020). Why do you think penalties for violating workplace health and safety laws are so weak?
– Human Rights Watch attributes the growing success of the Transparency Pledge to widespread public pressure on major corporations like Nike. Have you ever refused to buy a product due to reports of the company using sweatshop labor? How important is it to you to know that a company uses ethical labor practices in producing the goods that you buy?
– Sesame Street is broadcast in over 130 countries with millions of children watching daily. In a meta-analysis of over 20 studies encompassing 10,000 children in 15 countries, Mares and Pan (2013) report that children with higher exposure to
Sesame Street had higher learning outcomes (e.g., number recognition). On more than one occasion, in order to reduce federal spending, politicians have suggested cutting funds to public television which, among other programming, airs Sesame Street (Tepper 2017; Stanton 2019). Do you think funding for public broadcasting should be cut from the federal budget?
