Becca’s GED Social Studies Blog

I once visited the Grand Canyon, and let me tell you, it was a real sight to see. I mean, I’ve seen holes in the earth before, so I wasn’t even really sure I’d be as impressed as people tell you you’ll be, but once you get out there, and stand on the edge of a cliff dropping right down into that giant hole, it really takes your breath away.

Later I read about how the Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. I’ve never seen most of the others, except the Northern Lights, which I once saw on a long haul up to Whitehorse in the Yukon. It was real pretty. Kinda like bright white, greenish clouds, only at night. And they’d kinda shifted and moved around real fast, like there was a giant fan up in space blowing them around. I can definitely see why the Grand Canyon and the Northern Lights are part of the Seven Natural Wonders. I think I’d like to see all the rest someday, even they are all across the globe, like Mount Everest way over there in Asia.

I started looking up some of the other wonders of the world, and found out that there’s a lot of different lists! One of the most popular is the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. That’s got the Pyramids in it, along with a lot of other neat things. Here’s a practice question about one of them that I thought was pretty hard. (Read on …)

Hey there! You’re all workin’ on your GED, and so money’s probably tight. Though when I was working as a truck driver, I was doin’ okay. What happened was, my back went out. Now, there’s no way I can drive a truck, so I gotta work on doing something else. That’s when I found out I needed my GED for any decent job. For options, you know. Because things go wrong. Well, when my back first went out, let me tell you, dealing with the insurance company and doctors and medical bills… it was no easy thing. That’s why I was interested in this article I read… and I feel pretty lucky, because bein’ put outta work and havin’ medical expenses, it could’ve been a lot worse.

Here’s a good GED social studies article… it talks about how according to one stud, 60% of bankruptcies are because of medical bills, even though a lot of the people have medical insurance: Medical bills prompt more than 60% of U.S. bankruptcies (CNN) … now, how bout a GED practice question about it?

The study may overestimate the number of bankruptcies caused by medical bills yet underestimate the financial burden of health care on American families, because most people struggle along but don’t end up declaring bankruptcy, according to Cunningham.

“Bankruptcy is the most extreme or final step for people who are having problems paying medical bills,” he says. “Medical bills and medical costs are an issue that can very easily and in pretty short order overwhelm a lot families who are on otherwise solid financial ground, including those with private insurance.”

Which of the following is the best conclusion based on Cunningham’s viewpoint?

1) Health care financial problems can be solved by more families having private insurance.

2) No bankruptcies are truly caused by medical expenses.

3) Families that incur high medical expenses usually have unstable finances.

4) No study could accurately estimate the contribution of health care expenses to bankruptcy.

5) Private insurance alone is not a complete solution to the financial burden of health care costs.

So, have you thought about the question? What do you think is the right answer? Read more to find out how I approached it… (Read on …)