So are you not saying you've made it? Are you also saying that no one else can? I think a large portion of the poor stay that way because the liberals keep them that way. They are so used to someone "giving" them just enough to get by they have no reason to do more. I certainly wasn't born into anything but debt and I've done okay for myself. I've got nothing to inherit. I will have something to leave behind and I worked for it. Plain and simple. It isn't easy, but it is certainly a reachable goal.
I am saying that I have made it so far, but there are many more people in my family who work just as hard as I do and had the same opportunities or more and they're not doing as well. I have been set back and had to start over twice. Even now I can't assure you that my offspring won't fall back into the poverty cycle. I haven't inherited a single penny and it's doubtful that I ever will since I am the emergency fund for some in my family. I had to dropout of college to take care of a family member, even after missing out on a lot of stuff my senior year of high school including a football state championship. It's not realistic to assume that everyone can handle the stress and responsibilities that I did growing up and even then, I've been lucky a lot. Timing is everything I have learned. My dad was the sole earner in my family growing up and it was a seasonal job. There were three kids and we had the essentials, but barely. He made less than 20,000 a year. Years later we still have families making barely above that. The whole "work hard and succeed" mantra is just bull****. Americans are arguably the most productive people on the planet. This country is full of people who "work hard and scrape by" through no fault of their own. The reality is that these people are here in our country and they need to be dealt with. Earlier you wanted to avoid discussing the financial hardships associated with a major sickness, but the reality is that medical bills are the #1 reason for personal bankruptcy. You have the luxury of just insisting that the fault lies with the individual, but every night millions of Americans fall asleep wondering how they're going to pay their light bill next month.
There is a notion among many here that the "poor" are all freeloaders unwilling to work. There are those like that, we've all seen them, and they are mostly street people. But most of the poor in the country are working poor that just don't have jobs that pay very much. All the old blue-collar jobs that paid well like manufacturing have gone overseas so corporations could be more profitable. The well-paying construction jobs are increasingly being given to low-paid Mexican illegals. Not all of us are college material and there are some very hard-working store clerks, waiters, cooks, yard men, grocery stockers, janitors, and sanitation workers that work and pay taxes but are still just scraping by and officially poor, making $20K or less. Another huge category of poor are retired people, most of whom worked long careers and are now living on fixed incomes that were fine when they retired in 1985, but are more and more inadequate with each passing year as Americans live to be much older. There are many disabled people. An old girlfriend of mine was making 90K in pharmaceutical sales before a car wreck crippled her at 40. Now she's living on a disability check that doesn't cover her basic expenses and medical care and is all but destitute. There are widows. I have relative who is a farm wife whose hard-working husband died in his early 50's. She has a part-time job at Wal-Mart trying to make ends meet until she qualifies for social security and Medicare in her 60's. There are students. I am surrounded by young students living on low incomes while they try to finish school whereupon they are faced with large student loans due that keep them poor for several more years. None of these people are lazy and unwilling to work and it is dishonest to characterize all poor people this way.
Twas not me my friend. In fact I'd agree with you that medical bills probably are the #1 reason. I won't argue that point. I will differ on the course of action of the down trodden however. While the picture you paint is a tragic one, you must get back on the horse and ride. (I understand many may not have a horse, it is a figure of speech) I am not saying I'm not charitable, nor do I have anything against charity or taking care of those who need it. Where we will disagree is the definition of who "needs" it and how that "charity" is collected.
I agree with all of this. The issues of wealth and taxation too often take on a very personal us vs. them name calling match. The truth is the rich and poor are not the problem. Government is. If we could have a more limited government the rich would get richer and the poor would get richer too.
I've often wondered why people continually ignore the cost of education in this country. I am sure it doesn't equal to health care costs but surely it has to be second behind health care costs. Good post Supafan, I agree with your comment on government. If I didn't have to pay for social security maybe I could invest that money or use it for something else. I have no guarantee I will ever see a dime that I was forced to put into the system.
I highlighted this part because it is what stood out to me. It stood out because the libs are the ones screaming, crying, begging, trying to change the constitution to keep them here. You can't have it both ways. If you are going to pay the Americans to sit at home and watch Opera while eating cheesy poofs as the Mexicans are working the shovel then you have no gripe. Globalization is something to recon with and it will not go away regardless of who is in office. Does that mean you just give up? Throw in the towel and start to rob those who have put in the time and effort for those who have not? Aww, the poor students and thier big ol student loans. I guess they will have to do what the rest of us do; work hard, live responsibly, PAY THEM OFF, and then enjoy the fruits of their labor. Hell I'm 40 and I'm still paying off debt. I am on the right road and I treat myself and my family when I have it but not until then. I buy used vehicles and I own a used boat. The problem is simple, it is "entitlement" everyone thinks they are owed something without having to work for it.
Whoa! You have three fundamental misconceptions. 1. I'm not a liberal or a democrat. I'm an independent moderate. Stop trying to be like SabanFan and waste time trying to tell me my own political stance. Listen to what I actually say. If you've paid any attention to me at all you will know that I've been stridently against all forms of illegal alien employment in this country and advocate much tighter border controls. 2. What "attempt to change the constitution to keep them here" are you talking about and what does it have to do with me? I advocate nothing of the kind. 3. It was the last republican administration that did not support cracking down on American employers hiring illegals. It cut into corporate profits, which is always the bottom line for Republicans, not the good of the country. Both prosecutions of illegal employers and deportations of criminal illegal aliens has increased under Obama and set a new record for deportations. Bush seeks legal status for illegal immigrants Bush Proposal Prompted Surge in Illegal Immigrants Bush's immigration proposal keeps industry in cheap labor AFP: Immigrants Groups Say Deportations Up Under Obama The whole point of my post is that there are not enough good-paying jobs for everyone willing to work. Its not enough jobs, not a lack of people willing to work. This is a straw man.
