Friday, March 11, 2011

writing assignment 1/ T. Nicholson

I think all humans have a right to food, regardless where the individual is located geographically. The Brazil city Belo Horizonte, is a fine example of how other countries should go about to end hunger in their countries. In 2009, America spent over 4.3 billion dollars on food stamps. What does that tell you? There are a lot of people who need assistance in this country. Food stamps are a assistance program for those who can’t afford to buy food with their current income due to individual reasons. Even though America has this program, there are thousands of Americans who are poor and don’t eat like they should. I would like to appeal to the golden rule, which is derived from Kant’s principle of fairness. The golden rule put simple is to treat someone the way you would want to be treated. If you were without money and hungry, wouldn’t you want to eat? Any rational person would say yes to this question. The job market isn’t looking so well and many people are not only losing their jobs, but they are also losing their homes. Even though America is the land of opportunity, many people don’t get a chance to experience the favorable circumstances that the land/America is supposed to offer. America is supposed to be the country were all can achieve their goals, but this is an unrealistic truth. I think the Brazil city also appealed the principle of utility. Mill’s principle of utility is to promote the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people, or the least amount of unhappiness. In the Brazil city, the leaders of the city made a choice to end hunger for the people and made some foods cheaper or free. This choice was for the people and caused much happiness for them. If a similar plan was implemented in United States, I don’t see why people wouldn’t be happy if they were getting actual food instead of a EBT card, unless they were selling some of their food stamps for money. The city of Belo spent 10 million dollars or 2% of it’s budget for a city of 2.5 million people. I don’t see why that would be a problem for us cities who have so much more than this city. I personally think this could work and save the country money that could go towards debts that United States owe. This would create happiness for the greatest amount of people if implemented. I think it would save money for the country as well as decrease petty crimes. I think the city of Belo definitely sets an example that other countries should follow to get rid of poverty and give people their right to food.

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