@Judi *_ Did you see what John Stewart had to say about the subject?
I“m sure he uses a lot of Fox quotes that have you riled up @Hypocrisy_Central._* Yes, I watched that. Quite humorous. I think much of what those talking head said was ludicrous. I am a big fan of NPR. I don’t think all the poor are lazy. I do think the system is broken because if you are poor and trying to help yourself you get penalized for it in many ways. However I do believe the US poor still has much to be thankful for. As the clip pointed out:
• 99.6% of the declared poor has a refrigerator.
• 81.4% has a microwave.
• 78.3% has A/C in their home.
• 63.7% have cable or satellite.
• 54% have a cell phone.
So, even while being declared poor by government most still have all the creature comforts of the middle-class and wealthy. Their TV maybe smaller and cheaper, their fridge don’t have 5 types of ice and water you can get from the door, and the cable might not be digital with 300 channels, but they have them.
@johnpowell Cues H_C claiming to be a Independent. I never claim to be an Independent. I just said I am not a member of the parties of Twiddle Dee, and Twiddle Dumb, you can place whomever in the “dumb” moniker as you like.
@marinelife The government should make sure that all citizens have anough food to eat and medical insurance, a basic education. What is that basic education? Do we lower all students to the lowest bar, or raise them all to the highest?
That does not include giving every child a laptop (until that becomes a school standard). There is public access to computers through libraries. Sure, but there are those who still say that is not good enough to be able to go to the public library. Those kids who have access to personal laptops or those in the family can work on their stuff later in the evening. They do not have to wait. They do not have to worry about how to get to the library and back. They do not have to worry about what hours the library is open, or the hours being cut due to city budget woes. They do not have to venture into dangerous neighborhoods where they can become a victim. Using the computer at the public library is harder to do, thus those students are de facto disadvantaged because they will not be able to use a computer as much or with ease as those who have them. Do we take them from all students because all don’t have them, or do we make sure all students have one to level the playing field?
That certainly does not include giving every citizen a car, which is still a privilege. There are other means of transportation. No car, certain jobs or areas you can’t work. Forget about delivering pizza if you don’t have your own wheels. Likewise, any job that you can’t walk to or take mass transit to. Driving maybe a privilege but in the US it is seen as a de facto right.