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Exactly. The "more money for schools will prevent them from being in prison" argument is weak, at best. Even liberal folks are admitting more money is not going to solve most of the problems:
More money well spent to hire the top teachers would and has made a big difference when it actually is used to hire top teachers. Unfortunately with their being so many K-12 teachers the talent pool has a lot of ineffective to average teachers and the best tend to go to the better schools etc etc etc. Like everyone else they are voting with their feet what they want to do with their lives and how they want to apply their resources. The result is that you in many places are throwing good money at what isn't going to work. Elsewhere good money is going to what is already in place and working well. With so much of education being local tax based driven more affluent will have a better natural tax base to provide their school systems. Poorer districts need somebody else's money to throw at their problems with little motivation for good teachers to work there.
And that is why we can't afford to expand Medicaid and to offer a higher level of services. We don't have a large enough affluent population to provide the tax base. Heck much of the affluent tax base came here in part because of lower taxes overall. Without affluent transplants how much worse would it be? Can you imagine what Charlotte and the Triangle would be like without transplants from those wonderful states that provide a wealth of services for their citizens?
Exactly.
I have had long discussions with my friends and family members about how grateful we all are that good citizens from other parts of the USA wish to retire to NC. We should be doing all we can to spread the word that NC is welcoming seniors with open arms.
And many small towns have figured out that making themselves attractive to seniors can mean not only a boon to the tax coffers, it helps with the housing recovery, brings in new residents who are interested in being active participants in the community (and volunteering), helps local businesses. Seniors tend to INVEST in the communities where they retire, if not through their dollars, then through their activities in their neighborhoods, or serving on various local town/county boards, working at the polls on election day, etc -- all sorts of community service. Plus, seniors often bring with them areas of expertise which they will share through community colleges, or through their churches. I know folks who have moved here as retirees and then ended up opening small businesses or mentoring others who have opened their own businesses.
Although we tend to talk a lot about what Senior Services are going to be available to us in any given area we may retire, we typically do not discuss how much retirees GIVE BACK to their communities.
More money well spent to hire the top teachers would and has made a big difference when it actually is used to hire top teachers. Unfortunately with their being so many K-12 teachers the talent pool has a lot of ineffective to average teachers and the best tend to go to the better schools etc etc etc. Like everyone else they are voting with their feet what they want to do with their lives and how they want to apply their resources. The result is that you in many places are throwing good money at what isn't going to work. Elsewhere good money is going to what is already in place and working well. With so much of education being local tax based driven more affluent will have a better natural tax base to provide their school systems. Poorer districts need somebody else's money to throw at their problems with little motivation for good teachers to work there.
Some valid points there. I still think the core of the problem, though, is the culture of poverty whereby people from dysfunctional homes perpetuate the cycle. And anyone who tries to tell these folks the way they're living is not good and/or they don't want to subsidize dysfunction with their tax dollars is shouted down.
And that is why we can't afford to expand Medicaid and to offer a higher level of services. We don't have a large enough affluent population to provide the tax base. Heck much of the affluent tax base came here in part because of lower taxes overall. Without affluent transplants how much worse would it be? Can you imagine what Charlotte and the Triangle would be like without transplants from those wonderful states that provide a wealth of services for their citizens?
The states that did not expand Medicaid generally have the most regressive tax systems. These states should either expand Medicaid OR stop soaking their poor with regressive taxes.
Heh, this renter realizes he pays parcel taxes. Just because they don't break it down for you in a line item doesn't mean you're not paying it....but I know, I know....most people are dumb and I'm the "weird" one for realizing this. It's the same idea with health care....everyone wants insurance to cover everything and then they get mad when their premiums go up...but I digress.
Let's say you're in the voting booth and there's a property tax on the ballot. But this is a very special property tax. It's so special that this property tax is levied on rental property but not on owner-occupied homes. What do you do?
Some valid points there. I still think the core of the problem, though, is the culture of poverty whereby people from dysfunctional homes perpetuate the cycle. And anyone who tries to tell these folks the way they're living is not good and/or they don't want to subsidize dysfunction with their tax dollars is shouted down.
Fine...stop subsidizing them and let them shout all they want. WAHHH!
I have had long discussions with my friends and family members about how grateful we all are that good citizens from other parts of the USA wish to retire to NC. We should be doing all we can to spread the word that NC is welcoming seniors with open arms.
And many small towns have figured out that making themselves attractive to seniors can mean not only a boon to the tax coffers, it helps with the housing recovery, brings in new residents who are interested in being active participants in the community (and volunteering), helps local businesses. Seniors tend to INVEST in the communities where they retire, if not through their dollars, then through their activities in their neighborhoods, or serving on various local town/county boards, working at the polls on election day, etc -- all sorts of community service. Plus, seniors often bring with them areas of expertise which they will share through community colleges, or through their churches. I know folks who have moved here as retirees and then ended up opening small businesses or mentoring others who have opened their own businesses.
Although we tend to talk a lot about what Senior Services are going to be available to us in any given area we may retire, we typically do not discuss how much retirees GIVE BACK to their communities.
Which drives up rents for the poor and the working class.
You ask questions that I think are a long line of excuses people use that are not motivated to move on in life to another level. Since there are plenty of people who can live a fairly comfortable life and put away $ from retirement(or potentially can put $ away), there must be a way to accomplish such a task, yes??? Sounds like you're basically saying it's impossible/improbable for someone to get an education in a field that's in demand, or start up their own business for a field that's in demand, and land a well paying job these days and have to go into major student loan debt to get it? Really? To me such a person isn't really trying.
And when you right out of the gate use words like "improbable" and "impossible", there are no jobs for your trade out of school, etc, in my view, an individual has already given up in my book before they even started to work/scratch/claw a bit do get what they want. And frankly looking for a way to fail/an individual who doesn't have much drive to keep pushing in my book are usually the ones that remain where they are in their life and just complain about.
I think everyone who's worked a job in their life started in a position that you describe. Before I went to college/out of high school, I packed boxes in a summer job and didn't make much money at all. I could have easily stopped at that point and started complaining to everyone "how am I suppose to pay for this/that, save for retirement, etc. but I didn't.......I wanted to be more comfortable and went to college and went into a field that was in demand and was careful to accumulate credits in state schools for the most part as it was much cheaper.
As for college or trade school expenses, if one is as poor as you seem to state, and how can such a person pay for school "without money", you'll more than likely get a free ride with tuition or get a good chunk of money towards it.
As for worried about getting out of college/a trade with no job, I think the 1st key is go into a field that is in demand. Accounting is big/has been lucrative for some time now. Nursing or other jobs in healthcare like a radiologist are very much in demand and will be with our population trends and decision people are making with their health. Many of these jobs you can go to a local community college and not come out of college with a huge student debt burden which I personally think is a huge mistake/unnecessary to get a good job these days. And how about working for yourself? There are tons of jobs that are always in demand. Landscaping for example. Many in our area do very well at it. How about heating/cooling technician? I know a guy who went to a community college for 2 years, started his own business(just him and a few other guys) and do very well. And this person I know worked a full time job while going to heating/cooling school at night and had a few kids.
I think if there's a will, there's a way. No one said any of it is always smooth and easy. And many people, by their own decisions, make it tougher with a bad attitude. I think it all comes down to drive/does someone really want something enough? For many people I've known, the answer is no and they'd rather complain about their situation and do nothing about it. That's their choice and nothing wrong with that/it's not for me to judge. But many of us don't want to hear the excuses from such people of why they can't do something when with lots of effort, drive, and planning, the vast majority can.
Even more alarming: 19% of those very close to retirement age, between the ages of 55 and 64, said they had no savings.
Why is this surprising? have you seen what things cost nowadays? have you seen how many jobs people need just to make rent? have you seen how some are paralyzed financially by freakin insane medical bills?
I am waiting to see how much more of this garbage American people can take before they had enough!
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I honestly thought this figure would be more around 25%.
