So, ultimately, who's responsibility is it?

Oh PLEEASEEE. The bottom quintile of income earners has gone from paying 0% federal income taxes in 1979 to MINUS 9% which means they're getting back just in refunds almost 10% what they paid in. How much other taxes you think they pay on $15,000 a year? Cause Medicaid alone can be valued at $12,000+ annually, food stamps, section 8, cell phone, daycare, ad infinitum.

They receive FAR MORE than they pay into the system. We call those "takers". It's cool. You think there's nothing wrong with almost half of society being takers instead of givers.

I wonder how you'd feel if only half your car worked?

 

Not nearly as much as I do for cheap grammar nazi tactics.

 

Why do you blame the poor for the fact washington decides who pays what tax?

What exactly would your master plan be? You have nothing but contempt for the impoverished, you decry their lack of federal tax contribution, and yet they aren't the ones that actually legislate social programs.

I hear conservatives constantly denouncing the moochers, but I don't hear anything about what they would do to fix the "problem".
Its so easy to criticize and complain, but its damned hard to fix.


As an aside, I came across this article wrt children, poverty and mental health, which is pertinent to our discussion and relevant to your profession.


http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/what-happens-when-the-poor-receive-a-stipend/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1&

 

It's not that hard at all. All we need to do is START expecting people support themselves like we did before the failed" welfare" experiment.

We went from expecting the individual to do everything possible to stay off "welfare" to actually ENCOURAGING people to take advantage of the system whenever possible! Mainly so big government administrators can justify their out of control budgets. Welfare is nothing more than a numbers game these days......

People live up to their expectations.

If you're on welfare? You SHOULD be ASHAMED of yourself.

 

The individual is responsible for his own success... but...
If society hasn't presented any opportunities, you can't always blame the individual for failing.

It's not, and never will be, that simple.

There are, of course, many who've achieved great success on their own, without help from others, but that is not the norm, and that is not what people are being taught in school. Not the mainstream public schools, nor in many universities.

The problem comes when others try and bring down the successful with things like higher business taxes, making it more and more expensive to keep people employed.... all while reminding them that they "didn't build that", spoken with true hatred of successful people.

Like many on the left.

 

That is your solution?

A woman with two toddlers, abandoned by their alkie deadbeat dad shouldn't be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of the available social programs.

An able bodied person of working age who is on welfare is another story and should be ashamed to be essentially a leech.

Fact is there is a segment of the population where welfare is a positive contributor to their and their dependent's subsistence.

You would abandon them all in the name of personal responsibility, even the innocent child.

The system could stand some serious improvements, but it has not failed and does not warrant completely trashing it.

For a psych professional, your single minded insistence on personal responsiblity to the exclusion of all other factors seems a bit odd given the volume of studies and reports relating to mental health and poverty.

It would seem you are more than willing to blame the patient for their disease.
Because you found your own cure you fallaciously believe everyone else can. In some alternative universe perhaps that is the case, but in this one sadly, its far from it.

 

Why don't you educate us as to how wonderful it was to be poor in that time

 

A personally responsible person wouldn't have to kids with an alcoholic to begin with......

You should ALWAYS be ashamed if you can't support yourself unless you are literally physically and/or mentally incapable of doing so. Even then, those people actually STRIVE for independence a lot more than the bottom 43%.

/chuckle Positive contributor as opposed to providing for themselves? You're getting sillier and sillier.

Innocent children should be placed with those who can actually take care of them.

Ya it's failed. It's created entire generations of people dependent on government.

All other factors are excuses. WE ALL HAVE OTHER FACTORS. IT'S CALLED......."LIFE". DEAL WITH IT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES THAT ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY.

Blame doesn't solve problems which is why I don't pay any attention to your blaming and excuse making for others. You simply keep them dependent by making excuses for them.

 

Code for "I will stick my fingers in my ears until everyone agrees with me"

 

Looking through garbage cans for your next meal is about as humiliating as it gets. THAT is what motivated me to change and actually become a RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN.

THAT is why I have such a distaste for liberals and progressives who ATTEMPT to shelter and coddle people keeping them from suffering the consequences of their actions.

Pain is a GREAT motivator. Food stamps and section 8 housing? Not so much.

 

I don't care if you want to enable people to become lifelong failures. Just stop expecting me to pay for your co-dependency.

 

Get back to me when you have combed human sewage for items that be could salvaged

 

If you can answer this question, you'll have the answer to yours.

Who has a better chance at future success, a rich man's child or a poor man's child?

 

And just what co-dependency do I have?

 

Your about 26+ years too late.

 

Sure you have

 

The co-dependency that goes along with coddling and sheltering people from the pain of their actions. It's the main driver behind any liberal/progressive because you erroneously think you're actually helping them instead of harming them.

 

Yes I am sure the people who went through the Dust bowl, Katrina and Sandy would appreciate your compassion for their being personally responsible for being financially wiped out by weather

 

How does the OP explain away the fact that poverty is far more prevailant in conservative states?

 

How many progressives think gov should be mommy?

Why are there only two choices for success when there are other options, like stockmarket leeches of the worker, inheritence, etc?

 

Why didn't you include conservative/regressives in your post? Why are you insisting on being dishonest on this thread, like so many other threads you have started?

 

How long does the OP think that liberals should be forced to prop up FAILED Banana Republican states?

 

/yawn

I mean that's certainly what's happened to the 10o million Americans living off state aid now.

 

Most.

I needed to keep it simple for progressives.

 

Why do you assume it is their actions?

How many people are being coddled? Define that

How many people are being sheltered? Define that as well.

Why don't you think they are being helped?