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The problem is that we have free education now & many kids don't go to school or take it seriously. Why am I going to pay for further education for them? No thanks. Get serious or get in the unemployment line. Darwinism.
There is no way that ANY American should have to "share" what they have worked hard for so that someone who hasn't put in the same time, education & sweat equity. This is not the land of opportunity - THIS IS BECOMING THE LAND OF OPPORTUNISTS! Big difference.
Everyone who lives here has a FAIR chance to get public education & apply for grants, loans ect for further education. I am sick of people wanting a hand out. NO MORE! This is what is wrong with our society today. HANDOUTS. Handouts are how you keep people down. You train them to become dependent & non-productive. I see it EVERYDAY.
No, income redistribution is not the answer. PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT IS.
Your post assumes you or other hardworkers haven't also beneffited from previous taxes, when growing up...
Ok, I understand a lot of what you have said. I just don't agree with it. Look at Tinman's post. He grew up in poverty & beat it. He was hungry - he wanted more & he is very successful as a result. The bottom line is personal accountability. You said " Equal opportunity to high quality education would be necessary as would equal accessibility to quality healthcare." It is available right now. However, should colleges LOWER their standards to ALLOW sub par students admissions? Would that truly guarantee a better, brighter future? I think not. Political Correctness got us in this hot mess & we need to put an end to it. If you don't study, get used to flippin burgers at McDonalds. We need burger flippers just like we need doctors. Everyone has a place, but it is up to each person to decide what that place will be.
To begin, I respect the fact that you disagree; I certainly wouldn't expect everyone to agree with me. We may be dealing with substantive issues, but the ideological arguments we are making are necessarily subjective. I may not be able to persuade you to my own philosophical view of things, but it's important that we clarify some of the substantive arguments being made...
I want to commend tinman, it's great that he got out of poverty. I, too, come from modest means. I was born to a working class family and my parents divorced when I was young. My mother is a high school dropout, my father, a blue collar civil servant. I, fortunately, have made progress and now hold an MA and am working on a PhD. I'm proud of this and the fact that I've achieved it despite my background. I also recognize that I've had to work harder than people born into wealthier families, than people born into better school districts. Statistically, you'll find that people born into the middle class are more likely to go to college, grad school, etc. than people born into the lower and working class. You'll find that people born into the upper class are statistically more likely to achieve these things than people born into the middle class. Now, this leads to one of two conclusions: either (1) people born into higher classes are inherently smarter and more ambitious than those born into lower classes and thats why they are more likely to make it into and through college or (2) the circumstances that members of higher economic brackets are born into are more conducive to academic and economic success later in life. I know the conclusion I believe is more correct; which do you prefer?
Additionally, I take issue with your contention that all Americans have equal access to high quality education and high quality healthcare. You yourself pointed out the problems inherent to the inner cities. Do you honestly believe that a public high school in inner city Chicago offers the same quality education as a public high school in an upper class suburb of Chicago? Do you honestly believe that all public schools are funded equally in this country? How do you explain the fact that some public schools are so underfunded as to not have up-to-date textbooks, enough teachers, etc while other schools are well funded enough to offer many AP courses, have the most up-to-date textbooks, have enough teachers to have small classes etc. and still say that everyone has equal opportunity in education. Students who live in school districts with underfunded schools are necessarily disadvantaged compared to students living in districts with well-funded schools. This doesn't mean they can't make it, but they are going to have to work a lot harder and fewer of them are going to make it. If you don't go to a good high school you're going to have a hell of a time making it into a good college.
The cost of higher education itself is also prohibitive for many students. Unless you're intelligent enough to receive a full, or close to full, ride on scholarships, and few of us are, you aren't going to be able to afford going to a top college even if you get accepted. I believe that, at the very least, if you can maintain a certain predetermined GPA while in college you should be guaranteed a chance to attend state universities.
The idea that we all have equal access to high quality healthcare is even more absurd than the notion that all students receive equally good educations. If you are poor or even middle class chances are you don't have adequate health insurance to ensure yourself quality healthcare if you get a serious illness, such as cancer. You'll either be denied the best treatments because you can't afford them and therefore will die earlier or you'll go into such deep debt that you and your family lose their current standard of living.
Solutions? In terms of education, I believe we should federalize funding (though not necessarily the actual administration) of public schools. All public schools should be funded equally according to the number of students they have, though certain exceptions could be made for special circumstances. Thus, an inner city school wouldn't be underfunded but would rather be funded as well as any other public school. What's disagreeable about this approach? As for healthcare, I'll save that for another time...
I hate to think of income redistribution as investment. Investment it is not. We make investment everyday with public education & yet so many kids still graduate with below average reading, comprehension and math levels. Too many kids are having babies of their own out of wedlock, causing the inability to move ahead academically or otherwise. Too many people still get welfare or welfare to work or the newest version of welfare called SSI.
No, I am not going to seek to redistribute my income. If people want to get ahead, work for it. If you fall & have bumps in the road, get up & try again. Handouts keep you enslaved.
Yet, the majority of americans- including "hardworking" americans(i.e. non welfare recipents) graduate from the education system...
Maybe we should just kick out children who do poorly academically(or in behavior) in high school in order to keep cost down.
Are you against investments such as roads, bridges, libraries, ect???
Thank you. You know when I buy a new toy its months of research. I hate buyers remorse.
My garden tiller was 1 year of research planing and saving. I bought the best machine made at the time.
My house was 3 years of planing. Geothermal heat pump.
2x6 exteriors 2 layers r-33 in the ceilings.
Positioned on my land to take advantage of the winter sun.
I have never had a loan go to term. I always pay off early if even only by 1 month.
Its not hard to succeed in our society. Its just easier to fail. Too many folks bank on money not yet in hand. Too many assume they will have more next year. Our mortgage crisis is typical of short term planners.
Americans have 1 great flaw. We are short term thinkers.
Our second flaw is we are being programed to rely on the fed to bail us out no matter what.
Not me, I don't trust the fed, trust the reps in office and I will never trust a gov run agency to do anything but justify their own jobs.
Geothermal & maxing R factor to be as energy efficient as possible. (if you are a Republican you are really going to confuse some folks) Geeze, environmentally responsible too? I have even more respect!
I agree with you. I have a real concern about giving "rebates" like Obama is proposing to people who don't pay taxes in the first place. That is, like you say, rewarding people who are non-performers. Not first time non-performers, but chronic non-performers.
Just because someone makes little money, doesn't mean they are "non-performers."
Anyways, most americans(yes- even households) make less than $80,000. The taxes Obama proposed would only affect those who make $200,000 !!!! Are the majority of americans ( over 40% ) chronic non-performers??
Geothermal & maxing R factor to be as energy efficient as possible. (if you are a Republican you are really going to confuse some folks) Geeze, environmentally responsible too? I have even more respect!
LOL I am old school republican leaning towards libertarian these days.
I have a garden to die for. A plot 45'x 45'. Its bounty lasts well into the next spring. I use very little fertilizers. I instead rely upon the neighbors manure from their horses. I use grass clippings for mulch which prevents weeds. Over all I try to be as independent as possible. Most real republicans are like that. Ever wonder why the majority of farmers big and small are conservative? Big gov only fails the people. The bigger it gets the less in touch it becomes.
Ok, I understand a lot of what you have said. I just don't agree with it. Look at Tinman's post. He grew up in poverty & beat it. He was hungry - he wanted more & he is very successful as a result. The bottom line is personal accountability. You said " Equal opportunity to high quality education would be necessary as would equal accessibility to quality healthcare." It is available right now. However, should colleges LOWER their standards to ALLOW sub par students admissions? Would that truly guarantee a better, brighter future? I think not. Political Correctness got us in this hot mess & we need to put an end to it. If you don't study, get used to flippin burgers at McDonalds. We need burger flippers just like we need doctors. Everyone has a place, but it is up to each person to decide what that place will be.
To begin, I respect the fact that you disagree; I certainly wouldn't expect everyone to agree with me. We may be dealing with substantive issues, but the ideological arguments we are making are necessarily subjective. I may not be able to persuade you to my own philosophical view of things, but it's important that we clarify some of the substantive arguments being made...
I want to commend tinman, it's great that he got out of poverty. I, too, come from modest means. I was born to a working class family and my parents divorced when I was young. My mother is a high school dropout, my father, a blue collar civil servant. I, fortunately, have made progress and now hold an MA and am working on a PhD. I'm proud of this and the fact that I've achieved it despite my background. I also recognize that I've had to work harder than people born into wealthier families, than people born into better school districts. Statistically, you'll find that people born into the middle class are more likely to go to college, grad school, etc. than people born into the lower and working class. You'll find that people born into the upper class are statistically more likely to achieve these things than people born into the middle class. Now, this leads to one of two conclusions: either (1) people born into higher classes are inherently smarter and more ambitious than those born into lower classes and thats why they are more likely to make it into and through college or (2) the circumstances that members of higher economic brackets are born into are more conducive to academic and economic success later in life. I know the conclusion I believe is more correct; which do you prefer?
Additionally, I take issue with your contention that all Americans have equal access to high quality education and high quality healthcare. You yourself pointed out the problems inherent to the inner cities. Do you honestly believe that a public high school in inner city Chicago offers the same quality education as a public high school in an upper class suburb of Chicago? Do you honestly believe that all public schools are funded equally in this country? How do you explain the fact that some public schools are so underfunded as to not have up-to-date textbooks, enough teachers, etc while other schools are well funded enough to offer many AP courses, have the most up-to-date textbooks, have enough teachers to have small classes etc. and still say that everyone has equal opportunity in education. Students who live in school districts with underfunded schools are necessarily disadvantaged compared to students living in districts with well-funded schools. This doesn't mean they can't make it, but they are going to have to work a lot harder and fewer of them are going to make it. If you don't go to a good high school you're going to have a hell of a time making it into a good college.
The cost of higher education itself is also prohibitive for many students. Unless you're intelligent enough to receive a full, or close to full, ride on scholarships, and few of us are, you aren't going to be able to afford going to a top college even if you get accepted. I believe that, at the very least, if you can maintain a certain predetermined GPA while in college you should be guaranteed a chance to attend state universities.
The idea that we all have equal access to high quality healthcare is even more absurd than the notion that all students receive equally good educations. If you are poor or even middle class chances are you don't have adequate health insurance to ensure yourself quality healthcare if you get a serious illness, such as cancer. You'll either be denied the best treatments because you can't afford them and therefore will die earlier or you'll go into such deep debt that you and your family lose their current standard of living.
Solutions? In terms of education, I believe we should federalize funding (though not necessarily the actual administration) of public schools. All public schools should be funded equally according to the number of students they have, though certain exceptions could be made for special circumstances. Thus, an inner city school wouldn't be underfunded but would rather be funded as well as any other public school. What's disagreeable about this approach? As for healthcare, I'll save that for another time...
Only 3.17 perecent of americans make more than $150,000-$200,000...
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