MG-Their+Eyes+Were+Watching+God+and+The+World

Dependence as a constraint can be on a much larger scale than just one person depending on another. It could involve groups of people depending on each other, people depending on organizations, entire nations depending on each other, or even all of mankind depending on the Earth. Here, I write about low-income people relying on federal welfare, an entire nation's citizens depending on biased foreign news, and American dependence on foreign oil / society's dependence on fossil fuels.

Welfare is intended to help financially support citizens who are unable to support themselves; people who can't work. Physically handicapped people and people suffering from mental illnesses would justifiably qualify for welfare. But many low-income adults are choosing unemployment, and living off welfare they don't need. In an attempt to cut back on federal spending, a law was passed in 1996 limiting the amount of money that would go to welfare programs. Now, ten years later, a "second phase" of this welfare reform is coming into effect. The new rules encourage low-income citizens to devote more time to work, so that federal funding isn't spent on those who don't need it. However, encouraging low-income adults to devote more time to work means detracting from time which could be used to improve their educations, overcome drug addictions, or other things that may improve their financial situations. By making those who don't really need welfare learn to become financially independent, the new phase aims to help more of those who really do depend on welfare to get by.

Source: [|courant.com | Second Phase Of Welfare Reform Affects State Flexibility]

People trust the media. They believe what they hear. So when the media becomes biased, people follow. In Iraq, the public are not given proper representation. Satellite is the largest TV service in the Middle East. Since the satellite hardware was stolen from al-Iraqiya, Iraq's only remaining news station, Iraqi media has no way of broadcasting their side of the story to other Arab nations. What's more, polls say that 36% of Iraqis watch al-Iraqiya for news, but the number falls to 12% among those who have satellite service. This means that the majority of Iraqis are relying on biased, foreign news stations, such as al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya, for news. The Iraqi Media Network, or IMN, who run al-Iraqiya, denied al-Iraqiya's requests for even the cheapest repairs. Al-Iraqiya also has had to deal with censorship. Fortunately, IMN has announced that they have a plan to make al-Iraqiya an international station, so hopefully Iraqis will no longer depend on foreign news.

Source: [|iwpr.net Column: Liberate Iraq From Its Dependence on Foreign News]

Mankind has removed itself as much as possible from Earth's ecosystem. We have bred and genetically engineered new kinds livestock and crops, designed to suit our needs. Society is nearly self-sufficient, feeding its ever-growing population with as little dependence on natural resources as possible. Yet despite our best efforts, there is one limited natural resource we can't seem to do without: fossil fuels. But hopefully, that's about to change. Ethanol is a type of alcohol that can be made from corn. Don't drink it, though, or you'll go blind. E85 is a common, inexpensive and effective mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, and can be used to fuel many different types of cars (especially U.S. domestics). It could be a cheap and easy answer to America's dependence on foreign oil, if it were only easier to get a hold of. Gas stations, which are owned by oil companies, only sell petroleum-based fuels, for obvious reasons. But mega-retailer Wal Mart is showing an interest in the alternative fuel. They are considering selling it at the eight stations at Wal-Mart stores, and at the 380 stations run by Wal-Mart's "Sam's Clubs" division. It's possible that Wal-Mart might strike a deal with Murphy Oil Corp., which runs over 900 stations in Wal-Mart parking lots. Wal-Mart sees the cheap alternative fuel market as potentially profitable, and since customers save money at the pump, they have more to spend at Wal-Mart. There is little doubt that if this all happens, it will bee the biggest thing yet in the alternative fuel business. However, there is doubt that Wal-Mart is willing to take such a big step just yet.

Source: [|Plugged in: Your car, corn and Wal-Mart]