They might look at, well, the economy wasn't great and the company couldn't afford to keep another worker, so they saw this as an easy solution to just let you go , the economy has gotten worse since the mill closed and the town lost most of its business and everyone left. Everyone looks at a problem differently, which is why we have sociologists who look at the bigger picture and the cause and effect of each problem. There are so many types of social problems that are not even thought about and addressed on a daily basis, such as ageism (discrimination against older people), most tend to focus on broader issues such as the economy, unemployment or sexual and racial discrimination . While all social problems are important, some are more important than others because they have a greater effect on society. Some might see something as a problem while others don't think it's a problem at all; this is called social constructionism, where different parts of society