Marxism the Glass Ceiling & Functionalism

Spending on healthcare in general, but at the governmental and personal level, should be of concern. First, the overall number of dollars being spent is rather high. Second, the amount of money being spent far outstrips the rest of the world. Third, the rate of increase of healthcare spending from year to year is quite substantial. The question as to whether this is justifiable is a mixed answer. It is a "yes" in terms of what healthcare realities exist in the United States. However, it is a "no" when assessing and coming to grips with what is causing those healthcare realities to exist.

One example would be the prevalence of people with high blood sugar and diabetes-related symptoms. While some people inherit type I diabetes (or perhaps even type II diabetes) from a parent, a great majority of those with diabetes have the disorder due to bad eating habits and/or bad weight management over a long period of time. This is entirely preventable but the people involved are not knowing or caring enough to do anything about it. They may or may not know their blood sugar is high and/or that they are diabetic. Further, even if someone knows they are diabetic, they may not care or they may not fully realize the implications of leaving their blood sugar elevated through continued bad habits and a continuance of existence at a high body weight.

They key is to engage in a concerted and protracted effort to educate and help parents and adults in general with their health. It has to be made clear to them that not addressing their eating and health habits will literally shorten their lives or the lives of their children. Great progress has been made when it comes to things like obesity in general but the obesity problem persists for those that are economically and racially disadvantaged and lacking in overall education (Candib, 2007).

Reference

Candib, L. (2007). Obesity and Diabetes in Vulnerable Populations: Reflection on Proximal and Distal Causes. The Annals of Family Medicine, 5(6), 547-556.

doi:10.1370/afm.754

Economic Questions

When speaking of unequal pay in general, Marx would view unequal pay in general as a creator of conflict and problems for society and that this condition should be corrected. This inequality could exist between two people in the same job, differences between the pay rendered at two different companies, differences between the pay in two different regions and so forth. Since the life of Marx, there has been a shift in the United States towards service and the knowledge sector. Since people without skills and knowledge to be in the knowledge sector and since people in the service sector almost always make less money, Marx would view that dimly as well (Crossman, 2015).

As for the glass ceiling, this is the general idea that people are prevented from reaching their true level of ability and adeptness in terms of the positions they hold or are able to choose from. It typically refers to women who are unable to get to the higher reaches of management in a firm due to a perception that women are inferior and thus should not be leaders. For example, the fact that a woman has never been elected President (or Vice President, for that matter) of the United States could be seen as a glass ceiling (FMF, 2015).