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What it means to be poor


jamotto
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Being poor is knowing exactly how much everything costs.

Being poor is getting angry at your kids for asking for all the crap they see on TV.

Being poor is having to keep buying $800 cars because they're what you can afford, and then having the cars break down on you, because there's not an $800 car in America that's worth a damn.

Being poor is hoping the toothache goes away.

Being poor is knowing your kid goes to friends' houses but never has friends over to yours.

Being poor is going to the restroom before you get in the school lunch line so your friends will be ahead of you and won't hear you say "I get free lunch" when you get to the cashier.

Being poor is living next to the freeway.

Being poor is coming back to the car with your children in the back seat, clutching that box of Raisin Bran you just bought and trying to think of a way to make the kids understand that the box has to last.

Being poor is wondering if your well-off sibling is lying when he says he doesn't mind when you ask for help.

Being poor is off-brand toys.

Being poor is a heater in only one room of the house.

Being poor is knowing you can't leave $5 on the coffee table when your friends are around.

Being poor is hoping your kids don't have a growth spurt.

Being poor is stealing meat from the store, frying it up before your mom gets home and then telling her she doesn't have make dinner tonight because you're not hungry anyway.

Being poor is Goodwill underwear.

Being poor is not enough space for everyone who lives with you.

Being poor is feeling the glued soles tear off your supermarket shoes when you run around the playground.

Being poor is your kid's school being the one with the 15-year-old textbooks and no air conditioning.

Being poor is thinking $8 an hour is a really good deal.

Being poor is relying on people who don't give a damn about you.

Being poor is an overnight shift under florescent lights.

Being poor is finding the letter your mom wrote to your dad, begging him for the child support.

Being poor is a bathtub you have to empty into the toilet.

Being poor is stopping the car to take a lamp from a stranger's trash.

Being poor is making lunch for your kid when a cockroach skitters over the bread, and you looking over to see if your kid saw.

Being poor is believing a GED actually makes a goddamned difference.

Being poor is people angry at you just for walking around in the mall.

Being poor is not taking the job because you can't find someone you trust to watch your kids.

Being poor is the police busting into the apartment right next to yours.

Being poor is not talking to that girl because she'll probably just laugh at your clothes.

Being poor is hoping you'll be invited for dinner.

Being poor is a sidewalk with lots of brown glass on it.

Being poor is people thinking they know something about you by the way you talk.

Being poor is needing that 35-cent raise.

Being poor is your kid's teacher assuming you don't have any books in your home.

Being poor is six dollars short on the utility bill and no way to close the gap.

Being poor is crying when you drop the mac and cheese on the floor.

Being poor is knowing you work as hard as anyone, anywhere.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you're not actually stupid.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you're not actually lazy.

Being poor is a six-hour wait in an emergency room with a sick child asleep on your lap.

Being poor is never buying anything someone else hasn't bought first.

Being poor is picking the 10 cent ramen instead of the 12 cent ramen because that's two extra packages for every dollar.

Being poor is having to live with choices you didn't know you made when you were 14 years old.

Being poor is getting tired of people wanting you to be grateful.

Being poor is knowing you're being judged.

Being poor is a box of crayons and a $1 coloring book from a community center Santa.

Being poor is checking the coin return slot of every soda machine you go by.

Being poor is deciding that it's all right to base a relationship on shelter.

Being poor is knowing you really shouldn't spend that buck on a Lotto ticket.

Being poor is hoping the register lady will spot you the dime.

Being poor is feeling helpless when your child makes the same mistakes you did, and won't listen to you beg them against doing so.

Being poor is a cough that doesn't go away.

Being poor is making sure you don't spill on the couch, just in case you have to give it back before the lease is up.

Being poor is a $200 paycheck advance from a company that takes $250 when the paycheck comes in.

Being poor is four years of night classes for an Associates of Art degree.

Being poor is a lumpy futon bed.

Being poor is knowing where the shelter is.

Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so.

Being poor is knowing how hard it is to stop being poor.

Being poor is seeing how few options you have.

Being poor is running in place.

Being poor is people wondering why you didn't leave."

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Being poor is knowing that if you worked harder, had more drive, and learned to save, that you would ba as well off as your Sibling, who would then be asking YOU for help.

Being poor is knowing that you are not doing everything that you can do, in this country of opportunity.

Being poor is knowing that the education that you could get, is available to you, but you're just too lazy to do it.

Being poor is knowing that the government will take care of you, no matter how capable you are...

Being poor, is knowing in your heart of hearts, that if you tried harder, worked better, didn't expect things to be given to you on a silver platter, that you WOULDN'T be POOR!!!

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This Brings back Memories, these were mine when I was growing up in Rhode Island, Poor as Dirt.

quote:

Originally posted by jamotto:

quote:

Being poor is knowing exactly how much everything costs.

Being poor is having to keep buying $800 cars because they're what you can afford, and then having the cars break down on you, because there's not an $800 car in America that's worth a damn.

(Except that was a $100.00 car back in the 70's for my Mom)

Being poor is hoping the toothache goes away.

Being poor is knowing your kid goes to friends' houses but never has friends over to yours.

Being poor is going to the restroom before you get in the school lunch line so your friends will be ahead of you and won't hear you say "I get free lunch" when you get to the cashier.

Being poor is living next to the freeway.

Being poor is off-brand toys. (Donated from Goodwill)

Being poor is a heater in only one room of the house.

Being poor is knowing you can't leave $5 on the coffee table when your friends are around. (Or your bike unlocked for that matter)

Being poor is Goodwill underwear.

Being poor is not enough space for everyone who lives with you. (We were 5 kids in a 2 bedroom apartment)

Being poor is feeling the glued soles tear off your supermarket shoes when you run around the playground. (Boy do I remember that one.. EMBARASSING)

Being poor is your kid's school being the one with the 15-year-old textbooks and no air conditioning.

Being poor is thinking $8 an hour is a really good deal. (I remember thinking, boy If I could just get to $12 per Hr., I'd REALLY be Set!)

Being poor is relying on people who don't give a damn about you.

Being poor is an overnight shift under florescent lights.

Being poor is finding the letter your mom wrote to your dad, begging him for the child support.

Being poor is stopping the car to take a lamp from a stranger's trash. (And don't forget the entire Living Room set and Bedroom set.)

Being poor is making lunch for your kid when a cockroach skitters over the bread, and you looking over to see if your kid saw.

Being poor is believing a GED actually makes a goddamned difference.

Being poor is people angry at you just for walking around in the mall.

Being poor is the police busting into the apartment right next to yours.

Being poor is not talking to that girl because she'll probably just laugh at your clothes.

Being poor is hoping you'll be invited for dinner.

Being poor is a sidewalk with lots of brown glass on it.

Being poor is people thinking they know something about you by the way you talk.

Being poor is needing that 35-cent raise. (Then having my Girlfriend LAUGH at me because I THOUGHT that was pretty good)

Being poor is your kid's teacher assuming you don't have any books in your home.

Being poor is six dollars short on the utility bill and no way to close the gap.

Being poor is crying when you drop the mac and cheese on the floor.

Being poor is knowing you work as hard as anyone, anywhere.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you're not actually stupid.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you're not actually lazy.

Being poor is a six-hour wait in an emergency room with a sick child asleep on your lap.

Being poor is never buying anything someone else hasn't bought first.

Being poor is picking the 10 cent ramen instead of the 12 cent ramen because that's two extra packages for every dollar.

Being poor is having to live with choices you didn't know you made when you were 14 years old.

Being poor is getting tired of people wanting you to be grateful.

Being poor is knowing you're being judged.

Being poor is a box of crayons and a $1 coloring book from a community center Santa.

Being poor is checking the coin return slot of every soda machine you go by.

Being poor is deciding that it's all right to base a relationship on shelter.

Being poor is knowing you really shouldn't spend that buck on a Lotto ticket.

Being poor is hoping the register lady will spot you the dime.

Being poor is feeling helpless when your child makes the same mistakes you did, and won't listen to you beg them against doing so.

Being poor is a cough that doesn't go away.

Being poor is making sure you don't spill on the couch, just in case you have to give it back before the lease is up.

Being poor is four years of night classes for an Associates of Art degree. (Except I only finished half of it, when I finally realized how to make REAL money)

Being poor is a lumpy futon bed.

Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so.

Being poor is knowing how hard it is to stop being poor.

Being poor is seeing how few options you have.

Being poor is running in place.



All of this was me or my Mom Growing up in Rhode Island, and when I first came to Florida. It's almost amusing to me when I think about it, I now make more in 1 day than I used to make in an entire Month.
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Being poor is believing a GED actually makes a goddamned difference.

It does.....I should know....my school never taught me fractions if i didnt go to my GED classes i would never of known them and thus never been able to do game programming.

Its sad when you learn more at a GED class then at your own school =

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quote:

Originally posted by Jaguar:

Being poor is knowing that if you worked harder, had more drive, and learned to save, that you would ba as well off as your Sibling, who would then be asking YOU for help.

Being poor is knowing that you are not doing everything that you can do, in this country of opportunity.

Being poor is knowing that the education that you could get, is available to you, but you're just too lazy to do it.

Being poor is knowing that the government will take care of you, no matter how capable you are...

Being poor, is knowing in your heart of hearts, that if you tried harder, worked better, didn't expect things to be given to you on a silver platter, that you WOULDN'T be POOR!!!

I don't know, man. That's pretty harsh. I know a lot of lazy people, and I know some people who are poor because they are lazy. However, I know more people who are poor because they are poor. I wouldn't call a person who works 2 minimum wage jobs lazy, but I would call him poor. I don't think I could compare a high school in Beverly Hills with one from an inner city working class neighborhood and seriously call it "equal opportunity". I work for lawyers now. Not one of them had a factory worker for a dad.

Don't get me wrong; hard work can get you far. I've worked multple low wage jobs to make ends meet. I work one job and earn more now. I worked for this, but having a father who could loan me the money to get the training I needed more than helped; it made this possible.

I guess I feel that your response showed a lack of exposure to some realities of this world that we live in.

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quote:

Originally posted by Jaguar:

Being poor is knowing that if you worked harder, had more drive, and learned to save, that you would ba as well off as your Sibling, who would then be asking YOU for help.

Being poor is knowing that you are not doing everything that you can do, in this country of opportunity.

Being poor is knowing that the education that you could get, is available to you, but you're just too lazy to do it.

Being poor is knowing that the government will take care of you, no matter how capable you are...

Being poor, is knowing in your heart of hearts, that if you tried harder, worked better, didn't expect things to be given to you on a silver platter, that you WOULDN'T be POOR!!!

You've obviously never been poor, I was once poor and I can tell you that no matter how HARD you work, it takes time to get out of it. Sure there are those who have Zero ambition and no matter their circumstances, they won't do well, poor or not. But even with the most drive, ambition and perserverance, it STILL takes money to make money, and if you're earning practically nothing, again, it takes time. And if you call working 3 (yes THREE) Jobs as being lazy, well I don't know what to tell you, but even with that I was only making around 300 bucks a week, back in the early 80's because even though I was working around 80 Hrs. a week, it was between 3 jobs, so there was no overtime, PLUS back then most jobs only paid 3.50 to 4 bucks an hour and of course after taxes, you guessed it. SOOOO, it took almost 2 paychecks just to pay rent, the remainder paid the utilities. Another check went to the car and the other covered our food. That left me the ability to save around $10.00 a month, WOOHOO I was RICH.

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I was poor, and have been SO broke that I couldn't buy a pot to pee in....

I have been so far in debt that I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have been loaded, and then broke beyond belief.

My Mom was poor, and I mean POOR, but she went BACK to school, got her degree, and by the time I was 12, we actually had enough money to buy a nice car, instead of a POS car.

I have been poor, and I have PULLED myself OUT of it, I have NEVER been on government assistance, even when I was so broke, I had to go through couch cushions to get a box of Mac and Cheese.

I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE POOR, and I will NEVER do it again....

NO, I do NOT have puty for poor people, because I KNOW that if you work hard enough, and are dedicated enough, YOU CAN GET OUT OF IT, just as I did.

So for you guys to even talk like that, just shows me, that you expect poor people to remain poor people.

I don't accept that, and NEVER will accept that.

If you are poor, then got off your butt, and do something, go back to school, there are government grants for that. Start your own business, there are even government grants for that, although I did NOT use one to get mine started.

I will NOT take government assistance, PERIOD, and some of the people that I have seen on government assistance, DON'T NEED to be on it.

If you buckle down, and work hard, you WON'T be poor for very long....

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quote:

Originally posted by Jaguar:

I was poor, and have been SO broke that I couldn't buy a pot to pee in....

I have been so far in debt that I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have been loaded, and then broke beyond belief.

My Mom was poor, and I mean POOR, but she went BACK to school, got her degree, and by the time I was 12, we actually had enough money to buy a nice car, instead of a POS car.

I have been poor, and I have PULLED myself OUT of it, I have NEVER been on government assistance, even when I was so broke, I had to go through couch cushions to get a box of Mac and Cheese.

I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE POOR, and I will NEVER do it again....

I've never been on Government assistance Either, but I guess When you were poor, you were just being too lazy to realize that if you just worked a bit harder and wasn't so lazy then you wouldn't have been poor anymore, just POOF and that would have been it right?

Point I'm making is not everyone that IS poor is a lazy ass that will ALWAYS BE poor.

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That's right, not everyone that is poor, is going to remain poor, as a matter of fact, 90% of poor people PULL themselves out of being poor.

The other 10%, I couldn't care less about.

I would like to make it a LOT harder to get government assistance, you have to be permanently disabled, or something like that to even think about getting government assistance.

If you are poor, and need help getting out of, I can handle that, BUT, if you receive assistance of ANY sort, you either A: must be looking for a job, B: going to school, and I don't mind if the government pays for that either or C: You MUST be doing some work, be it picking up litter, some sort of community service to earn that public assistance.

The ONLY reason that you should get permanent government moneys is if you are too disabled to work, if you are too disabled to work, I don't mind helping out at all.

BTW, the definition of poor in this country is so out of whck that it is INSANE, if you make less then 18K a year, you are considered below poverty level, if I had made 18K a year, I could have supported ALL 3 of my kids, house etc, and HAVE.

Thank god I don't do that anymore, but that is neither here nor there.

I REFUSE to feel guilty because someone is poor, being poor is 90% of the time a CHOICE, and if they CHOOSE to be poor, then they can be poor...

The other 10% that REALLY need it, and want out of it, but are really trapped, I have no problem with helping them.

BUT, it must be helping them GET OUT OF IT, no supporting them to such a point that they feel that they are owed it, such as a lot of the evacuees in New Orleans.

When I hear, "where's the government? Where's my food?" I know that we have a REAL BIG problem in this country...

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BS Darkling.

I've been poor.

My mom worked TWO minimum wage jobs when I was in high school.

We had noodles for dinner.

My mom cried because we didn't know how to pay the bills.

There was a time when we slept on the floor because we didn't have beds.

There was a time when we had to stay with her friends because we had no place to live.

WE HAVE PULLED THROUGH....AND HAVE NEVER BEEN ON GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE. NEVER....

There was a time when I had 3 JOBS, third one NOT to pay the bills, BUT JUST BECAUSE I WANTED TO, I WANTED to WORK. TO HAVE MORE MONEY.

I took out LOANS, to pay for my education. I am a PILOT now, flying planes.

So stop with BS Darkling. Yeah, people can be poor, but it's UP TO THEM to pull through, I DO NOT OWN MY NEIGHBOR A LIVING. Just because he is alive and breathing doesn't entitle him to the money I make. Just because he is broke, doesn't mean I have to pay for his medical. Just because he has no food, doesn't mean I have to feed him. If I am FORCED to give up the product of MY labor, to support another, it's called SLAVERY, for only a slave CAN NOT keep what he produces.

Go read Atlas Shrugged, it will teach you what it means to be an INDIVIDUAL, a HUMAN. It has happened before, in Russia, it is happening now, in America.

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"You know that you can't give away everything and starve yourself. You've forced yourselves to live with undeserved, irrational guilt. Is it ever proper to help another man? No, if he demands it as his right or as a duty that you owe him. Yes, if it's your own free choice based on your judgment of the value of that person and his struggle. This country wasn't built by men who sought handouts. In its brilliant youth, this country showed the rest of the world what greatness was possible to Man and what happiness is possible on Earth.

Then it began apologizing for its greatness and began giving away its wealth, feeling guilty for having produced more than ikts neighbors. Twelve years ago, I saw what was wrong with the world and where the battle for Life had to be fought. I saw that the enemy was an inverted morality and that my acceptance of that morality was its only power. I was the first of the men who refused to give up the pursuit of his own happiness in order to serve others.

To those of you who retain some remnant of dignity and the will to live your lives for yourselves, you have the chance to make the same choice. Examine your values and understand that you must choose one side or the other. Any compromise between good and evil only hurts the good and helps the evil.

If you've understood what I've said, stop supporting your destroyers. Don't accept their philosophy. Your destroyers hold you by means of your endurance, your generosity, your innocence, and your love. Don't exhaust yourself to help build the kind of world that you see around you now. In the name of the best within you, don't sacrifice the world to those who will take away your happiness for it.

The world will change when you are ready to pronounce this oath:

I swear by my Life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man,

nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine. "

Part of John Galts speach from Atlas Shrugged.

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" "Happiness is not to be achieved at the command of emotional whims. Happiness is not the satisfaction of whatever irrational wishes you might blindly attempt to indulge. Happiness is a state of non-contradictory joyÔÇöa joy without penalty or guilt, a joy that does not clash with any of your values and does not work for your own destruction, not the joy of escaping from your mind, but of using your mind's fullest power, not the joy of faking reality, but of achieving values that are real, not the joy of a drunkard, but of a producer. Happiness is possible only to a rational man, the man who desires nothing but rational goals, seeks nothing but rational values and finds his joy in nothing but rational actions.

"Just as I support my life, neither by robbery nor alms, but by my own effort, so I do not seek to derive my happiness from the injury or the favor of others, but earn it by my own achievement. Just as I do not consider the pleasure of others as the goal of my life, so I do not consider my pleasure as the goal of the lives of others. Just as there are no contradictions in my values and no conflicts among my desiresÔÇöso there are no victims and no conflicts of interest among rational men, men who do not desire the unearned and do not view one another with a cannibal's lust, men who neither make sacrifice nor accept them.

"The symbol of all relationships among such men, the moral symbol of respect for human beings, is the trader. We, who live by values, not by loot, are traders, both in matter and in spirit. A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not give or take the undeserved. A trader does not ask to be paid for his failures, nor does he ask to be loved for his flaws. A trader does not squander his body as fodder or his soul as alms. Just as he does not give his work except in trade for material values, so he does not give the values of his spiritÔÇöhis love, his friendship, his esteemÔÇöexcept in payment and in trade for human virtues, in payment for his own selfish pleasure, which he receives from men he can respect. The mystic parasites who have, throughout the ages, reviled the traders and held them in contempt, while honoring the beggars and the looters, have known the secret motive of their sneers: a trader is the entity they dreadÔÇöa man of justice.

"Do you ask what moral obligation I owe to my fellow men? NoneÔÇöexcept the obligation I owe to myself, to material objects and to all of existence: rationality. I deal with men as my nature and their demands: by means of reason. I seek or desire nothing from them except such relations as they care to enter of their own voluntary choice. It is only with their mind that I can deal and only for my own self-interest, when they see that my interest coincides with theirs. When they don't, I enter no relationship; I let dissenters go their way and I do not swerve from mine. I win by means of nothing but logic and I surrender to nothing but logic. I do not surrender my reason or deal with men who surrender theirs. I have nothing to gain from fools or cowards; I have no benefits to seek from human vices: from stupidity, dishonesty or fear. The only value men can offer me is the work of their mind. When I disagree with a rational man, I let reality be our final arbiter; if I am right, he will learn; if I am wrong, I will; one of us will win, but both will profit.

"Whatever may be open to disagreement, there is one act of evil that may not, the act that no man may commit against others and no man may sanction or forgive. So long as men desire to live together, no man may initiateÔÇödo you hear me? no man may startÔÇöthe use of physical force against others.

"To interpose the threat of physical destruction between a man and his perception of reality, is to negate and paralyze his means of survival; to force-him to act against his own judgment, is like forcing him to act against his own sight. Whoever, to whatever purpose or extent, initiates the use of force, is a killer acting on the premise of death in a manner wider than murder: the premise of destroying man's capacity to live.

"Do not open your mouth to tell me that your mind has convinced you of your right to force my mind. Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins. When you declare that men are irrational animals and propose to treat them as such, you define thereby your own character and can no longer claim the sanction of reasonÔÇöas no advocate of contradictions can claim it. There can be no 'right' to destroy the source of rights, the only means of judging right and wrong: the mind.

"To force a man to drop his own mind and to accept your will as a substitute, with a gun in place of a syllogism, with terror in place of proof, and death as the final argumentÔÇöis to attempt to exist in defiance of reality. Reality demands of man that he act for his own rational interest; your gun demands of him that he act against it. Reality threatens man with death if he does not act on his rational judgment: you threaten him with death if he does. You place him into a world where the price of his life is the surrender of all the virtues required by lifeÔÇöand death by a process of gradual destruction is all that you and your system will achieve, when death is made to be the ruling power, the winning argument in a society of men.

"Be it a highwayman who confronts a traveler with the ultimatum: 'Your money or your life,' or a politician who confronts a country with the ultimatum: 'Your children's education or your life,' the meaning of that ultimatum is: 'Your mind or your life'ÔÇöand neither is possible to man without the other.

"If there are degrees of evil, it is hard to say who is the more contemptible: the brute who assumes the right to force the mind of others or the moral degenerate who grants to others the right to force his mind. That is the moral absolute one does not leave open to debate. I do not grant the terms of reason to men who propose to deprive me of reason. I do not enter discussions with neighbors who think they can forbid me to think. I do not place my moral sanction upon a murderer's wish to kill me. When a man attempts to deal with me by force, I answer himÔÇöby force."

Another part of John Galts speach.

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quote:

Pulling a little BladeRunner on them eh?

Actually it was Philip K. Dick.

and if the shoe fits,wear it.

10000 lines of iambic pentameter from Soback.

[ 09-08-2005, 01:05 AM: Message edited by: Chavis ]

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"America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices to "the common good," but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America's industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages adn cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance -- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way." (Ayn Rand)

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quote:

Originally posted by Chavis:

True, but Phil spent his life on defining what is Human.

And I don't think you conservative jerk offs qualify.

Check his final trilogy starting with 'Valis'.

ROFL, A statement of a thinking mind. Yet another one, reduced to his true self, spitting failing insults. Great minds think alike. If you check by the way, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, and many other great writers wrote in Iambic pentameter, WHAT HAVE YOUR LIBERAL MIND PRODUCED? Karl Marx, Lenin? ROFL

You FEAR that which is quoted above in my posts, that is why you reply in insults. You have NOTHING of VALUE to say in return, no coherent, logical, statement. LOL, I laugh because I see how trully weak you are, how when confronted with logic that threatens your way of existence of leaching, looting people like me of our earnings, you are terrified when someone stands up and says that they will NOT be your slave. And when they say that in a coherent statement, and debute your social wellfare by saying that THEIR life is NOT for YOUR benefit but is for THEIRS, you insult them in return because you have NOTHING else to say in return.

ROFL, the biggest difference between YOU and ME is, YOU and your SOCIAL SYSTEM need people like ME to SURVIVE, I however, and people LIKE ME, CAN LIVE, without people like YOU.

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quote:

Originally posted by Jaguar:

I would like to make it a LOT harder to get government assistance, you have to be permanently disabled, or something like that to even think about getting government assistance.

...

BUT, it must be helping them GET OUT OF IT, no supporting them to such a point that they feel that they are owed it, such as a lot of the evacuees in New Orleans.

When I hear, "where's the government? Where's my food?" I know that we have a REAL BIG problem in this country...

I agree to an extent, but at the same time, I remember when my father first left my Mom, she had been married to him for 10 years and had 5 kids with him. She had no job, no money and to top it off, our Apartment had just burned down, so we didn't have any clothing... NOTHING.

She applied and got government assistance, to the tune of around $400.00 a month from Welfare plus another $400.00 a month in Food Stamps, plus Medicaid. Shortly thereafter, she got a job at a factory, paying what was then Minimum Wage, $2.50Hr. (This was in the 70's). As soon as she told Wefare, they cut off ALL Assistance except $200.00 in Food Stamps. WOW, that REALLY helps, you see someone trying to make it on their own, and you ***** slap them back into place! Shortly after that I got very sick, and my Mom had no choice but to quit her Job so she can get the Medicaid again to pay for the Doctors. Well after this, my Mom wised up, she ended up getting 2 under the table Jobs that she didn't report to the government and saved up enough to buy a run down hunk of junk of a home, that needed new walls, Electrical, Plumbing and a Roof. It was $2500.00. As soon as we were able to make the 1st Floor Livable, we moved in and My Mom got off Government Assistance, it was the Proudest day of her life, also keep in mind that my Father NEVER sent us a dime. Within about another 2 years, we were able to fix up the 1st floor to "Rentable Status" and moved up to the 2nd Floor (Takes Money to make Money). Another year and the 2nd Floor was ready to be rented out, and once the 3rd floor was ready another year later she bought aother run down place to start over.

Point is, the Government does NOTHING to help you get out of Poverty, they don't allow you to save, you try to work and instead of rewarding you for becoming a tax paying citizen, they cut you off, no matter what your situation is and how little you're making. Also keep in mind that my mother had to leave us alone for her night Job because we got home from After School Care at 5:30PM, but she didn't get home until Noon. With Today's laws, she would have been prosecuted for Neglect.

So what were her choices? Stay on the system forever? Get off the system and watch her kids starve? Or Cheat a bit, so she could get out without us starving to death. But I'm sure to you she was just another Welfare Queen.

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quote:

Originally posted by Soback:

BS Darkling.

So stop with BS Darkling. Yeah, people can be poor, but it's UP TO THEM to pull through,

So what specifically did I say that is BS? that it takes time to get out of Poverty? So you're saying that ALL Poor People ARE Lazy. Was your Mom Lazy, is that why she was Poor?

The point of my discussion isn't weather people deserve or don't deserve government assistance, the point that I was trying to make is that Unlike Jag's opinion, Not everyone that is Poor is lazy.

It's nice that your Mom had friends that she could fall back on and stay at their Home. Unfortunately, when I was a kid my Mom had 5 Kids so no one would let all of us stay with them. Instead we moved an average of once every 3 months, because My Mom Couldn't pay the rent, Usually we would not only sleep on the floor, but also we would sleep in our Coats becuase we couldn't afford luxuries like Heat, not even in Zero degree, Rhode Island Weather.

But again, my point is that it takes time to get out of Poverty, I did it and as Jag has pointed out, 90% of those who were once Poor have pulled out of it, through hard work and dedication, were we Lazy when we were Poor? THAT is BULLSHIT!

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quote:

Originally posted by Soback:

quote:

Originally posted by Chavis:

And I don't think you conservative jerk offs qualify.


WHAT HAVE YOUR LIBERAL MIND PRODUCED? Karl Marx, Lenin? ROFL


Oh no, here we go.

You know, as humans we're not limited to binary, black/white, on/off thinking.

"My team is better than yours."

Yeah, see you at homecoming...

Wealth, while related to hard work, is not a direct result of it. Luck and initial circumstances have a lot of power. I don't believe in equal opportunity, or in Santa (but if you see him, don't tell him I said that).

Please note I've not expressed my opinion on welfare or anyone's Mom.

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I've been poor... I didn't like it so I got some marketable job skills and got a job at a decent company.

And the vast majority of the uninsured in this country are illegal aliens.

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quote:

Originally posted by Darkling:

quote:

Originally posted by Soback:

BS Darkling.

So stop with BS Darkling. Yeah, people can be poor, but it's UP TO THEM to pull through,

So what specifically did I say that is BS? that it takes time to get out of Poverty? So you're saying that ALL Poor People ARE Lazy. Was your Mom Lazy, is that why she was Poor?


The BS is that A LOT, never get out of poverty. Even when provided with choices, they would STILL sit on their behinds, getting money that was robbed from me by the government, rather than work and EARN their living. why would you go to work and earn $1500 a month, if you can sit at home and get $400 a month in cash, $400 a month in food stamps AND a section 8 appartment.

If my mom was lazy, we would STILL be where we were before, and I would've never gotten through flight school.

That's my point, people who have the drive, they make it, no matter what, they succeed. They go for it again and again, even if they fail they keep going. They find a job, they open a bussiness, they DO something, anything. They don't sit there watching TV and muttering how they want that car and it's "unfair" that they don't have it. Then the government comes in, and literally enslaves me, takes what I earn and gives it to them.

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