Stossel Goes To Washington

Activities to accompany Chapter 3: TheDepartment of Housing and UrbanDevelopment.12. If possible, invite a local HUD representative toclass. Students might show the governmentemployee this portion of the DVD and ask himor her to comment. Encourage students to askquestions such as the following:• Why do you think so many government-subsidizedhousing developments have fallen intodisrepair? Who is responsible?• What are some drawbacks to privatizing lowincomehousing?• When low-income housing is run by privatebusinesses, how are the owners compensated?(Does HUD pay them?)13. Ask students to imagine that they have bought alarge, run-down housing complex in a city center.Tell them to suppose that they have enoughmoney to renovate the complex. Have studentsbrainstorm a list of aesthetic elements andservices that could transform this cluster of dilapidatedapartment buildings into a community thatmakes residents feel welcome, safe, and neighborlytoward each other, instilling communityspirit. They can write a detailed description oftheir renovated housing development and/or drawa “blueprint” of it. Remind students to redesignthe outdoor spaces as well as the indoor ones.Activities to accompany Chapter 4:Privatizing Public Services.14. Have students imagine that a private companytook over an aspect of your school such asrunning the cafeteria or teaching the art andmusic classes. Ask students to think aboutimprovements and problems that this might cause,and write an essay about the pros and cons.Remind them to consider issues such as reactionsfrom parents and workers’ unions, as well asprivate companies’ need to make a profit.15. Ask a government workers’ union representativeto speak to your class concerning his or herunion’s position on privatization. Studentsmight ask questions such as the following:• Is your union opposed to privatization? If so,please explain why.• In our community, are private companies thattake over public services obligated to hireunion workers who used to work for thegovernment?• What are some benefits that workers get frombelonging to a union such as yours?When a unionized business hires a new worker,is that worker obligated to join the union?Please explain how this works.• What happens when union workers go onstrike? What are some reasons for strikes?Activities to accompany Chapter 5: WhenGovernment Stands in Charity’s Way.16. Have students call local charities and ask tospeak with directors concerning the pros andcons of government regulations. They might askquestions such as the following:• Who or what funds your charity? Do you getany money from local, state, or federalgovernment grants?• What are some of the government regulationsthat your charity must follow?• Do know of any instances in which governmentregulations helped charities to do their work orprotected workers or clients from harm? Pleasetell what happened.• What could the government do to help yourcharity function even better?• Do you agree with the following statement?“When something good is happening [at a~9~©Disney