I wrote this in October of 2015. Prompt: repurpose a previous essay for a new audience. I chose to repurpose an essay I written a year prior on the observable inequalities in a microcosm of New York. The previous essay was for a sociology class and the product was detached from the issues I hoped to tap into; it was dry and it was in my eyes useless. The audience for this repurposed piece would be New Yorkers impacted by the themes I would draw on, rather than academics in Michigan.
"Recommending an Overhall of New York's 421a Property Tax Exemption Law"
I wrote this paper in November and December of 2015. Prompt: Write about an issue that faces Barbara (Ehrenreich) or Dasani and explore a way to solve this problem. Barbara and Dasani represent the poor and disenfranchized members of society. I chose to write about a fascinating tax law in New York aimed at incentivizing developers to build. I argue that this policy now exists at the expense of the city and those poorer residents who, because of money lost for housing subsidies and social welfare funding have gotten the brunt of outdated state policy.