Blank: Unemployment Welfare Essay

Submitted By DinoCowSaur1
Words: 1244
Pages: 5

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistic, the unemployment rate in May 2012 was 8.2%, which have been lowered by 0.8% ever since May 2011. Unemployment have been one of the many sociological problems in the world. With the current economy that many people are facing as of today, searching for a job or employment have become an unpaid full-time job for most people. Although many are not affected by unemployment, the functionalist perspective sees most unemployed family or parents having difficulties in maintaining their life together, because most unemployed parents will have a hard time to provide a better future for their family, most may turn towards stealing, robbing, and crimes as their answer, and it can lead towards poverty and health risks to oneself.
“The family stress model proposes that the effect of income on children’s school readiness is through its impact on family relationships and interactions...From the perspective of the family stress model, financial disadvantage influences children’s behavioural outcomes (and to a lesser extent their cognitive and learning capacities) by draining parents’ psychological and emotional resources, which in turn can disrupt parent–child interactions and parenting styles.” (Family Matters). The following statement clearly identifies that unemployment does not only affect the unemployed adults or parents, but it also impacts the children in their education and family interactions. Children who are in a financially struggling family will not have the attention they seek from their family members, because they often worry more on how to keep up with their bills, food, and the daily necessity that they will need at home. It will affect the child who are trying to study and get a better education for his or her future with the incapability of providing better sources, environment, and technology for their benefits. Not only does the children have become influenced by unemployment, many parents or single families also have fallen into deep recession after being jobless. “The number of jobless households in Australia has fallen only relatively slowly over the last decade (from 18% in 1983 to 13% in 2007), despite the strength of the economy over this period” (Hayes, Gray, & Edwards, 2008). It seems that unemployment is still an increasing problem in the world, causing many families to go to the extent as to borrow money or create crime in order to gain money.
Just like in the movie, Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), families may also walk towards the road of crime as their last resort in maintaining their financial or daily life. “It has been believed that poor economic conditions lead to unemployment, which in turn fosters crime. These assumptions led to the conclusion that crime rates are procyclical in relation to unemployment rates.” (Chang & Wu). Crime rates rise as unemployment rate increases also, resulting in a downhill for economy and businesses. However, it is alike a cycle, because poor economy will lead towards unemployment, which can also lead towards crime as that certain individual’s answer. It is a hard choice for someone who have been fired or laid off to turn towards crime as their way of ‘bringing home the bacon’, because they once had a job in which they failed to keep or maintain. To turn their backs towards having the right decision and knowing the consequences that will come when they will get caught, may lead towards stress, emotionally unbalanced, and/or difficulties with maintaining a good family relationship. For many who walked away from crime as their answer, have taken great measures in proportioning their leftover money, or have found another job that will be able to put food on their family’s plate-- but are living paycheck to paycheck each month-- may lead towards poverty, lower class, or a struggle in maintaining their place as a middle class family.
“Through a systematic review of the assumptions underpinning current welfare to