Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Short answer is not to think there will ever be a day when we don't have poor people and/or rich people, but there is what can be done to help limit the disparities of opportunity between those born disadvantaged vs those born with advantage.
A quick peek at another thread about Warren's proposed free child care immediately caused me to think people will either be for or against depending on whether they believe this effort to limit the above referenced disparities is appropriate for any society to work toward. Needless to say, better access to affordable child care, health care, education, nutritious foods and a safe environment - for as many people as possible -- rich or poor is how we best better provide opportunity for those born disadvantaged.
Some complain about all this "free stuff," as if there is no cost to America that comes from poverty. Do the math with respect to the cost of drugs, crime, poor health and all the rest compared to providing better access to all that helps mitigate the cost of poverty in America, and only then can you come to a better conclusion about how our tax dollars are best spent. Then too the question of who further up the economic ladder should pay what rate of taxes to support these efforts along with all the rest our government is more than happy to spend money on.
Far as you are concerned, should we bother with what I note in bold above? Why or why not?
Answer tends to determine whether you understand where people like Warren, Sanders, Newsom and other more progressive type thinkers are coming from...
Gov. Newsom proposing to expand services for babies and toddlers
The free stuff. Right. Like health care and child care.
If people are healthy, they can work and contribute to the economy, rather than resort to SS Disability and collecting money.
If women did not have to worry about paying for childcare that costs more than week's salary, many of them could also be working.
Yes, there are women who do not work at all, and would like to, but cannot because they cannot afford childcare. If those women had free childcare, they could work full time, contribute to the economy, pay taxes and guess what--contribute those taxes to paying for public childcare.
At some point we have to start worrying about the Country's welfare, and the country is made up of many different people. If it keeps going like it's going and the wealth becomes more concentrated, while others are working 3 jobs to survive, refer to the French Revolution.
The short answer is... stop letting in poor people into our country.
Seriously though, in all of human civilization, there have been those with wealth and other assets, and others with nothing and living on the fringes of society. We will always have citizens with wealth, and those who are poor, and most people being in the middle. And that's okay.
We need to stop being so wound up over the concept of "fairness" and everyone having equal amounts of money. Some people are just smarter, or more aggressive or just willing to work harder or just content to live frugally and not spend on nonsense. And I am fine with stupider people and slackers having less in life than those who are hard working and using commonsense to have more. And not every "poor person" is unhappy that they don't have a lot of material wealth in their lives.
That is utterly unrealistic. I have never met a poor person that was not unhappy. The word poor as such implies that the person doesn't have enough.
Nor is it about "equal amounts of money". It is about a reasonable, fair gap.
Yes, there are women who do not work at all, and would like to, but cannot because they cannot afford childcare. If those women had free childcare, they could work full time, contribute to the economy, pay taxes and guess what--contribute those taxes to paying for public childcare.
Gee if only they had the personal responsibility to wait until they could afford to have both kids and a career.
If you want to get paid the big bucks, you have to be able to do things ordinary people can't.
I disagree. Most people could do anything if they had the chance to grow up in a nice, inspiring environment, visit good high schools, Ivy League universities etc. At birth most humans are still very close together in terms of potential, capabilities etc. But as soon as they get out of the maternity ward, privileges, or the lack thereof, start to kick in.
1. If you live in the real world, the answer is that we don't close the gap. News flash. Life is not fair. Never has been, never will be fair. Life goes on as usual and there will always be a gap that exists.
2. If you live in a fantasy world, then I guess there are a few things that you could do such as put more vocational schools in lower income areas and teach the disadvantaged how to get a career that will pay a decent wage ie plumber, electrician, carpenter etc. Problem is that people often times are too lazy to participate.
I think anyone working full-time should be able to enjoy a humble, but decent quality of life, including burger flippers and people like that. The whole job Darwinism has to go. A funny word for that would be jobbery (job+snobbery) ^^
I disagree. Most people could do anything if they had the chance to grow up in a nice, inspiring environment, visit good high schools, Ivy League universities etc. At birth most humans are still very close together in terms of potential, capabilities etc. But as soon as they get out of the maternity ward, privileges, or the lack thereof, start to kick in.
Utter BS. Just like there are naturally gifted athletes, there are natural gifted academics and entrepreneurs.
Just look at Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Neither one finished college.
If you have deadbeat parents that can't give you a head start in life, then blame them, not everyone else.
Utter BS. Just like there are naturally gifted athletes, there are natural gifted academics and entrepreneurs.
Just look at Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Neither one finished college.
If you have deadbeat parents that can't give you a head start in life, then blame them, not everyone else.
It is not the same. If you are built like Bolt or an NBA player, you were simply lucky as your genes translated into that body. If your genes said 6 feet max, there is nothing you can do about it.
The brain however is utterly flexible and adaptable, depending on stimuli, necessities etc.
Gates is a thief, Zuckerberg a prick, both not exactly examples to follow Only greedy people consider them examples to follow.
It is not about blaming. Of course some parents are not good at parenting, but the child should not pay the price for that, else the whole problem is handed from one generation to the next.
Also, as a look at different countries shows, some are much more successful than others at limiting inequality and maximizing social mobility.
It is not the same. If you are built like Bolt or an NBA player, you were simply lucky as your genes translated into that body. If your genes said 6 feet max, there is nothing you can do about it.
The brain however is utterly flexible and adaptable, depending on stimuli, necessities etc.
Gates is a thief, Zuckerberg a prick, both not exactly examples to follow Only greedy people consider them examples to follow.
It is not about blaming. Of course some parents are not good at parenting, but the child should not pay the price for that, else the whole problem is handed from one generation to the next.
Also, as a look at different countries shows, some are much more successful than others at limiting inequality and maximizing social mobility.
You seem to live inside a fantasy, where everyone is equally intelligent and motivated... the only differentiator being their upbringing.
In this world, there are smart people, dumb people, lazy people and hard working people. Guess which ones get ahead in life?
And there is NO county that has more rags to riches stories than America.
Last edited by Colorado^; 02-21-2019 at 02:16 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.