Let's see if I have this straight

[Texsox]

Probably.

 

Because there's "two Ameeeerikas".

 

That is such bull s***.  It's preposterous and flat out wrong.

 

There is ONE America.

Tell that to a Mexican American that cannot rent an apartment. Tell that to a small business owner with diabetees who cannot get affordable insurance. Tell that to a poor community who is using 1970 era textbooks because they are funded by property taxes while a rich school district down the road spends more on a new weight room than the poorer school spending on books.

[kapkomet]

Tell that to a Mexican American that cannot rent an apartment. Tell that to a small business owner with diabetees who cannot get affordable insurance. Tell that to a poor community who is using 1970 era textbooks because they are funded by property taxes while a rich school district down the road spends more on a new weight room than the poorer school spending on books.

So what about you?

 

What makes you successful?

 

What makes you different then all these people you just sited?

 

Again, let me emphasize, it's not that I'm not compassionate about these people.

 

But, why am I not one of them?

 

My parents have not had a real job since immediately after high school. Guess what? They had a pretty good income base the year I went to college and my finanical aid got based on that. I didn't get help - I'm paying for it now and I did then too.

 

Why are you not one of them?

 

Because you WORKED for it.

 

The guys working on my house. I love 'em. They bust their ass to make a living. Some of them will move on to better things. I pray they do. But they are choosing to work for what they do have.

 

Many times, people become complacent and become a statistic. And that's just plain sad, because people CAN succeed when they decide they will. That's why it's one America, not "Two Americas".

[Texsox]

The biggest roadblock we place in front of the poor are our public schools. We fund local schools through property taxes. Take a look at the Highland Park, Texas school district. When they hired a science teacher in 2002, they required a PhD. For a High School. Why? Because they could pay a fair salary for one. Greater pay equals better, more experienced teachers using better equipment and textbooks.

 

Poor school districts are working with antiquated technology and old text books. How can we continue to be competitive in the world when so many of our children are going to schools that are working with one hand tied behind their backs? It has little to do with the teacher's desire or teh students desire. Equal opportunity.

 

Stop funding schools by local property taxes, level out the playing field and then we will not need quotas and stuff in our colleges and universities.

 

With companies moving jobs, especially low skilled manufacturing jobs to China and other countries we need to train these kids for productive jobs. We need to encourage companies to employ Americans.

 

So many of you talk about how great living on public aid is, why not research and see what you will really have.

[Queen Prawn]

So many of you talk about how great living on public aid is, why not research and see what you will really have.

I will never forget working my first job as a cashier/night manager at a grocery store where we had a customer service desk that took bill payments and sold lottery tickets. At least once a day we had someone come up with their LINK card to withdraw cash from their EBT (supposed to be used for bills, non-food items such as laundry detergent, etc) and they would have money rolls, name brand clothes, gold dripping off of their person, cell phones and spend about $50 in lotto tickets.

 

I know not all welfare recepients (as I mentioned all my sister gets is the med card for my nephew) are like this, but when I saw this it would make me sick. I often had to remind myself why I put myself in debt with SL and such after seeing those people.

[Rex Kickass]

People act like every freaking welfare recipient is a crook. There are some out there and it's wrong and they should be caught and punished. But I will say this.

 

You b**** about people whining about their station in life and then whine about having to pay taxes to support them. Last time I checked, the working poor I knew worked. Hard. But you tell my single mother friend, who works the only job her education allows - she had to do the Army, couldn't afford college by the way - to live on her own with two autistic kids, a deadbeat dad who left her - and take care of her needs on a family income of under 30 thousand dollars.

 

These are the people we have a duty as a society to help. If this means a few people skim the system and take advantage, its a price I'm willing to pay in exchange for protecting the people who need protection.

[kapkomet]

People act like every freaking welfare recipient is a crook. There are some out there and it's wrong and they should be caught and punished. But I will say this.

 

You b**** about people whining about their station in life and then whine about having to pay taxes to support them. Last time I checked, the working poor I knew worked. Hard. But you tell my single mother friend, who works the only job her education allows - she had to do the Army, couldn't afford college by the way - to live on her own with two autistic kids, a deadbeat dad who left her - and take care of her needs on a family income of under 30 thousand dollars.

 

These are the people we have a duty as a society to help. If this means a few people skim the system and take advantage, its a price I'm willing to pay in exchange for protecting the people who need protection.

Where did *I* whine about paying taxes to support them? Please go back and re-read my rant.

 

I am whining about our government having to take a bigger role to "make all of our ends meet". I don't like that.

 

Indeed, you are 100% correct that we as a society need to help people like the single mom you point out. I just don't want our government serving that role.

[EvilMonkey]

People act like every freaking welfare recipient is a crook. There are some out there and it's wrong and they should be caught and punished. But I will say this.

 

You b**** about people whining about their station in life and then whine about having to pay taxes to support them. Last time I checked, the working poor I knew worked. Hard. But you tell my single mother friend, who works the only job her education allows - she had to do the Army, couldn't afford college by the way - to live on her own with two autistic kids, a deadbeat dad who left her - and take care of her needs on a family income of under 30 thousand dollars.

 

These are the people we have a duty as a society to help. If this means a few people skim the system and take advantage, its a price I'm willing to pay in exchange for protecting the people who need protection.

I don't have any duty to help her. The first person who has a duty to help her is herself. She should have done some of that before getting herself into the current situation. How about an education BEFORE having kids? With the first one being autistic, did she think she could handle another one, even if NOT autistic? Or was she just 'following her heart' and just living for the moment? She had the duty to herself to 'be all she could be' before possibly limiting herself with marraige and/or kids. The second person who has a duty to her is her family. isn't that what they are there for? Mom, dad, siblings? if you can't ask your family to help you, why should I help you? The third person should be the deadbeat dad's family. Doesn't grandma-in-law want to see her grandkids? Maybe not, but they are in the chain of responsibility. Nowhere in there do I fit in. I support a wife and 2 kids of my own, and help my parents out a bit, as well as help a yonger sister that is in pretty desperate need. She is on husband #3, the first 2 running off, has an 8yr old girl, and was not smart enough to go to college, so her job choices are limited. She is among the working poor you describe, and I don't expect the government to take care of her either. She fends for herself, with a little help from me, my brother and her church.

[kapkomet]

I don't have any duty to help her.  The first person who has a duty to help her is herself.  She should have done some of that before getting herself into the current situation.  How about an education BEFORE having kids?  With the first one being autistic, did she think she could handle another one, even if NOT autistic? Or was she just 'following her heart' and just living for the moment?  She had the duty to herself to 'be all she could be' before possibly limiting herself with marraige and/or kids.  The second person who has a duty to her is her family.  isn't that what they are there for?  Mom, dad, siblings?  if you can't ask your family to help you, why should I help you?  The third person should be the deadbeat dad's family.  Doesn't grandma-in-law want to see her grandkids?  Maybe not, but they are in the chain of responsibility.  Nowhere in there do I fit in.  I support a wife and 2 kids of my own, and help my parents out a bit, as well as help a yonger sister that is in pretty desperate need.  She is on husband #3, the first 2 running off, has an 8yr old girl, and was not smart enough to go to college, so her job choices are limited.  She is among the working poor you describe, and I don't expect the government to take care of her either.  She fends for herself, with a little help from me, my brother and her church.

EM,

 

You're making my points ring all the louder.

 

It's up to US, not the government, US as individuals and family to do what we can.

[cwsox]

EM,

 

You're making my points ring all the louder.

 

It's up to US, not the government, US as individuals and family to do what we can.

I hunbly suggest you need some intensive study on political theory and American history and reality. The government is us, acting as us, on behalf of us, because when we do not act, we have seen the horrifying results. The government is of the people, by the people, for the people.

 

You gave us a great cliche, just like Hoover did, and in the face of human suffering, that response was found totally inadequete. Several generations removed, people who have benefited so much from that which has been built over the years by those who came before, forget or never knew what once was.

[kapkomet]

I'll comment more on this later, but I think somewhere in this thread )or another) I talked about FDR. I talked about the things he did to turn this country around. I don't see the issues being the same now as they were then, and THAT is the single biggest difference between your views and mine.

 

I'll elaborate later.