This video demonstrates American Political Culture as the United States is built on Capitalism. Many of the issues that current Americans face today are a result of capitalism. Capitalism was a natural solution to the group of people that escaped tyranny when establishing our country as it originally allowed anyone to become successful. The video above displays a political cartoon from 1949 that has several allusions to justifying low wages and the increase of inflation. This video starts with a factory worker man that just got a pay increase, and tries to buy their child a doll from the factory they work at with their newfound money. Upon trying to purchase the doll, they learn that the price of the doll has also increased. The factory worker is upset, saying he makes them and knows they should not be this expensive. The other man selling the doll goes on to say it is more expensive because people like the factory worker wanted to get paid more. Essentially claiming that the factory man’s desire to make more money is the result of the inflation, in which he still cannot make a surplus of money. The video then goes on to display an expensive car and justifies its expense due to the materials required and the demand of other individuals needing to make a profit. Essentially claiming it isn’t the government’s fault the car is so expensive, but the fault of the materials and the cost of labor. The video ends with the point being made that the innovation in technology will reduce labor costs and create a world where people can make more money and stay above inflation if technology replaces workers for cheap labor.
Many of the issues that are highlighted about capitalism in this video are prevalent today. First, people are unable to meet the cost of living with current wages. With the increase in prices that range from housing to food, the salary of one person prevents longterm success and financial growth. Alaska’s minimum wage is $10.34 an hour. A sandwich from a fast food restaurant costs around this price. An hour of work, can be equated to a sandwich. The video above justifies this claiming it is the price increase of labor that keeps things unaffordable. This simply isn’t true and is preventing a large portion of Americans from achieving a standard quality of life (healthy food, affording a home). Secondly, this video claims that the way to beat inflation and allow workers a little more money is through the innovation of technology, implying that there is endless progressions in technology that can be made. This is false and brings me to the next idea that defines the United States: endless consumerism. The standard way of life of an American citizen lives is completely impractical for sustainability. The video displays that new technology leads to easier mass production and more availability of desired products making them cheaper for the people. This concept will lead to the downfall of the United States as we are already seeing long lasting effects from (a)overproduction and (b)the idea that everything is disposable and can be easily replaced. Lastly, this video highlights cheap labor. The American economy has been built on cheap labor in which is filled by people who are already lower class. These lower class people are typically people of color due to the way America has been built on racism, further continuing the division of color within the United States that is a relevant issue today. This video displays key concepts of American Political Culture as Capitalism is a main driver for countless issues prevalent in the United States.
5 Questions for my Students:
1.) How does this video display how the government has taken advantage of its working class?
2.) In what ways can the issue of low wages be addressed?
3.) How can the culture of America’s use of single use products change?
4.) How can the health impacts that low income families face due to living more affordably be addressed?
5.) How do we change the concept of cheap labor in a way that uplifts all jobs and pays them adequately?