solrac6262

apparently the senate is not listening to people. or working for the american people btw I hate pelosi

CWS530

I've lived in various parts of the US, Europe, and two "third world" countries. All except the US offered hassle-free access to medical care regardless of income or need for insurance. People worked hard in all places, especially in the developing world, literally living day to day. I always was impressed by their industrious spirit in the face of adversity.

UTVol545i

Solid thread guys... I will have more to contribute when I have time, but this a great discussion..

sixcard

Someone please tell me what "unfortunate" or ?less fortunate" means. Am I more "fortunate" because I worked my butt off for 50 plus years and paid my own way to achieve what I now can enjoy?

Toro mierda!

My friends, that is not luck!

I would have no problem if only those who were truly in need got what the government takes from me (at the point of a gun). But there are too many out there who have that ?share the wealth? mind set.

That mind set got a huge boost when Tom Daschle (maybe it was Dick Gephardt) uttered the phrase, ?won life?s lottery?.

sixcard

rogerj

I work in the home healthcare industry so I spend every weekday providing care to patients at their place of residence. This takes me to the poorest and richest neighborhoods in South Florida. When I visit the poorest neighborhoods, I am always amazed and angered at how many people between the ages of 20 - 50 are just milling around... drinking, smoking, washing their cars, playing music and just hanging out. I am not talking about 1-2 people. I am talking about 10-20 people at a time in one parking lot, block, etc. These are not handicapped, disabled people.

Believe me... I would LOVE to be doing the SAME THING, but I HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES! I work 28 days/month... not because I love my job, but because this is what I HAVE to do to handle my business. It just burns me that a every one of those days I am working I am contributing to assist the "capable do nothings" I did not come from a priviledged upbringing. I came from a 3 child, single parent home. I got a Master's Degree but my mother had not a dime to give me for school, so I acquired $70,000 in student loans. One of the main reasons I have to work so much.

This is not an indictement of and particular culture or race. The trailer park is the same as the ghetto etc etc. This is an indictement of a BROKE SYSTEM. If you can walk, talk, drive a car, ... I should not be forced to support your poor choices, lack of motivation etc. I am getting angrier and angrier as I continue to type so I am just going to stop here. I will be working Saturday and Superbowl Sunday... to support me, mine, and............................................... .......

swajames

You seem to equating your perception of effort with value and wealth. There is not necessarily any direct connection whatsoever. A lot of people will absolutely "work their butt off", probably working harder than you or I ever do or did, and make a lot less money in the process. Some may be in a profession which is highly admirable (and for many highly fulfilling), but with shitty pay - teaching for example. They may be doing all kinds of valuable work which the free market decides is worth less than the kind of work you might do or I might do. So yes. You are more fortunate because lady luck decided that whatever it was that you do or did was worth more than she was willing to attribute to other jobs or professions.

In America today, it is clear that there is still ethnic discrimination, there is clear socio-economic discrimination based on what I believe to be highly skewed perceptions of value, and and there are prejudices that some people have to deal with day in day out. If none of these apply to you, then some would argue that you did indeed win life's lottery. Because a lot of people don't get to enjoy the privileges you clearly enjoy. And is not always due to a lack of effort. And it is not always within their control.

One final thought. The one thing that characterizes a civilized society is that it is one where responsibility for the well being of others is collective. Because let me tell you this. Even those of us enjoying the fruits of the large pay checks we earn from "working our butts off" ought to remember that what lady luck and our own efforts have given us can be taken away from us in a heartbeat.

solrac6262

FOR THE CHANGE WE NEED-- Obama The Messiah-- i thought I was gonna get a check to pay off my house and my e60?? WTF-- I think he sent the checks to another address to pay off some agricultural buildings

garylewa

Most everyone knows if you have chosen the teaching profession you are not in it to get rich. And as far as luck; I honestly believe if you conduct yourself appropriately (education, values, work ethic, etc.) luck is minimal, if at all in the equation.
Regarding ethnic discrimination; sure it exists but if you want out of your situation, personal drive is one hell of a motivator. By most opinions, Barack Obama didn't have a chance in Hell of doing anything with his life except becoming another statistic (single parent, biracial, poor, etc.) and now he is the President. The "control" (as you put it) he had was over his own person so never say it cannot it be accomplished.
As far as your final thought; you can take away everything I have but I will always have two things no matter what: my education coupled with my work ethic.
Hard work never killed anyone.

garylewa

When have they??

swajames

The premise of sixcard's post, and some others that preceded it, is the pejorative assumption that those who are less fortunate are not working hard enough. That's not necessarily the case. In this context, "less fortunate" is essentially defined as a lack of capacity to pay for one's own obligations. As I said in my prior post, there isn't always a direct link between the level of effort and the compensation it generates.

As for making ones own luck and the correlation to conduct, values and work ethic. If what you say were true, there would not be such a disproportionate number of minorities living in comparative poverty and we would all get equal pay for the same job. You and I both know that's not the case.

Hard work never killed anyone - that's true. Trouble is it just doesn't necessarily pay all that well.

Bottom line is that it is much easier for us to pontificate and judge when we don't have to live with or deal with societal issues that create challenges for others.