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I grew up poor, spent some time homeless, and then spent 10 years in the military. 16 years since the military, having scraped my career together all on my own, I am in the top 10%. Nothing but studying, hard work and the occasional good choice here and there. Made some bad choices too, but nothing too unrecoverable.
And I have wants. Lots of them. I just don't figure it's anyone else's job to provide them for me. If I want a thing bad enough, the path obtaining it is typically pretty clear, and I am either willing to follow that path or I am not.
Most people you find with my attitude are from a similar circumstance. We grew up poor, never got handed a freaking thing, and still managed to make something of ourselves. This results in a lack of sympathy towards the excuse making of others.
I paid for all of my college with loans that I'll be paying on for the next 10 years easily. Nobody in my family has ever given me anything, I went 29 years without talking to my father until just this year, and I haven't spoken to my mother, the laziest human alive, in about 5 years.
Nobody has handed me anything, and I have plenty of debt. That debt was calculated to achieve certain goals, so it makes sense from an ROI perspective. My wife and I just added a bunch of debt for her masters degree, but again, it was calculated according to ROI (and btw, she grew up poor too, just less dysfunctional than me). No complaints here other than the need to lose some weight, save more money, etc.
But not everyone in the top 10% falls into the "pampered child of millionaires" category you think they do. In fact, the vast majority of the top 10% put themselves there via hard work and risk taking. My first job in programming 16 years ago paid $14 an hour. I got the job at a job fair in a town I had lived in for 3 days total and knew nobody. Sure, now I get a bonus and stock options 5 employers later, but nobody handed me a thing in my career. Work, good references, and a solid resume I have taken great care to improve...that's how things get done by successful people. Making excuses? Yeah, it gets you nowhere, fast.
It's a worn out meme used by the Have-Nots since the dawn of time. The Haves are there because of luck, family fortune, etc, and have never worked for anything. It's pure nonsense and always was, but it's what the Have-Nots have been telling themselves to feel better since forever.
Your hard work is admirable. And it's great that you've done well for yourself. But let's not kid ourselves into thinking that "Top 10%" is the same as the children of the wealthy. It only takes a household income of $118,000 to be in that group, which is hardly what most people would consider wealthy.
That's how bad things are these days. Households with incomes of less than $120,000 are lumped into the wealthy even though that level is just enough to maintain a solidly middle class lifestyle and requires most people to take on high levels of debt to obtain. The actual rich do not do that.
So as hard as it was for you to go from poverty to higher income (just to live a middle class lifestyle) think about how much harder it will be for people who were or are even poorer. Your story of success is unfortunately an outlier in America today.
How could he do that? Wouldn't it require some sort of law passed by Congress, maybe?
Right and immigrants who enter the country illegally are deported..right ?
Wouldn't that require some kind of law to let them stay, get work visas and live life just like an American ?
I grew up poor, spent some time homeless, and then spent 10 years in the military. 16 years since the military, having scraped my career together all on my own, I am in the top 10%. Nothing but studying, hard work and the occasional good choice here and there. Made some bad choices too, but nothing too unrecoverable.
Maybe not everyone has the option of taking a physically demanding government job, like you did? You type so many words about how everyone should JUST BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR LIVES YOU GUYS LIKE I AM and you joined the military? That's only a step above "poor people should just invent the next Twitterbook and become billionaires :smugface:".
But not everyone in the top 10% falls into the "pampered child of millionaires" category you think they do. In fact, the vast majority of the top 10% put themselves there via hard work and risk taking. My first job in programming 16 years ago paid $14 an hour. I got the job at a job fair in a town I had lived in for 3 days total and knew nobody. Sure, now I get a bonus and stock options 5 employers later, but nobody handed me a thing in my career. Work, good references, and a solid resume I have taken great care to improve...that's how things get done by successful people. Making excuses? Yeah, it gets you nowhere, fast.
It's a worn out meme used by the Have-Nots since the dawn of time. The Haves are there because of luck, family fortune, etc, and have never worked for anything. It's pure nonsense and always was, but it's what the Have-Nots have been telling themselves to feel better since forever.
Strawman. No one said the rich didn't work hard. The argument was always just how much harder do the rich actually work?
Everyone who is wealthy had help at some point. Everyone. The common denominator is that the self-righteous right-wing rich jerks act like they did everything themselves.
Ben Carson is my favorite example. He grew up on food stamps, yet publicly condemns welfare programs.
Enlighten us with your knowledge of Obama's "policies."
Enforced purchase of private health insurance, lackluster financial stimulus, and trying to be friends with the Republicans (although he's been backing off of that one a bit lately). Also continuing lots of domestic spying.
Edit: Which isn't to say he is not leagues above George W. "We don't need Social Security because the stock market is so great" Bush...
So - this week he's not a Communist? How do you guys keep it straight - is there a newsletter?
Seriously...they can't make up their minds.
He's a communist, a crony capitalist, a wimp and a warmongering maniac.
I guess it depends on what Rush has to say about it. He's still the party boss.
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