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Originally Posted by Atreides88
I call shenanigans on your claim. I've never heard of a single person being held back because of anything other than their own personal choices. Many of the 4000 kids I went to high school with decided education wasn't for them and partied their way through high school. You want to know where most of them are now? They're working dead end jobs and are utterly miserable with very little. On the other hand, a good buddy's parents are both immigrants and work multiple jobs to keep themselves afloat. He decided to work hard, got good grades, stood out as a tight end, and now has multiple full-ride offers from a handful of prestigious schools like Columbia and Yale.
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This type of thinking is flawed also. There are many hardworking people who get bad breaks. You can't blanket people. Also, the thinking that people are lazy and making poor choices, therefore they deserve to suffer and not receive decent health care is something I can't wrap my head around. Maybe I am more empathic than some. I feel that as a society, we put too much stress on working hard and working long. Work and you can get anything. I call bullshit on that notion. I would prefer to enjoy living. And those dead end high school education jobs you speak of, they are needed people in society. Where would you go to eat, shop, etc?
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Originally Posted by Atreides88
The real problem is that we've created a nanny state of sorts and instead of creating government programs that help people find work and work for what they need, we instead have created welfare programs that simply give people money for being deadbeats and give them no incentive to better themselves and make a contribution to society. We can't expect people to be honest because as long as people can find a way to do nothing and get some kind of benefits for it, they aren't going to be hard-working and honest.
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I'm curious as to how much interaction you've had with people in these situations. I don't say that as an attack, but you seem to have a lot of prejudiced notions. I know this because about 5 years ago, I would have agreed with you. However, after working in inner cities and volunteering at food pantries, my eyes were opened. While there will be deadbeats and people working the system, that is not how everyone is. There is a generational problem that is deeper than that. There are medical bills that causes people to lose everything. Then there are people who want to work, but actually make more getting welfare.
I agree with
Jess. I don't believe socialized medicine will occur here for a long time, if ever. There are too many problems in our current system. To continue education after high school is very expensive and must be compensated after graduation with a decent wage. Also, people have a bitter feeling toward government subsidies. There are many proud Americans. It has been seen in this thread. We are a boot-strap nation and to accept any help is seen as a sign of weakness. Change needs to start within the people's perceptions followed by education. If this can occur, there may be hope for a change to help citizens.