Quote:
Originally Posted by bigrobwoot
I agree with that sentence, but that's about it. That's how it works now. No one has to be any of those things, they choose to be. I don't think the government should provide healthcare, housing, or college education. I believe everyone should have the right to be stupid, sick, or homeless, if you so choose. That's what America is about, the right to choose. Everyone has a chance to better themselves in this country. If you're not happy with not having the health insurance you want, do something about it. Quit using a cell phone, and use that money for insurance. Quit driving a car and ride the bus. I shouldn't have to pay for health insurance so you can have it for free.
I'm going to school to become an engineer. I'm putting in all this work right now, so that I can make a bunch of money later. It's stupid that I should have to pay for someone who has never tried to better their situation. Why should we all have to pay for people who drop out of high school, get a shit job, and spend all of their money on weed and alcohol instead of health insurance?
Sorry if this got a little rant-y or hard to read, I'm a bit fired up on the topic. And I don't mean to single out Sperry, it's just the one post I chose to quote. I might be playing with fire, trying to pick a fight with Scott 
One more thing: you can't say people will not aspire to nothing, given an education. People do that now! How many people in your high school class dropped out? I know quite a few. Hell, I even have cousins that did it. Plenty of people choose to do nothing with their lives, and they have the right to do so. What they don't have the right to do is make me better their situation for them. I'm not your mom, I'm not here to clean up your mess. I'm here to clean up my own. |
Well said for someone who's never met people that want to have a better life but can't.
It's all well and good to tell people they just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but it's totally unrealistic to say that's possible for everyone. Life ain't fair... for many many people the only difference between success and failure is luck. Luck to be born rich vs luck to be born blind... etc.
The question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you believe that a successful society has an obligation to provide for those that can't provide for themselves. Now I'm with you on the idea that a "free ride" isn't fair to the rest of us that are paying for it... but that's why I think people on welfare should "pay their way" by going to school. If we require folks to get an education in order to receive their "free" welfare, we end up with folks that have a college or trade school degree in a few years that are now capable of contributing and giving back to society. The vast majority of people that are living in welfare hell now are there because they were born poor, never got an education, and are having kids that will perpetuate the cycle. They're not there because they want to be, they're there because they don't know how not to be there. Teach them a skill, give them a sense of accomplishment, and I bet the vast majority of people that have tasted success will now have the will and skills to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
And for that tiny minority of people that actually are lazy, that education can't help... well that minority is probably so small that we can write it off as an expense in the business of providing everyone with the opportunity to succeed.