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I run a restaurant among other things. We gross 300K in a decent week. We have about 120 employees. Nobody is about to take any of that away, Mr. Reactionary Scary-Stories. The problem here is that nowhere near everyone can hope to duplicate any part of that. It's like telling the poor to win a Nobel Prize or an Olympic gold medal. Some people do that every year and profit greatly from it, but it's not a pathway for the masses. How hard can it be to understand that?
Easy there Mr "I hate my job" did someone kick your puppy when you were a kid?
I hope all my competition and soon to be competition, has that attitude, I will sleep better thanks.
It's not my job. I am part of the group that owns the place. and I mention it as part of making two points. First, I won't be needing any of your advice to "try capitalism", and second, no one is trying to "take it away". Put a lid on the pointless melodrama. Meanwhile, there is no use in telling poor people that they should do what I did or what you did or what Willie Brown did or what Cesar Chavez did. All of that was uniquely accomplished under one-time circumstances that cannot be replicated like some recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Reality is out there. Grasp it.
It's not my job. I am part of the group that owns the place. and I mention it as part of making two points. First, I won't be needing any of your advice to "try capitalism", and second, no one is trying to "take it away". Put a lid on the pointless melodrama. Meanwhile, there is no use in telling poor people that they should do what I did or what you did or what Willie Brown did or what Cesar Chavez did. All of that was uniquely accomplished under one-time circumstances that cannot be replicated like some recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Reality is out there. Grasp it.
Got it... we are all out of one-time circumstances.
If you are not already in... you will never get in so there is no use trying... the world, stars and Gods have made it so...
Times have changed making it harder, far more difficult, for a person to start up a business where they perhaps can make decent money without a degree (or with one in too many cases) in engineering or other "demand" field. Part of the problem is government regulation and legal entanglements. Some of it is due to rigorous licensing requirements or self protection rules by people already in a trade. In my area, for many years we had a couple of brothers whose business involved pumping septic tanks, replacing drain fields etc. Not a crowded field as you might imagine but they were incredibly reliable, honest (not ripping off widows and elderly). However, they were both almost illiterate with their wives handling the business end. Along came the government and came up with a test you had to pass in order to be in the business. Basically the exam involved "digging in the dirt". Neither could pass because they could not read well enough to prepare never mind to read the exam itself. The government was picking winners and losers and it is more acute today. They finally had to rearrange their business structure to take on a "partner" who could pass the exam and they could operate under that license. Yes, yes, there are perils with digging: natural gas lines, other utilities, etc. But these men could have easily been put out of business. I tend to believe that pulling oneself up by their own shoe strings is largely a thing of the past.
I once hired a contractor who did excellent work, but a functional illiterate. He had no idea how to figure sales tax, which is 8.75%. He knew that was somewhat less than 10%, and could figure 10%, so he just charged an amount a bit less than 10% and figured that was ok. I took about 10 min to explain to him how to figure sales tax correctly. Turned out he was actually "cheating" himself. Shows you need a basic education even to clean out septic tanks!
It's not my job. I am part of the group that owns the place. and I mention it as part of making two points. First, I won't be needing any of your advice to "try capitalism", and second, no one is trying to "take it away". Put a lid on the pointless melodrama. Meanwhile, there is no use in telling poor people that they should do what I did or what you did or what Willie Brown did or what Cesar Chavez did. All of that was uniquely accomplished under one-time circumstances that cannot be replicated like some recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Reality is out there. Grasp it.
I guess they can't walk and knock. They probably missed that class in school. Funny how I see people pushing lawn mowers in town asking to cut lawns(they must be the lucky ones). Your poor must not have grass where they live. Trust me, If someone does not want to try, they can come up with a lot of reasons. I just refuse to participate. Its always refreshing getting a 1st generation immigrants impression of this country and people. Most just do what it takes, they never had the opportunity where they came from. Lots of money? No, most come with nothing, not even the language. Yet, lots succeed, perhaps its good they couldn't read your post. Just reading your posts Mr " I like to stir the pot", I don't quite believe you believe all you type. If so, I'm sure its a hoot hanging around with you. I'm sure most appreciate your pep talks.
You cannot afford anything you you like, even though you work harder than most and deserve more!
Being poor is like a vicious cycle, it's extremley hard to get out of, despite what people say.
I don't know if you're referring to yourself, but someone thinking that s/he works "harder than most and deserves more" sounds pretty presumptuous and mean-spirited.
Congratulations, though, for being on the right track for the class envy that's sure to follow you the rest of your life.
Living in poverty was the greatest motivator for me to get an education, work three jobs, get off drugs, stop drinking, end the party lifestyle.
It amazes me, that others don't see the light. People can get out of poverty with hard work, and saving money.
I talked to a young man, he is on Social Security, I talked to him about getting a job, he looked at me like I was crazy. He said,"I am too disabled to work.". If I work they will take away my Social Security.
He could easily get a job. He has veterans preference, a college degree, a slight disability. He would rather live on a meager handout. Who can figure people like this out?
I have met quite a few poor people in my life and no, they didn't all make bad choices. Some were just unfortunate. I know one guy who worked his way through college, got a degree in civil engineering, and can't find a job paying more than $10 an hour. He can't go back to school without going into more debt so he is now stuck unless he can find a way to pay for more school, which isn't easy on $10 an hour when you are trying to pay rent.
Another woman is a single mom who had to leave an abusive relationship. She now works two jobs to make ends meet.
Then, you have companies that are pay very low wages for higher skilled jobs. I work in a job that requires moderate technical expertise, knowledge of all the software programs, excellent data entry skills, ability to communicate with diverse groups of people, and the ability to troubleshoot computers and other technical equipment. All this for....$10 an hour.
Don't get me wrong, there are poor people who made bad choices, but many are just simply unlucky.
Every time I've become poor, it was due to a bad decision on my part. We all go through life making decisions, most of us have made a dumb decision a time or two.
Someone with an engineering degree should be making more than $10 an hour. Maybe his poor decision was not relocating to where engineering jobs were. For example, you can't go back to live in a very small town with certain degrees if you intend to use your degree.
Leaving an abusive relationship was certainly a good decision, but choosing to have a child when you aren't married and are in an abusive relationship is a bad decision.
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