Causes and Solutions to a High Cost of Living - Paper Example

Introduction

Social issues are the problems that influence a considerable number of people in a society. A social matter within the organization makes it difficult for people to achieve their capability. Social issues develop when society fails to notice when a particular problem is growing. In a functional community, social changes are inevitable. A changing society experiences specific matters, due to a shift in values, norms, laws, morals, and traditions. Due to the changes in the organization, some conditions may become unacceptable, and old values are no longer tolerable by the community. Therefore, the problem becomes undesirable, and people have to correct the situation. Issues are explained by factor outside a person's control. On the other hand, troubles are individual needs and difficulties (

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

One of the social problems experienced in the society today is a high cost of living. In modern societies, persistent increase in the average price of commodities in the country causes an increase in the cost of living. As the society experience modernization and industrialization, the cost of services increases. However, the people's income may not rise as the price increases. Profits should increase at a higher rate than the prices and the cost of living. In contrary, at society today most people gain fewer incomes than the cost of living. Middle-class citizens are most affected by the issue. In the country, middle class occupies a large number of the population.

There are several reasons why people are affected by the increasing cost of living. The first reason is unemployment. The population of unemployed people is high. The rate of unemployment is rising because the demand for human labor is less than the supply of work in the market. The fall for the need for goods and services have also contributed to the increasing rate of unemployment. Due to the few job opportunities, industries employ a few numbers of people as human labor. Although there are people, who are employed and receive a huge salary, a considerate population in the society is affected. As a result, unemployed people and employees with low wages experience a difficult time coping with the increasing cost of living. Rather than difficulty filling available jobs, the problem is the lack of job openings (Rothwell, 2012).

The second reason is technology. In recent years, there is a disregard for human labor at the expense of mechanization. In all facets of life, be it education, agriculture, science, business and construction, the use of technology occupy a significant percentage. Technology is also a primary cause of unemployment in society. The machines used require energy to operate effectively, the cost for production rises, which causes an increase in the price for commodities. Also, the use of technology means quality final products and services. Human labor may not be as productive as the use of machines. Therefore, quality products will attract a higher price for the commodity.

The third reason why people experience the high cost of living is health. Many people do not have accessibility to quality healthcare. The cost of healthcare in the United States is high as compared to other developed countries, and it continues to multiply (Bates et al., 2014). Treatment of diseases requires a massive amount of money. Middle-class individuals suffer from debts when they get sick. The average wages individuals get from their jobs is used to clear hospital bills. Also, a community with a high number of infected people is undeveloped. One of the causes for the increased health complications is improper diet. Nutritious foodstuffs have become unaffordable. Sick people have a tough time balancing between their medication and purchase of quality commodities in the market.

Quality education is the fourth reason that is making people feel that the cost of living is high. Every member of the social struggles to get a proper education for themselves and the children. Schools charge high prices for their services. Needy students opt to go for loans to be able to pay the school fees. The economy today needs educated people. Every job opportunity requires personnel with specified qualifications (Rothwell, 2012). Therefore, people with average wages encounter a wage crisis trying to cover every expense. Besides, education comes in hand with other costs. Students need books, which may be expensive to purchase. The cost of quality education affects a large number of people in the society, such that, it becomes a struggle to take a child to school.

Nobody benefits from the issue of high cost of living in society. High-class individuals who receive a high wage also have huge bills to pay. Children who come from wealthy families attend expensive schools, which require the parent a lot of cash to main the child's attendance. Also, the children whose parents are middle class participate in public schools, but the parent has to struggle to cater for the basic needs of the child. The same case applies to other problems such as the price of commodities. Whether poor or rich, the cost of commodities is constant. The only difference is that wealthy people purchase a lot of goods, and the poor buy small quantities of the products. Therefore, the issue of high cost of living is a social problem because it affects most people in the community regardless of class.

The high cost of living is a social problem due to many reasons. First, it has harmful consequences to society. When the value of living increases, the amount of basic needs increases. Secondly, almost all social problems are interrelated. Education is related to unemployment, health, and cost of living. Uneducated people have a high chance of being unemployed due to low education qualifications (Rothwell, 2012). Unemployed people may not attend school due to inadequate funds. Jobless individuals find quality goods unaffordable hence they the cost of living will seem high. In the case of health, unemployed people eat unhealthy due to high prices of healthy foodstuffs. Poor diet causes people to have a high chance of getting ill, and the cost of medication is high.

Different people react differently to social problems. In society, some people have an attitude of unconcern. Some people and the state choose to remain quiet to a problem thinking it does not affect them as individuals. Other people are so engaged in their problems like sickness, such that they lose interest in what concerns others. It is only when their problem become addressed that they become agitated and take attention to the problem. The passivity and indifference of the state add further to the problem. Some people attribute issues of health and unemployment as misfortunes. Also, other people have vested interests in that they stand to gain as long as the problem exists. Motivated by self-interest these groups fight against the eradication of issues arguing that the problem is insoluble.

Social problems are barriers to active development in the society. A single person cannot be held responsible for the challenge. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every person to find a solution to social problems. In the case of health, one can keep the health care costs down by buying an insurance cover when one is still healthy and asking for free preventive care one is entitled to legally. People can also save money through a health savings account which allows one to put apart some money for medication aside tax-free. Educational costs can be cut down through minimizing debts and trying to put the educational funds towards acquiring valuable skills. To save on childcare, one can consider an affordable daycare for the kids. Generally, every person should make a move towards finding solutions to the high cost of living.

References

Bates, D. W., Saria, S., Ohno-Machado, L., Shah, A., & Escobar, G. (2014). Big data in healthcare: using analytics to identify and manage high-risk and high-cost patients. Health Affairs, 33(7), 1123-1131.

Ferrante,J. (2014). Sociology: A Global Perspective. Cengage Learning.

Rothwell, J. (2012). Education, job openings, and unemployment in metropolitan America Metropolitan policy program at Brookings, 1-32.