How the wealthy people is affecting our U.S. today

April 1, 2019 arlyn Leave a comment

by: Arlyn Vega and Keo Martinez

Have you ever noticed how the wealthy people in the us have been affecting us in a negative way? Well… its time to start opening your eyes on how they affect our world today. It seems like nowadays the less fortunate are trying to make an impact in our world and the wealthy grew to be more apathetic and lazy.

It says that an average person spends 10% of their life actually doing their job.

Do you ever wonder what the other 90% are doing instead of their jobs? The average person spends 13 years and two months at work, according to one analysis from HuffPost Australia. People have grown to become lazy where they get easily distracted for example phones and friends.

People have been focused in their own lives that work started to become much less of a priority and more like daily chore.

It seems like their jobs have become less enjoyable so they’ve grown to become lazy.

The less amount you work the same amount of money you still get?

Back then if you put in enough effort in your job you could get paid more or earn a good amount of money on your paycheck. Nowadays, People have been lacking on their jobs and put a minimum amount of effort and still earn a bunch of money.

Wealthy people put a lot of effort in work including the poor but the amount of effort they put in can be very sad. I say that the bosses should start opening their eyes and see how low can be.

Can being wealthy change how you are?

“Wealthy people experience more positive emotions when focused on themselves, new research suggests. Or to put it another way; being rich makes you self-centered and selfish. As the old adage goes, money can’t buy you happiness but it seems that it does have an zimpact on what brings you joy.” Wealthy have been selfish nowadays and not so careful with their money so it looks like. Looks like they are not exactly model citizens.

Have you started noticing how they use their money especially anyone famous on social media. They use their money on useless stuff in my opinion.

As wealthy they can be instead of spending their money on stuff they don’t need instead, they can spend it more on things that are necessary.

The wealthy have grown to be apathetic towards the US today. The more wealthy they be the more sluggish they start to get.

Researches and sources

Is the U.S.Following In the Footsteps of Rome?

April 1, 2019 Cherise Leave a comment

By: Cherise Woodfolk and Nicole Feipel

Improving Our Country vs. Working for the Money?

In our world, more money equals more opportunities.

It’s the key to worlds others don’t have access to, you just have to pay your way through.

To be a politician it would be extremely helpful to have loads of money to spend on your campaign. How many people in our world today do their jobs just for the money?

I was surprised by the amount of people that don’t like their jobs yet go to them everyday just so they could pay the bills. According to The Washington Post “only 13 percent of people worldwide actually like going to work, 63 percent are “ not engaged” – or are simply unmotivated and unlikely to exert extra- while the remaining 24 percent are “actively disengaged” or truly unhappy or unproductive”.

A politician is someone who contributes in how the country is run. He/she is normally part of a political party which is a group that shares similar beliefs. Politicians have an influence on what laws may get passed. While also doing their jobs they may be pursuing personal interests, to increase the amount of money they recieve and doing everything they can to stay in that position of power.

U.S. Complications vs. Rome’s Issues

Here are some of the many reasons why Rome’s Roman empire fell.

The first problem was that overtime Rome’s citizens felt no duty or connection to the Roman Empire.

During the time of the Pax- Romana many romans were not interested in helping or improving the Roman Empire. Emperors became infamous in ruling authority because they would waste money on unnecessary stuff.

When comparing Rome to the U.S. there are definitely some things that the U.S may spend money on that one may call trival. For instance, Trump’s wall. Some may argue this is a good decision made by the government., while others may say it’s completely uncalled for.

The United States spending budget for the military is slowly increasing every year to 700 billion dollars.

Back to Rome. Rome suffered due to their Public Health complications. Many of the wealthy romans brought water to their home without using aqueducts. The wealthy romans used pipes to bring their water to their homes, lead pipes which caused lead poisoning and many wealthy romans died because of this. Some deaths occured Coliseum.

Since loads of romans were placed in the arena of the Coliseum, diseases were spread quite easily because people passes to diseases on to each other just by coming in contact with one another.

America’s Public Health is completely different, but much better. The United States struggles with drug addiction, mental health, and helping global health, though there are solutions and help available for most of the U.S’s problems.

The last obstacle Rome faced was their military spending. Rome spent loads of money on their military to defend their borders and block the barbarians attacks. Due to this the military spending left few resources for vital activities. For example maintaining and keeping the roads and aqueducts in good quality.

Americans military spending also quite large but for good reason. The accounted military spending is a little more than 50%. The exact number is 589.5 billion dollars.

Comparing the 2, the U.S. does spend a lot on the military, but we also have enough money to pay for other expenses which Rome failed to do.

Is the U.S. Next?

This is what you’ve all been waiting for, the big question of whether or not the U.S. will end the way Rome did. The answer is . . . no the U.S. will not end the same way Rome did. Why you may ask? Well based on the 2 other head titles you’ve read, show just how different the two are, and for good reason I may add. Where Rome failed the U.S. is flourishing.

By: Cherise Woodfolk and Nicole Feipel

Political Issues

How the US is repeating history- are we leading towards the same fate as Rome? Elizabeth Musick & Lauren Judd

April 1, 2019 811089 Leave a comment

Looking at the facts

Whether you believe that the saying “history repeats itself” is true or not, you really have to understand history and look at the facts. Truth be told, the US isn’t perfect. But are we entering the point of no return? Just like in Ancient Rome, disagreements are taking over. The government is spiraling out of control, just like the plebeians and patricians. Here is how…

Government Shutdown

The plebeians and patricians were the two main classes of the Rome. The differences between the plebeians and patricians caused the downfall of the Roman Empire. They couldn’t compromise or work together. Sound familiar? The US’s two main parties- Republicans and Democrats, are on the verge of repeating history. Could a civil war be in the future?

Republicans and Democrats have been fighting and disagreeing, and the consequences are showing. For instance, the Government shutdown. This year we have had the longest government shutdown in history. If the Republicans and Democrats agreed sooner, it would have been shorter. But the differences between the two parties contrast greatly and the impacts are immense. To illustrate, the Government Shutdown has lead to 800,000 federal employees left without their paychecks. Also, national parks had no one to look after them. Trees in the Joshua State Park died during the shutdown, and there are many more environmental impacts. The environment and federal employee’s jobs are not the only ones suffering from the shutdown. Everyone is affected because the FDA is forced to cut back on their duties. Also, the Smithsonian Museum and National Zoo’s have been closed. The inability of the Republicans and Democrats to agree is clearly having a large toll on the United States, just like it did to Ancient Rome.

Where Should Money be Spent?

Could the cause of the United States’ downfall be money-related? It looks that way. The Senate, Congress, and President can’t come to an agreement on where money should be spent. Money gives us power and using it the wrong way could end in a catastrophe. In ancient Rome the patricians had all the money and power but the plebeians were not happy with how they were treated. The Republicans and Democrats both have the money and power but they can’t agree on where it should go. We are at a standstill and one party has already gone to the extreme, as explained in the following paragraph.

National Emergency

Following the longest government shutdown in history, neither the republicans nor democrats have moved an inch to compromise. When the plebeians and patricians couldn’t compromise, a civil war broke out. Could that happen to us now? Well, the president called a national emergency which means he does not need to agree with the other party. However, I believe this made things worse because it makes the opposing party angry. We are following the same path to destruction that Ancient Rome fell on.

2020 Election

With the 2020 election coming up, Democrats & Republicans are still arguing on who’s right and wrong. From taxes to border security, the continuous arguments are everlasting. Both parties love to argue which is not what we need. Many american citizens say we should come together and unify ourselves for the benefit of the country. Others say argue to there is a winner. In Ancient Rome, they were a republic and had consuls or leaders, that had authority. In the USA, we have leaders also to make decisions for us.

Laws

Many people often argue what punishment should be. Life in prison, life with/without parole and other punishments like this, people have trouble agreeing on. The Democrats want to abolish the death penalty as they believe it is too harsh and everyone should have a second chance. Republicans however, say that under certain situations the death penalty should be allowed like for a mass murderer and serious crimes like that. Their explanation for that is because murders over the years have gone up, that is the best possible solution, so hopefully people who want to commit those crimes will know the punishment and rethink “huh, maybe that isn’t a good idea.” In Ancient Rome, many people didn’t agree on the laws. They said they were too strict and unfair. For example, being crazy at night and loud could result in getting beaten or thrown off a cliff. Many Plebeians and Patricians didn’t agree on those rules. Just like the Democrats and the Republicans don’t agree.

Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/09/us/politics/longest-government-shutdown.html

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/15/17979224/2018-midterm-elections-candidates-issues-health-care-immigration

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/government-shutdown-explained-777734/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2019/01/14/government-shutdown-2019-the-real-impact–cost/#662378803b96

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/trumps-emergency-declaration-is-a-test-for-republicans/582856/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/many-us-are-concerned-lawmakers-react-trump-s-national-emergency-n972611

http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-1569/The-Extremely-Cruel-Edges-of-Roman-Justice-circa-0-AD.aspx

Social Issues

What happened with rome? Is the fall of rome similar to our american society today?

April 1, 2019 815895 Leave a comment

There are tons of reasons why rome fell it would take days to explain all of i.

Rome’s plebeians and patricians were both extremely different the poor and normal people(plebeians) could barley help the society and contribute to anything because of the prices to pay of everything in rome.

After years and years of rome being live and well the wealthy and rich people stopped caring pretty much and stopped paying the higher taxes and stopped helping be in the army

And all of that as you can probably tell, literally made the entirety of rome collapse…

The army came down because the rich didn’t care enough to put themselves in it…

Rome’s army needs help

Rome needed soldiers so they hired mercenaries…

Which was more money out of their pockets

And those mercenaries weren’t very good fighters because they didn’t really care about rome since they were from different countries.

But rome needed the soldiers because while everybody inside of rome stopped paying for things everybody on the outside of rome was at war.

The difference of the social classes

The gap between the two social classes was growing and while the rich stopped caring the poor couldn’t do anything because they didn’t have the money to help the society grow again.

The plebeians and patricians were so economically different by this point that they could not help the fall of the empire.

Most of the poor actually cared and wanted to help out with rome but by then slaves were taking their jobs and making them homeless pretty much making them powerless within the empire of rome.

Instability in the social classes

The plebeians jobs were taken then they were homeless and that would anger them to start an uproar within the empire making it continuously fall

The gap between the two classes grew further and further apart

The plebeians were angry with the gap and started more problems than the romans already had before

So now with the plebeians not having jobs and the patricians not caring enough to pay for anything the economy is crashing faster than ever

How is rome similar to america now?

Based off all the differences i’ve stated just now i bet there’s some thoughts about america and our economy.

We have the same problem with the super elite rich people of america not caring about paying taxes or paying for the army.

Our army right now is very strong but seems the more and more rich people stop paying for taxes and that will not soon but eventually make a huge dent in our economy and our army.

As is now in america it’s already hard to get a job as a lower class person and if a lower class person even got one it wouldn’t be a very good one.

And since it seems like nobody seems to know or care about the decline of our american economy we need to start paying taxes and be more involved with our country.

In conclusion…

Americans could have a similar end like the romans so we have to make sure that doesn’t happen…

you wanna be around here for a while…don’t you?

I know being rich has its benefits but also its declines as in paying higher taxes, just do it, help the economy, please, we need it.

Economic Issues

Why America Is NOT The Next Roman Empire

April 1, 2019 816948 Leave a comment

By: Tyler Lin, Anthony Tran

Today in class we were learning about the economy in Rome.

That lead my partner and I to wonder if the United States of America has the same issues that the Roman Empire had.

Rome’s economy was a big reason as to why the empire eventually fell, but will that be a reason America could possibly fall?… just as Rome did.

We are here to tell you that AMERICA IS NOT like Rome. Here is why.

America Is NOT The Next Roman Empire.

A big part of the fall in Rome is due to the the economic difference between the rich and the poor. The patricians(upper class) were getting more rich while the plebeians(lower class) where becoming more poor.

Furthermore, the middle in Rome was not in good condition because they were crashing into the ground;in other words they were becoming more independent.

Another reason the economic difference was a factor in the down fall of Rome was because the plebeians were not happy that the patricians had more land then them and that they were making more money; in turn this would lead into a civil war between the classes. Finally the economy in Rome was declining.

The Rich Get Richer

Looking at the economic difference between the rich and poor in the US we can get a better understanding if the US is becoming more like Rome. We would know if the economic is like the Roman Empire.

The top 1% Americans make a average of $250,000 a year; on the other hand the bottom 50% combine makes less than the top 1%.

The top 1% of American are taxed 24.7% in a study done in 2014; in the same study people making around $75,00 are taxed 19.7%.

In another study people making $19,000 a year- pay around 11% of income taxes. Which makes up the bottom 10%.

According into “financial samurai” the top 1% work less hours than people making $20,00. However they get paid more, get more benefits, and have more personal time. On the other hand people making $20,000 work upward of 100 hours a week.

Investigator states, “The middle class makes around $40,500 and $122,000 a year”

The middle class is also taxed around 20%.

Which means that people that are in the middle class system and make about $60,000 a year have to pay $12,000 of tax that same year.

The Hard Fact

With all this said it is our belief that the U.S. is not like Rome economical, because their economy is for stable and constant. We believe this because of the laws set in place to make the system fair and equal, also people that make more money tend to work harder earlier on and later in life they are repaid with more money and less work hours.

On the other hand people that work longer typically wasted most of their early life and were not benefited later in life. Which means that people that work longer is typically people that aren’t as wealthy as people that work shorter days and shorter weeks. People that used their time in there earlier years are more likely to have a better job.

Economic Issues, Political Issues

How Rome Fell & Is America Following it’s Footsteps?

April 1, 2019 1012515 Leave a comment

By: Edward, Scotty

Political unrest

There were many reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. The ones being covered on this site are Government difficulties, Roman inflation, and the size of the empire.

Government difficulties

The man nation was divided into two parts eastern and western Rome. Since they weren’t united and the nation was too wide to be governed by two people it was vulnerable to invasion by barbary nomadic tribes.

The western tribe had more problems then the east so it was taken over first. Apart from the invasions, they had a number of other problems.

Deceptive generals corrupted the society. The gap between rich and poor was too great making many citizens go crazy out of jealousy. The rich people were not interested in solving these problems and did not put their money into these flaws.

Roman inflation

The roman economy suffered from inflation. Once romans stopped conquering new lands, gold

flow decreased. Even though gold flow decreased, gold was spent by romans to pay for luxury items.

Meaning there was less gold to use in coins. As the amount of gold decreased, the coins became less valuable. Because there was less gold, merchants were forced to raise prices on goods they sold.

Roman empire size

The Roman empire was too big because there were too many citizens and too much land. It could no longer remain a republic. No single empire could rule over everything Rome had. It was split in two and did stay stay for a couple more years but the divide meant that they needed to split power.

Rome wasn’t as powerful as it was in its prime which made it easier to attack. Eventually nomadic Barbarians invaded Rome when it was already suffering from the problems mentioned.

In conclusion, Rome had a rise and fall but that’s obvious. So will America have a rise and fall?

Economic Issues, Social Issues

Are the Poor Taxed More?

April 1, 2019 1012810 Leave a comment

Names: Mia Baltimore and Anna Lewczyk

Are the Poor Taxed More?

Have you ever wondered why someone else’s taxes are much less or much more than yours…

Overtaxing has been a growing issue in the United States that many Americans suffer from, and it does not help Americans are also being overworked and underpaid….

The richest people in the United States aren’t treated fairly with the amount that they pay with taxes. It’s unfair because many people work minimum wage jobs and they struggle to pay their bills and taxes. People with the highest income, don’t have to worry because they pay less in percentage than the poor and middle class Americans

How Much do Low Income Households Pay?

Most of the poor are paid less than $19,000 a year and 11% of that paycheck goes to state and local governments. Meaning if you make $19,000 you pay $2,090 in taxes.

America is known to be the most overworked country and America was #16 in the world’s highest income tax rate list in 2017. Alaska one of the most overworked states with 41.6 hours per week while New York is the highest taxed state in 2018 with a total of 13.04%.

Differences and Similarities?

Well, Rome’s citizens did not pay taxes so the country could not pay for their army. Unless America’s government is in debt, our army is being paid for. The differences add up but many other issues are the same too. There were ten main reasons why Rome fell, but the United States could not face some of these problems now. Starvation and disease was one of the reasons Rome fell, but unless a new virus emerged, our medical professionals would have it covered. Another reason that Rome fell was because of tribes taking over. While it is still possible, there is an unlikely chance that tribes would take over the whole country when we have advanced military weapons and officials.

Is America Becoming Rome?

As unbelievable as it might seem America is suffering from many of the same issues Rome suffered from hundreds of years ago. But overtaxing wasn’t the reason why Rome fell, Rome also had social and political problems that played a role in its downfall, but there is also a possibility that America could experience these same problems later on so is America becoming the new Rome?

Our Thoughts

Although America is facing many problems Rome had faced hundreds of years ago we do not believe America is the new Rome, When Rome fell it was a completely different time but now we have more advanced technology. There is way more that goes into a country falling nowadays then back in 476. The country could fall if many factors lined up such as wars, economic issues, and if our military did not care to fight anymore. The country could also fall due to environmental issues as well, but governmental issues are more probable. So in conclusion, we do not believe that America is gonna fall like Rome.

Political Issues, Social Issues

A Wall Can Cause America to Crumble like Rome

April 1, 2019 812025 Leave a comment

December 22nd, 2018, America witnessed its longest government shutdown in history. For 35 days, 9 federal departments went without pay; leaving 800,000 workers without income.

The result of this seemingly never ending nightmare was the quarrel over the funding of our President’s wall on the southern border of Mexico. Our President’s desire for his wall pushed him into shutting down our government to receive the funding for his partition on our southern border.

The Parties’ Points of View

Our President thinks that if we can block out Mexico then most of the country’s problems can be fixed. But the reality is that the majority of the crimes committed in the country aren’t done by immigrants, but native born US citizens.

Most of the republicans side with President Trump on these matters, but not all. They are willing to side with the President because they see it as the most fit way to get what they want.

Democrats on the other hand, rather use the money for more appropriate matters. Democrats actually supported giving money to border security, but not funding for the wall.

The Effects On Our Own Citizens

The standstill in congress between the Democrats and Republicans to pass an appropriate spending bill for President Trump’s wall caused our government shutdown, and left over 800,000 employees unpaid.

Most government workers were still going into work so that when they got paid after the shutdown ended, they would have a paycheck to take home to their families.

While the government has shutdown three times during Trump’s presidency, this has been the most catastrophic shut down in his presidency, and the history of the United States.

Just like Rome…

A major disagreement like this one is a telltale sign of failure. Sooner or later our country will split more than it already is, for a second time. Past empires, governments, and civilizations have failed because of major disputes between itself, and as history continues to repeat, we are on the path to failure.

A famous empire that fell due to a civil war between government bodies is Rome. Ancient Rome may not seem like it is similar to the United State, but in present time, it is. The United States have followed the wrong footsteps into Rome’s slow descent into nothingness. With our government shutting down, and the never ending dispute between Republicans and Democrats, America is looking quite similar to Rome.

Rome’s government split over time, and when the non-stop fighting between the two government bodies piled on year after year, 300 agonizingly slow years later Rome fell. 300 years, the United States have barely been a country for that long, but is still experiencing the same amount of disagreement between our government.

There is no telling how it may play out, but if the United States continues to argue and disagree between our government, we may end up like Ancient Rome in a hundred, or less, years. And if it’s all over a wall, I’m sure history would be disappointed.

Roman America