Economic Crisis Draft 2

Dear President Obama,


“Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages … Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.”
That quote is taken out of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That declaration is a common standard of achievement for all people and nations. Article 26 even continues to say “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.” The declaration is the first global expression of the natural rights humans are born with, an education being one of them.

So in the declaration, it is made clear that all humans have the civil liberties to learn, so that they can prosper and become the future of America, as it has been meant to be. But how can that be achieved if something so little as money can stand in the way? According to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, with the rising cost of tuition, even before the the recession, many Americans can't afford college. The college tuition fees have increased an enormous amount of 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, while the median family income only raised 147 percent. College loans has more then doubled in the last 10 years, and students from lower class families usually get smaller grants from the colleges they attend then more prosperous families.
“If we go on this way for another 25 years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education,” said Patrick M. Callan, president of the center, a nonpartisan organization that promotes access to higher education.


The beginnings of black education occurred during the Civil Rights Movements in Virginia. Where very few black Virginians would receive any education because of the segregation. Many couldn't afford schooling, but the ones who could were segregated because of their skin. Public schools separated the whites from the black children, to “reduce conflict”. Black children didn't mind it too much; they were happy enough to get an education at all, and they felt more comfortable without the white interactions to avoid being taunted with racial jokes. These schools however, “were at the mercy of the white-controlled state government for funding.” Many whites feared that an education would encourage the blacks to challenge white supremacy and not be content with their jobs of working in the fields. So the financial support for black schools were very low compared to the white schools, including “fewer books, worse buildings, and less well paid teachers.”

Besides the cost of tuition rising, the cost of health care is also reaching extraordinary heights. As the economy spirals downward, a series of recent reports state that the country's health-care crisis is about to get worse, especially for children. A study done at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center analyzed data on more than 15,000 children in Ohio. It resulted that kids who did not have continuous health insurance were “14 times less likely to have regular visits with a pediatrician than those who did”. They were also three times less likely to fill prescriptions for necessary medication. "These unmet medical needs directly put a child's health at risk," says Gerry Fairbrother, who is a researcher on health policy at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. In 2005, the average American family paid 30% more for health coverage than they did in 2001. While incomes rose only 3% in the same period, that's a $2,500 price increase each year. “Twenty-nine percent of people said they'd put off necessary care, 24% had delayed a medical test or treatment and 23% said a prescription had gone unfilled.” That is all because most families can't afford the expensive health care. Ways to fix this issue is socialize it, so that we pay more taxes for free health care for everyone. That way people wouldn't have to pay an expensive fee to see a doctor.

We're not the only generation to experience lack of health care for the poor, but in the pre-Civil war days, black communities in the South faced some serious sicknesses. Most of the diseases exposed within the slave community were because of the racially oppressive system of slavery. Because southern society considered slaves to be property, slaves often lived and labored in unhealthy environments. While conditions varied from one plantation to another, in many cases they were overworked, lacked proper nutrition, and had unsanitary living conditions contributed to a weaker immune system and the spread of disease. “The frequent presence of human excrement in the drinking water also led to epidemics of cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid, and hepatitis.” Sewage caused the reproduction of parasitic worms that could be found in the lungs, liver, blood vessels, gall bladder, and intestines. The oppressed slaves suffered from the lack of health care that they could not receive. The best doctors and medical care were given to the elites, while the slaves were given the rest.

In the 1900's children couldn't afford school because of who they were, todays generation can't afford school because of the rising costs. An education is unquestionably important for every person to have, because they are the ones who are going to take care of the world after we are gone. We can at least make it achievable for them to reach. Lowering the prices, or giving more money to lower income families for the purpose of an education sounds reasonable. Not only should our next generations of Americans should be educated, but healthy as well. They need the health care to be reasonable so that they won't be financially pressured. Safety and health shouldn't have a price, but if it does, it should at least be affordable. Education and health are both essential for the continuity of human existence.

This video shows the rising costs of college tuitions

Sources

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Welcome to the UN. It's your world.. 13 Feb. 2009 .

LEWIN, TAMAR. "Higher Education May Soon Be Unaffordable for Most Americans, Report Says - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 3 Dec. 2008. 13 Feb. 2009 .

"Beginnings of Black Education - The Civil Rights Movement in Virginia - Virginia Historical Society." Virginia Historical Society - The Center for Virginia History. 9 Feb. 2009 .

"Carmichael Letters :: The Carmichaels and the Health Care of Slaves." Carmichael Letters :: "Patient's Voices in Early 19th Century Virginia". 11 Feb. 2009 .

"College Tuition Costs." YouTube. 29 Apr. 2008. 4 Feb. 2009 <"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Welcome to the UN. It's your world.. 13 Feb. 2009 .>.