Response to David Callahan’s "cheating Culture"

In his book the “Cheating Culture” David Callahan presents what he thinks is a moral decline in the behavior of Americans. He suggests a number of ways to mend the social contract and reverse this trend. I will argue that one of the solutions is more important than the others. I believe a society in which citizens are less insecure about the well being of their basic needs will help reduce cheating and corruption.

Callahan’s first suggestion is to make work pay by raising minimum wage and increasing tax credits for low income families. The second solution is to expand access to higher education and adopt universal higher education. The third proposal is the implementation of programs to help people build wealth and assets. The final suggestion is to create programs to reduce insecurities such as health care and pensions.

First of all, I believe higher education is available to those who desire it. While the top universities may not be available to the majority of people, state and community colleges provide technical training for decent jobs. A growing argument is that costs for higher education continue to grow. This seems to be a complaint of my wealthier middle class friends who don’t get many grants and whose parents shoulder most of the cost. With programs such as affirmative action it is easier than ever for lower income minorities to attend universities and receive grants from the government.

Growing up in a mixed income K-12 school system I was able to see that higher education is possible for all. Fellow students regardless of their family’s financial situation were granted the same education. Student who were willing to excel were rewarded with good grades without having to study endless hours. This is a very different picture than the example Callahan uses in his book in which high school students slave away to receive good grades. Even as a Caucasian male I was able to receive a large scholarship from a private university. Since I came from a lower income family I received grants and subsidized loans from the government to cover the rest of the cost. It seemed as though fellow students from my graduating class were able to attend a college if they desired to do so. This may not be the case for inner city schools, therefore they may need special programs to propel their students into higher education.

While the accumulation of wealth and assets may be an integral part of the American Dream it is one of the reasons for the moral decline. The earlier notion of the 1960’s of a family affording a house with two cars and all the amenities has exploded into people attempting to live far above their means. This is mostly due to the vast amounts of money corporations pour into advertising that influence even the most educated people. People must be wary not to get caught up in marketing schemes to seduce them into attempting to live above their means. While individuals should not be obsessed with wealth, it is important that individuals become stakeholders in the community by owning homes and starting small businesses. There are government programs available to help low income families buy homes as I have seen during my last co-op with the Philadelphia Housing Authority. These programs boost morale in a community and should be expanded.

Raising the minimum wage may be popular in the polls to people who don’t see the adverse effects of doing so. Economists have studied minimum wage since its