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Cause there's a word that fosters healthy discussions.
I went to India a while back, people pooped directly into rivers, rode as a family of five on a moped, everywhere I looked there were teeming masses of people, and although I was hustled actively when I walked into a shop or mall, only one begger approached me and he had no legs. There lay a society where upward mobility was very limited, much like large swaths of South America. Worlds apart from our relative utopia here in the US.
We have boot straps here, and boots, and running water, and safety net after safety net to fall back on. We have free education to age 17-18, and highly discounted college opportunities (between Pell and CalGrants a student could get a degree from any of the UC's for free (provided they go to CC for the first two years)). Even when college isn't free we have IBR where you work for 10 or 20 years and the debt is forgiven (the fact this encourages spending on degrees that don't pan out is a whole other post).
Drugs, and vice, and "hooking up" with the wrong person are choices and ones that perpetuate poverty.
Anecdotal or not, I lived in section 8, I rode a bike miles to buy groceries with footstamps, I was not told about college by my high school counselors and my parents were just as clueless about the whole thing. But I manned up at 14, kept my record clean, and at 18 escaped from poverty while doing amazing things in the service of my Country that had already given me so much.
[insert montage here to include really hard work, a few deployments, and lots of school]
Having given my youth up in exchange for the betterment of my own position in the world and to improve the chances of my offspring, I can't help but contemplate the lives of those who cannot or will not step out of poverty.
Surely I had my share of chance encounters, lucky breaks, and good fortune, but that was coupled with grit and motivation.
We all get lucky breaks in life, and for the bulk of us in here that started with being born in America. We won the birth lottery (genetically if you're not into God, by location if you are), and just like Powerball, some squander their winnings, some live modestly off them and others use the one time windfall to build a legacy.
So yes it blows my mind when I go through areas that are similar to what I grew up around, and see so much misplaced potential.
I know not everyone can make it, even here in the states there are haves and havenots, and that's why I posed the question.
It wasn't intended to be elitism, just reflection.
We have boot straps here, and boots, and running water, and safety net after safety net to fall back on. We have free education to age 17-18, and highly discounted college opportunities (between Pell and CalGrants a student could get a degree from any of the UC's for free (provided they go to CC for the first two years)). Even when college isn't free we have IBR where you work for 10 or 20 years and the debt is forgiven (the fact this encourages spending on degrees that don't pan out is a whole other post).
The rest of the country is not California. I was screwed out of financial aid by a dysfunctional family situation.
Cause there's a word that fosters healthy discussions.
I went to India a while back, people pooped directly into rivers, rode as a family of five on a moped, everywhere I looked there were teeming masses of people, and although I was hustled actively when I walked into a shop or mall, only one begger approached me and he had no legs. There lay a society where upward mobility was very limited, much like large swaths of South America. Worlds apart from our relative utopia here in the US.
We have boot straps here, and boots, and running water, and safety net after safety net to fall back on. We have free education to age 17-18, and highly discounted college opportunities (between Pell and CalGrants a student could get a degree from any of the UC's for free (provided they go to CC for the first two years)). Even when college isn't free we have IBR where you work for 10 or 20 years and the debt is forgiven (the fact this encourages spending on degrees that don't pan out is a whole other post).
Drugs, and vice, and "hooking up" with the wrong person are choices and ones that perpetuate poverty.
Anecdotal or not, I lived in section 8, I rode a bike miles to buy groceries with footstamps, I was not told about college by my high school counselors and my parents were just as clueless about the whole thing. But I manned up at 14, kept my record clean, and at 18 escaped from poverty while doing amazing things in the service of my Country that had already given me so much.
[insert montage here to include really hard work, a few deployments, and lots of school]
Having given my youth up in exchange for the betterment of my own position in the world and to improve the chances of my offspring, I can't help but contemplate the lives of those who cannot or will not step out of poverty.
Surely I had my share of chance encounters, lucky breaks, and good fortune, but that was coupled with grit and motivation.
We all get lucky breaks in life, and for the bulk of us in here that started with being born in America. We won the birth lottery (genetically if you're not into God, by location if you are), and just like Powerball, some squander their winnings, some live modestly off them and others use the one time windfall to build a legacy.
So yes it blows my mind when I go through areas that are similar to what I grew up around, and see so much misplaced potential.
I know not everyone can make it, even here in the states there are haves and havenots, and that's why I posed the question.
It wasn't intended to be elitism, just reflection.
Great post! I know it sounds crazy, but I think that travel can be an amazing thing for sure to open up your eyes. I think the impact would be amazing if we started giving people passports and flights outside the country.
I don't like when people want to put down the U.S , I've gotten into arguments before with close family members that have said negative things about the U.S., yet interestingly they continue to live here.
One of them mentioned a very rich friend of their that said he was worried about how things are going in the U.S and was thinking of moving to Australia. This is a guy that made a fortune in the U.S and lives in a mansion in a nice area of L.A
I asked, "Well why doesn't he just move to Australia then?"
It seems that nowadays it's almost cool to just criticize the U.S . I see tons of people coming here and putting their money in U.S businesses and real estate.
Of course America isn't perfect, but most people will have a better shot here than elsewhere.
Despite what people say, today the U.S is the 'safest bet' .
I don't like when people make false statements like "It's the same everywhere, the U.S is just as bad or corrupt as other countries" .
But you KNOW the cause is not all so one sided... Don't you?
Liberalism recognizes the defacto reality of the existence... and yes, goes too far.
Conservatism otoh ignores and even outright encourages HOW that existence arrived.
Bottom line? You can't have it both ways!
You can't bich and moan about all those hungry mouths...
at the same time you set policies that encourage even more of them.
Yes both liberalism and conservatism go too far. And they reinforce each other.
But you forgot one thing. Liberalism today, especially Democratic Party corporate liberalism, also encourages even more of them because they want votes so they take a libertarian stand on immigration, they want votes so they incentivize people to have more children irresponsibly. Tell me how is that not encouraging how that existence arrived. I would say that the democrats today prioritize getting votes much more than helping people.
Come on, at least be consistent.
What I'm saying is that the two sides aren't the opposite. The democrats do what republicans do too.
Great post! I know it sounds crazy, but I think that travel can be an amazing thing for sure to open up your eyes. I think the impact would be amazing if we started giving people passports and flights outside the country.
Better yet would be a time machine. Sure it isn't nearly as bad here as it is in most of the world. But it also isn't as good as it was.
I certainly am thankful that I live in decent and prosperous country. What I'm concerned about is its trajectory towards greater income and wealth disparity, less privacy and freedom, greater consolidation of power, etc. It does not bode well for democracy, and the future of the US or the world.
The rest of the country is not California. I was screwed out of financial aid by a dysfunctional family situation.
I was never able to apply for financial aid because my mother refused to disclose her income and assets on the FAFSA. She felt it was no one's business.
So, I did the sensible thing and just allowed that to stop me from pursuing my goals.
Yes both liberalism and conservatism go too far. And they reinforce each other.
But you didn't mention the other side.. so you don't get to whine about the first half.
Quote:
But you forgot one thing. Liberalism today, especially Democratic Party
corporate liberalism, also encourages even more of them because they want votes...
Utter nonsense.
They recognize the defacto reality of them and work the system to meet that need.
Similar with the illegals issue. They're HERE. They're stuck with finding a way to deal with it.
Granted, I don't agree with the approach taken to either...
But I also lay 98% of the blame for EACH problem at the feet of the conservatives.
Social conservatives for the births of those who can't or won't do for themselves.
Fiscal conservatives for turning a blind eye to illegals and HIRING them.
Quote:
Come on, at least be consistent.
I suspect I might be the most consistent poster in the forum.
I was never able to apply for financial aid because my mother refused to disclose her income and assets on the FAFSA. She felt it was no one's business.
So, I did the sensible thing and just allowed that to stop me from pursuing my goals.
Oh no wait, I didn't.
So how did you pay for that? I cleaned restrooms and delivered pizzas.
Having fewer or no children is not the total solution - In eastern Europe for example, some of those countries are experiencing population decline with higher death rates than birth rates. That does not solve their economic woes.
The U.S. is somewhat down the list in "bootstrap" ability, last I checked about #8 or so in the G-12. It's better than third world countries obviously but the studies I've seen show that in the U.S. the parents' status is about twice as predictive of the children's status as in, say, Sweden or Denmark. In the U.S. (and UK), if your parents are poor, middle class or rich you are quite likely to be the same.
In 3rd world countries the parents' status is almost 100% predictive because there is very little social mobility. In the U.S. is about 50% predictive - better than someplace like India obviously, but does not fit the propaganda. In Norway it's less than 20%.
My feeling that the reason northern Europe seems to dominate these kinds of metrics is because of the strong cultural value they put on education. When I went to Germany, Denmark and Sweden, they seemed to take school REALLY seriously. They don't study obsessively like they do in places like Korea - but when they're in school, it's "serious" time. You do not mess with the teacher there who are almost as respected as doctors. Here, we put more emphasis on sports and the other "fun" parts of school and we look at teachers as failures in life who can't do anything better. They also seemed to value knowledge as an end in itself. In the U.S. we seem to look at education as something unpleasant we have to do to get a job and wish we could be doing something else. In northern Europe they didn't look at it that way. You worked hard in school because it was the thing to do.
They also seemed to value knowledge as an end in itself. In the U.S. we seem to look at education as something unpleasant we have to do to get a job and wish we could be doing something else. In northern Europe they didn't look at it that way. You worked hard in school because it was the thing to do.
The problem is, it *is* unpleasant. And the teachers often *are* failures. Make learning interesting, and kids will want to learn. Education is a mess in this country below college level.
The funny thing in Europe they don't even have a financial reason to do well in school because it is so egalitarian. It's for fun, personal enrichment, or prestige.
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