Argument Paper

Owen Newsom

English 103

Argument Project

Have you ever heard someone say something about a “Type A Personality”. This is typically people who fall into leadership roles and people who find it easy to work and direct other people. Certain people are acclimated to all different kinds of work however it always seems that this type A personality is sought out more heavily than others. Interviews always ask for leadership, and it always seems that

job positions in charge of others like managers all the way to CEOs are paid more than those that do jobs of similar status without holding authority over others. So why is that? Society is centered around people that can lead others despite everything
not being able to function with only leaders. This can pose a significant problem for people who struggle to lead, whether it is a social disability, personality, or even just plain appearance can make it more difficult.

Jobs in leadership positions require too many of predisposed conditions for them to be deemed fairly more important and worth more money than other parts of a working society. People who aren’t born naturally charismatic shouldn’t struggle to survive paycheck to paycheck just because it is more difficult for them.

Social disorders make general life, something as simple as getting groceries, into a large mental chore. Social anxiety can make people uncomfortable in simple situations, autism can make it harder to interact with people, and even something like depression can make people less personable and make it harder to appeal to people in a conversation. All of these barriers can be very difficult if not impossible to break down. While some social interaction is going to happen in a job regardless of position, the positions that are easier for these socially impaired people would typically pay far less than a role with management or leading. And if these jobs do pay more they’re extremely hard to get or inaccessible still. These warehouse type jobs though, factory, restock, things that are absolutely necessary and sometimes more dangerous or volatile but can pay barely enough to get by sometimes.

Along with social ability, money is always a factor in getting jobs. America is valued for social mobility but still 29% of people remain in the lower class and struggle to get out. The lower class in America consists of people who make under 45,000 dollars annually. The average cost of living though is around 60,000 dollars. Despite some grand stories, the number of people who can rise above these class limitations and change social classes is very difficult. This means that people stuck in lower income households are often stuck in them for life, leading working class families to continue working in working class jobs and living paycheck to paycheck. The same applies for those born in to wealth. With many examples of people like Elon Musk, who inherited an emerald mine from his parents, or Bill Gates, who’s father was a lawyer and who’s mother was an executive, becoming even richer than they were when they inherited their wealth.

Homelessness can come from a combination of all of the aforementioned problems. Not being able to find a job, social inability, lower income households. Together these can be disastrous. Once someone is homeless it can be near impossible to keep a job. Once someone is jobless it can be hard to keep a home. If someone falls into this cycle it can become incredibly difficult to break out of it. This just perpetuates the poor conditions of living and makes everything harder for the homeless person. This could lead to drug abuse, a lack of education, and other factors that can make it even harder to move on and up in society.

Working hard is however a factor in getting larger, higher paying positions. Hard work is very important and anyone who works their way up a ladder is definitely worthy of praise. However accommodations still need to be made for people who are hindered or halted by certain factors. It is very easy to leave behind coworkers after promoting or finding a better job but some people can get stuck in low paying jobs for their entire life due to a disability or just a lack of confidence or leadership experience. Rather than encouraging and teaching leadership skills to everyone, a diversity of skill sets should be embraced and worked upon. This could have large effects on quality of life and work for many, many people.

Work can be difficult to navigate if you aren’t born into the right circumstances. This has led our country into a strange economic position where you are expected to work for lower than you need just to have a job. Hopefully this will change and the future of our country looks brighter for those with restricting conditions. Despite this, everyone should try to help as much as possible, whether through allowing more accessibility to jobs for those with disabilities, or allowing job interviews to people with no home address. Life isn’t easy for anyone so we should accommodate as much as we can to help out.