Social Housing Provision Changes Since 1980

Social Housing Provision Changes Since 1980 Changes in the Organisation and Provision of Social Housing Since 1980 Abstract Did the Housing Act of 1980, which granted tenants the right to buy council property, along with other housing policy geared towards a neo-liberal attitude to economics and the housing market, such as the stock transfer from local authorities to housing associations, the direct payment of housing benefit into tenants accounts and rent increases due to deregulation eventually lead to increased social polarisation between rich and poor and, in particular, homelessness in urban environments? If so, how did this happen and what were the implications of this policy on the present housing climate? Introduction to Problem The Housing Act of 1980 was a flagship policy by the newly elected Conservative government. It allowed five million tenants the right to buy their council house from the local authority at a reduced rate. This opportunity to buy was extended further in years to come, and was used primarily as a means to reduce the amount of council owned housing in favour of a number of other economic models more conducive to the right wing Conservative party ideology. The central principles of the right to buy policy, intended to reduce the amount of publicly owned housing stock, was eventually extended to include initiatives for councils to voluntarily give up their hold on their housing property. This included the allowance of private landlord ownership, the selling of council property though voluntary transfers, and also continued into present Blairite policy with the Arms Length Management Association. While the 1980 Housing Act provided revenue for run down council estates and their tenants, an d also allowed working-class tenants an opportunity to get onto the property ladder, it also contributed to fuelling a growing minority of underclass citizens, who were deprived of the council housing stock on which they were previously reliant, and were subsequently forced into a cycle of unemployment and homelessness. Although housing stock was overinflated in comparison to other capitalist countries in the 1980s, and the Housing Act was initially beneficial in many ways to the owner of the housing association. Other policies that directly affected housing stock also reflected this trend towards neo-liberalism and a policy of equal responsibility, whether the citizen was rich or poor. These policies include the stock transfer from local authorities to housing associations, rent increases due to the deregulation of the housing sector and the payment of housing benefit directly into a tenants bank account rather than to the landlord. This resulted in an increase in homelessness and social polarisation between the rich and poor. Literature Review A great deal of literature has been written on how Thatcherism has affected British housing and the effects that this had on the development of homelessness. The British Political Process: An Introduction (Wright, 2000, pp. 30-3), along with Jean Conways Housing Policy (2000) offer a good general overview of the policies forwarded and their effects this had on the power of local councils, as well as an analysis of their motivations for instigating these privatisation policies. Wright includes some details on how the Housing Acts tended to profit smaller, richer rural councils to the detrement of poorer communities, and both books go into detail about the 1988 and 1989 Housing Acts, the latter of which forced council rents up, which meant that they were unable to fund any major repairs or new building on their housing stock. Anne Power (1993) in Hovels to High Rise stresses that the right to buy polarised the market because it left behind those who aspired to buying their council hous e, but couldnt afford it. Similarly, Andy Thornley (1992) in The Crisis of London comments that, despite the intentions for right to buy to raise revenues to fund the regeneration of squalid and neglected housing estates, very little money was actually raised to reinvest in council housing because of the restrictions in place on capital receipts (p. 15). This, coupled with the deregulation of the private rented sector of the housing market in the Housing Act of 1988, led to a substantial increase of the price of rental accommodation and an increased inability for people on lower incomes to pay their housing associated costs (pp. 10-24). Tim Blackman (1995) in Urban Policy in Practice also comments that because the better parts of Britains publicly owned housing stock has been sold off, many of Britains remaining council estates have effectively become welfare ghettos (p. 153), and rife with drugs, poverty and squalid housing. Keith Dowding and Desmond Kings Rooflessness in London (Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 28, 2000) focuses on the difficulty of getting a coherent study of homelessness because of the ambiguity of the terminology homelessness which, in British law, excludes almost everybody. They argue the problem with the term intentionally homeless, a term used in the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act. This concept of intentionally homeless is used to varying degree of exactitude by different councils. Johnston Birchall (1992) comments how this varies wildly from council to council (p. 142). David Robertson (1998, p. 14) comments how this judicial discretion is often used to deliberately introduce ambiguity into policy and law, allowing for councils to absolve their obligation to house the homeless. Alison Ravetz (2001, p. 199-204) argues further that the extreme right agenda of Conservative policy combined with the 1977 Housing Act, which changed the way housing was allocated based on priority, ensu red that the priority homeless began to usurp ordinary council house waiting lists. Paradoxically, because these people were in themselves labelled as a priority for councils, potential tenants would become homeless simply in order to qualify for housing. As the number of publicly owned council houses decreased, this increased the numbers of homeless people in Britain at the time. Loveland (1995) in Housing Homeless Persons argues that the right to buy also degraded the remaining housing stock, as the properties sold tended to be in more desirable areas, and also, even at a discounted rate, only the more affluent tenants could afford to buy (p. 35). MacEwan (1991) in Housing, Race and Law mentions that the incidence of building society repossessions increased in districts responsible for Housing (Homeless Persons) provisions from 218 in 1979 to 748 in 1987, half of which were former council houses bought under the right to buy. The effects of the various Housing Acts passed by the C onservative Government on the elusive statistic of homelessness is variable. Tim Blackman in Urban Policy in Practice comments on the GNI (Generalised Needs Index), which is used to assist councils in allocating funds to housing stock (p. 97). Methodology The problem of homelessness in Britain is twofold. First, it has been very difficult to statistically measure homelessness. Many homeless people are disillusioned and unaware of their rights to apply for housing. Also, the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act uses the problematic statement of intentionally homeless which can be used in many different guises. Thus, this study of the effects of homelessness in Britain will have to take this into account, and the wildly varying statistics on homelessness testify this difficulty. However, it is safe to assume that the housing policy has led to an increased number of homeless people in Britain. This dissertation will look at the existing literature on homelessness in the 1980s, of which a great deal has been written. Secondly, the problem with homelessness and the underclass in general is that they occupy a class on the fringes of society and therefore, are not easily put into traditional catgories of class or structure. In order to eschew these difficulties with information presently available, it may be apt to conduct an independent study of homelessness, via the means of a questionnaire. This could either target the street homeless, the advantage of this method being that the questionnaire would be more quickly implemented, or else a random cross-section of society. The advantages of this method would be that it would take into account the innate elusiveness of the homeless section of society. Conclusions/Implications Thatcherism and right wing policy has led to a minorty of underclass people. Due to the strict enforcement of Thatcherite and neo-liberal housing policy that has degraded council housing stock, deregulated private sector rental markets and sold off much of the higher quality housing stock and led to a ghettoisation of many more run-down council estates, especially in urban areas of Britain. This dissertation will look primarily at the effects this has on generating an underclass of homelessness. The implications of this study will be to chart how the implementation of right wing housing policy has generated and exacerbated the continued dependency of the underclass. Bibliography Birchall, J., Housing Policy in the 1990s, (London: Routledge, 2000) Blackman, T., Urban Theory in Practice, (London: Routledge, 1995) Burrows, R., Please, N., Quilgars, D., Homelessness and Social Policy, (London: Routledge, 1997) Conway, J., Housing Policy, (London: Gildredge, 2000) Dowding, K., King, D., Rooflessness in London from Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 28, 2000 Loveland, I., Housing Homeless Persons: Administrative Law and the Administrative Process, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995) MacEwan, M., Housing, Race and Law, (London: Routledge, 1991) Ravetz, A., Council Housing and Culture, (London: Routledge, 2001) Robertson, D., Judicial Discretion in the House of Lords, (London: Clarendon Press, 1990) Thornley, A., The Crisis of London, (London: Routledge, 1992) Wright, T., The British Political Process, (London: Routledge, 2000)

Fast Food Popularity

Fast food is a huge growth in our country. Fast food restaurants are constantly trying to increase their popularity growth by lowering prices and getting faster food service technology. With this said there is a huge competition between fast food restaurants all around increasing there popularity. There are many key factors to the reasons why popularity of fast food keeps on growing. It is believed that price may be a contributing factor to the increase in popularity of fast food. However, laziness is the main cause.Fast food restaurants can make a whole meal in just minutes unlike making food at home. The time it takes us to buy and cook food, fast food restaurants can make a large group of people food. People these days are becoming lazier because of the amount of inventions people are making and the way everything is becoming less complicated. What makes people lazy, when going to a fast food restaurant instead of cooking, is that they will drive to get there food then wait for it to be cooked and then drive home and eat it.That shows how they are just too lazy to get up and cook their own food. The technology fast food providers are coming out with is making them faster and faster which is also increasing the amount of popularity of each restaurant. The time it takes to get our food is a big factor in the growth of that restaurant. Fast Food restaurants are located almost everywhere you drive in the United States and more. With fast food restaurants pretty much everywhere, it makes them even more popular.There is a bigger selection of fast food restaurants then there are stores to buy food at. Almost every road we drive on has advertisement of a fast food restaurant on a sign. Even television has many advertisements that grab children’s attention as well as others. There are approximately 65 different types of fast food restaurants internationally. That is not including all the Mexican, pizza, ice-cream and so on. With this number of restaurants to c hoose from it makes people have an easy choice of where to go.The price we pay to make food at home don’t compare to a one dollar burger at a Fast Food restaurant. Cheap food is a great way to getting the popularity of a restaurant to grow. People don’t like spending a lot of money on food so they have the choice of a dollar menu at most fast food restaurants. Some people don’t make as much money as others which makes them decide to go the cheap way out by buying fast food instead of having to pay more to get a homemade dinner. Although the meal may not be as healthy as a homemade meal, the price pays off in their mind.Some days we just are too busy to be able to cook so the first thing that comes to mind is Fast Food. People who are lazy sitting at home don’t feel like getting up or doing anything, so they just call a fast food place to deliver food straight to their door. Some people even don’t have the time to make their own lunch in the morning so they just get in there car and go through a drive through. When sitting at home and watching television, people don’t feel like cooking and just go grab something to eat at a fast food restaurant instead.

New York Times Annotated Bibliography Essay

6 September, 2008. â€Å"U. S. Jobless Rate Rises Past 6%, Highest Since ‘03. † Uchitelle, Louis. New York Times. This article informs about the fact that the unemployment rate reached its highest level since 2003; causing workers to worry about the fact that many of them will be jobless and also centers on the high unemployment rate became one of the centers of the presidential debates. This article relates to our course since it suggests how unemployment can affect the economy as a whole and how inflation impacts the job status of a society. The article is also relevant to our course because it also gives the opinion of both McCain and Obama on the unemployment escalation and gives a glimpse of what both candidates would do about it. 9 September, 2008. â€Å"Who Else Can Pile on for a Federal Rescue? † Schwartz, Nelson D. New York Times. This article informs about the federal rescue of the companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The article also informs about the automakers worries and the bailout plans that Washington D. C. has proposed to help automakers out of the same financial crunch. It further opens a debate of whether or not we should allow companies to fail or if we should bail them out as has been proposed by some. This article relates to our course since it suggests that in our market economy we should be realistic enough to realize that at times companies do fail and that economic bail out plans are good as a quick fix but they fall short in the long term. Often we like to think that big business is above the common failings, but as we see from the recent events, big business is no longer an elite thing. It is just what it has always been, businesses that have been built over years with the hard work of the owners. Big business is no different then the small company and in this tough economic times this is spelled out clearly. 13 September, 2008. â€Å"Off the Charts: The Return of the Misery Index. † Norris, Floyd. New York Times. This article informs about the â€Å"misery index†. The misery index is the sum of the inflation rate and the unemployment rate over the preceding 12 months. The misery rate hasn’t been seen since the Carter administration, but yet in this year both rates have seen to be rising. The article also looks at how the misery index has risen in the past during the past presidencies. This article relates to our course since it suggests unless something is done, we are likely to not see an improvement in either the inflation rate or the unemployment rate. The article also is relevant to the course since it suggests by looking at this index we can have a very good gauge of how our economic atmosphere will fare in the coming months. 15 September, 2008. â€Å"A Video Contest To Illustrate Democracy. † Cohen, Noam. New York Times. This article informs about the International Democracy Day and the video contest that was created in conjunction with this day. The video contest offers students and people around the world the chance to say what democracy means to them. This article relates to our course since it talks about the importance of democracy on the global and business stage. Democracy is not just an American concept but one that transcends our country. The article also talks about the companies that are helping with this contest. The companies include NBC and YouTube. The partnership between these companies act as a hallmark for all of us because they are showing that everyone from all walks of life cars about democracy and through democracy we can work together. 18 September, 2008. â€Å"As Fears Grow, Wall St. Titans See Shares Fall. † White, Ben and Dash, Eric. Contributed reporting by Sorokin, Andrew R. New York Times. This article informs about the failing of Wall Street titans like Morgan Stanely and Goldman Sachs. The fear that other company could face the same fate as these giants has spread through Wall Street in the last few months. It is estimated that globally there are losses in the 100 billions as far as stocks are concerned. This article relates to our course since it suggests that the failure of investment firms such as Morgan Stanley affects not only the market here in the United States but also has an impact on the global market as well. We tend to forget when we think about our own economic bad times, that other countries the world over are also experiencing the same economic crunch. 23 September, 2008. â€Å"With Politics in the Air, a Freedom Free-for-All Comes to Town. † Cotter, Holland. New York Times. This article informs about an art exhibit that was going on at the Park Avenue Armory during the middle of September. This exhibit is a tongue-in-cheek look at the political system and demonstrates the true meaning of democracy: the right for people to express their views, no matter how differently they do it, and to show other people a different side to every subject. The art exhibit used speeches, music and silly hats to give people another side to the political elections. This article relates to our course since it suggests that elections and democracy can be talked about in a completely non-partisan, non-electoral but still intensely political way. People who went to the exhibit also got a first hand look at how the freedoms of our country allow for people to express themselves in the ways that they want to, which is what democracy is all about. 25 September, 2008. â€Å"Criticizing Capitalism From the Pulpit. † Pfanner, Eric. New York Times. This article informs about how even religious leaders have joined the crusade in criticizing America’s rogue style of capitalism. World religious leaders have taken the fall of Wall Street icons and used that as a means for criticizing the cowboy style of economics that America has been globally portrayed to utilize. This article relates to our course since it suggests that even a pulpit is a place where economics and business standards can be discussed from. Religion is as far from economics as one can get yet this article clearly shows that the global economics pictures is something that is on everyone’s mind, no matter where they live or what they do. We tend to forget that all things are connected and this article clearly shows us that everything in life is connected and has a more far reaching affect then we first may think. 1 October, 2008. â€Å"Brother, Can You Spare a Loan? † Tarquino, J. Alex. New York Times. This article informs about the credit crisis that the small business and individuals have faced in the last few months. The article also talks about the speculation of many in the business world that the escalation towards the credit crisis will only get worse and will eventually be the death of the small businessman. The article ends by saying that the saddest day for America will be the day that small business does die in this country. This article relates to our course since it suggests that in these frightening economic times we could see the end of the small business. American was founded on the ideals that anyone could make their dreams come true and if the credit crisis totally obliterates the small business it will be a sad day indeed for America. 3 October, 2008. â€Å"As Economy Weakens, Federal Reserve Officials Consider Lowering Rates. † Andrews, Edmund L. New York Times. This article informs about the Federal Reserve’s feelings on the Bush administrations economic bailout plan. According to the Fed, even if the bail out is approved it is too little to late and will do hardly nothing to stop the economic slow down from happening. The reason, in the Fed’s eyes, is that financial institutions are fearful of lending out cash and making bad investments. This article relates to our course since it suggests that the economic slow down affects everyone in our economic atmosphere. It also allows people to see how the Federal Reserve is interpreting what is happening so that the average citizen can gauge what they should do in this economic turmoil. 4 October, 2008. â€Å"End of an Era on Wall Street: Goodbye to All That. † Arango, Tim and Creswell, Julie. New York Times. This article informs about theft of a bronze bust of a saloon owner on Hanover Street. The saloon was a frequent favorite of Wall Street execs and the theft happened just as Wall Street was swept up in the financial whirlwind of economic troubles. This article isn’t about a theft of a statue, but more indicative of the times that we are living in when someone would take a well loved art piece, bound with tradition, to perhaps make a quick buck. This article relates to our course since it suggests that the traditions and ideals of Wall Street are slowly falling by the wayside as the economic crunch gets tighter. Wall Street has always been steeped in economic traction, but the theft of this well loved art piece shows that even tradition can be trampled in the hopes of making some money to pay your bills. 12 October, 2008. â€Å"Finance Students Keep Their Job Hopes Alive. † Leland, John. Contributed Reporting by Fairbanks, Amanda M. ; Koppel, Niko; and Zezima, Katie. New York Times. This article informs about the current job outlook for those who are thinking of making finance a possible career. The article talks about how for many business majors law school seems a viable option now more then ever. Others look at the current economic situation as just something they shouldn’t worry about since they have already figured that they will change jobs five or six times in their careers. This article relates to our course since as people who have made business our major (or for those who this is a first class and they haven’t made up their minds on this as a major) it is important to take a look at the job outlook that we will have to look forward to in the coming years. 14 October, 2008. â€Å"Commodity Prices Tumble. † Krauss, Clifford. New York Times. This article informs about how the global financial panic and economic slowdown has lead an end to the commodity bull market that we have seen in the last seven years. This ending of the commodity market has sent prices on the raw ingredients (such as oil) of the world economy tumbling to an all time low. This article relates to our course since it suggests that we don’t just have economic worries here in the United States, but that other countries are also worried about the current state of the economic situation. The United States is part of a broader wide sweeping world economy and the economic slowdown is not just affecting things here at home but also globally. This article clearly gives the reader a better idea of how the United States fits into the broader global economy. In our own economic hard times we tend forget that we are not alone, but are facing the same issues that other countries are. 19 October, 2008. â€Å"The Guys From ‘Government Sachs’. † Creswell, Julie and White, Ben. New York Times. This article informs about how Treasury secretary Paulson used his former firm of Goldman Sachs as a means to investigate what was happening on Wall Street prior to the financial difficulties. It also raises eyebrows and speculates about the amount of participation Goldman Sachs is being perceived to have in the Treasury Department. This article relates to our course since it speculates on corporate interference in a governmental department. In the world economics, such speculation is something that we have to watch carefully so that the economic system is not stained in anyway. When companies interfere with the running of government departments, it makes all actions that have sprung out of that suspect. By bringing Goldman Sachs into the Treasury, Paulson has created a suspicious circumstance that we all should learn from. That above all else is what should be learned from this article. 22 October, 2008. â€Å"China, an Engine of Growth, Faces a Global Slump. † Yardley, Jim and Bradsher, Keith. New York Times. This article informs about the slump in economic level of China. Always seen as the world’s workshop, the threat of global recession has many wondering if the prevailing Communist Party has the wherewithal to stop the further economic decline of China. The article makes a nice point in saying that China is the world economy gauge for how the economic slowdown will eventually affect everyone. This article relates to our course since it informs on how one country is dealing with the long reaching effects of the global financial slowdown. It is interesting to see how one country is going to deal with this global issue because then other countries have a blueprint by which to also take action. 28 October, 2008. â€Å"Denmark Is Rethinking It’s Spurning of the Euro. † Dougherty, Carter. New York Times. This article informs about looking closely at one country and the effect that the global financial situation has on it. Denmark, a country formerly against the euro, now is rethinking things because of the ice cold credit situations of the banks of Denmark. As it stands now a bare majority of Danes do back the adoption of the Euro. This article relates to our course since it suggests that countries that were previously opposed to a financial idea may now have to rethink their opposition as the global economy faces this slowdown. Every country has to figure out ways in which they are going to deal with the global financial crunch. It also relates to this class because it shows us how as a global economy we are all in the same boat. 29 October, 2008. â€Å"Paterson Sees a Budget Gap $47 Billion. † Hakim, Danny and Peters, Jeremy W. New York Times. This article informs about the deficit that the state of New York is facing and the loss of job in the 100,000 in the private sector. The article also suggests the ways in which the state plans on fixing the deficit. Deficits are something that we as a society have to watch carefully especially in these economically unstable times. This article relates to our course since it suggests that everyone, from the state level to the private sector, is affected by the financial crunch that is being seen globally as well as here at home. We tend to forget when we look at big businesses that the private sector is just as affected and this article gives us a glimpse into this fact. We all tend to forget that big business is run by people and people do make mistakes. 31 October, 2008. â€Å"Economy Shrinks With Consumers Leading the Way. † Goodman, Peter S. ; contributing reporting by Norris, Floyd and Zeleny, Jeff. New York Times. This article informs about how the drop in the economy is a bad precursor to the coming holiday seasons. Consumers who are being laid off and having their hours cut have less to spend this holiday season and this is being reflected in the economy more then ever. This especially hits home as we think about the upcoming holiday season, a time when consumer spending is at a high point. This article relates to our course since it shows how the economy is really a circular relationship. The consumer has to work to make money, but no job or less working hours leads to zero money to be spent. This article is important because everything in the world of business and life are interconnected and this article is a very good example of that idea. 4 November, 2008. â€Å"Wall Street’s Extreme Sport: In Modeling Risk, the Human Factor Was Left Out. † Lohr, Steve. New York Times. This article informs about how the risk models that have been used on Wall Street for years have failed due to not being applied, managed, or even understood. Technology that has been made use of on Wall Street has gotten ahead of our ability to act responsible. Often, we forget that technology is only as good as the people that run it, and as such has the capacity for many risks. This article relates to our course since it suggests that risk factors that are associated with the economic downturn come from every sector and that they have a more far reaching concern then we first thought. Risk factors are important to look at since by seeing where the risks have been in a situation, we can hopefully in the future prevent the same economic situation from happening again. 8 November, 2008. â€Å"Colleges Rich and Poor Strain to Respond in Tough Times. † Lewin, Tamar. New York Times. This article informs about how colleges are more then ever struggling to meet the financial needs of students. In the past, the majority of college students were able to fund their education through scholarships that the colleges and universities offered. In this tough economic time, that no longer looks like it will be an option. Students will have to rely more on grants (which may be just as limited), loans and paying out of pocket. This article relates to our course since it hits close to home about how the financial crisis that we are seeing everywhere even affects those of us in college. Previously, being in college meant all you had to do was study hard for finals. Now, though, even college students are feeling the economic burden. 9 November, 2008. â€Å"Remember That Capitalism is More Then a Spectator Sport. † Blinder, Alan S. New York Times. This article informs about the daunting tasks that are ahead for president elect Obama. Among these tasks are to restore a sense of fairness in and faith to our economic system. This article relates to our course since it gives a nice overview of how President-elect Obama needs to go about restoring the faith of he American people in the tattered economic system that has failed us time and again. In watching the elections, President-elect Obama made a lot of nice speeches about what he plans to do, and this article gives us a first glimpse of rather he will be successful or not. I think it is also a nice all inclusive article that sums up the ideals that we have been studying in this course.

The Dilemma Of Masculinity Versus Career Paths - 1702 Words

Since the 20th century, there has been the dilemma of masculinity versus career paths. Women were expected to be teachers, nurses, etc., just because that s the role they had in society for decades before that. Men, and still are, expected to go into a career field that pays a lot of money so they can provide for their families. Those career fields are still usually STEM related. Engineers, scientists, mathematicians, doctors, lawyers, etc. It s not just because the individual wants to go into that field. There are outside factors pushing him/her to subconsciously go into that field. Whether it be peer pressure, gender bias, gender stereotypes, even career stereotypes, it can drive a person away from the field they want to†¦show more content†¦Women are surrounded by biases and stereotypes from a young age, whether it be in the media or family influences. In pop culture, woman are usually powerful lawyers or nurses, with a bit of a struggle most of the time; and men, when acting as a programmer, are portrayed as geeky shut-ins. This decreases a young girl s likelihood to become interested in math and science. It also reduces the amount of young female adults that choose to go into a STEM-based career. Since young women don t often go into the field, there are very few female role models for young girls to look up to. If there were more motivation and less forced stereotypes, there would be more women in the STEM field. Argument Gender Stereotypes Anyone, let alone a woman, can go into a field confident of his or herself when everyone is constantly judging your abilities based on your gender. In fact, we are surrounded by gender stereotypes from the time we are born. For example: boys get blue blankets and bedrooms filled with toy cars and tools. Girls get pink blankets and bedrooms filled with dolls and little dollhouses. Sure, the kids grow out of it and exchange their toys for other things. For example, journals, musical instruments, or skateboards. But it s a common knowledge rule of thumb that newborn baby boys get swaddled in light blue