Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Essay

1. Explain the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and discuss the major provisions of this legislation. Jim Crow laws were in effect from the 1800’s through the 1960’s. They required that African Americans and whites use separate schools, public places, transportation, restrooms, and drinking fountains. In some places, African American hospital patients were even kept separate from whites. African American public spaces such as stores, churches, movie theaters, and schools had separate areas for each church. Public spaces were usually of lower quality than those reserved for whites. Civil rights workers and leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. worked to change these laws. The reverend Martin Luther King Jr. helped lead the civil right
movement in the United State by using peaceful protests. He drew attention to segregation and discrimination faced by African Americans. His actions helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When President Kennedy became president in 1961 Martin Luther King and others hoped he would help the cause.
Seventy percent of African Americans voted for him. Civil rights leaders continued to protest. President John F. Kennedy decided he needed to do something so he put together the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but, was assassinated in November 1963. The provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability, and age. Most employers display these provisions on job applications or the phrase, “equal opportunity employer” whether online or in paper form. Protection from discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability, etc. unrelated to job performance is embodied in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Fourteenth Amendment (Dye, T., & Macmanus, S. 1969). Affirmative Action programs were created to help implement practices and monitor the hiring of African American and female workers to ensure they weren’t being discriminated against. Of course, nonminorities were questioning whether they were being discriminated against because of the AAP. They were afraid minorities were being hired that were less qualified for the job because of this newly created program. Some looked
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2. Explain the increasing cost of health care in the U.S. How likely are we to see health care reform in the near future?

Increasing healthcare costs has been a hot topic for some time now. After working in healthcare, nonprofit, for over 8 years, our business suffered greatly because of rising healthcare costs. After GM in Janesville closed its doors, it became difficult to support the influx of families arriving at our front doors requiring medical assistance. Healthcare prices in the United States are at an all-time high. The growth in premiums is substantially higher than other countries. Hospital costs, provider charges, medical terminology, waste, unhealthy lifestyles, and an aging population are all areas in which healthcare has increased. Employee costs toward premiums for healthcare have increased on average $300 for single coverage and $1,400 for family coverage annually. Many employers are creating workplace health programs which encourage employees to lead a healthier lifestyle, which in turn, lowers their risk of chronic illnesses. The United States spends billions on chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes each year, while even more is spent on obesity. The U.S. needs to put a focus on improving the healthcare system, reaching out and helping people get healthy, holding healthcare systems accountable, putting stricter regulations on television advertisements and meals being served in restaurants. In 2010 the healthcare reform (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) was signed into law by President Obama. President Obama believed everybody should have access to basic healthcare. The AFA has unfortunately put many small businesses out of business. This new law requires virtually all Americans, starting in 2014, to buy basic healthcare coverage. This is backed by subsidies to render health insurance affordable for lower and middle income people. This individual mandate is designed to make sure that people do not wait until they or a loved one becomes ill. This new law also includes eventual taxes on expensive private insurance plans.