Communism(socialism) ftw

minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage, it was supposed to be a starting wage so u can get some job skills and move on to a better job. If you really want to work and can't get more than minimum wage after any length of time at the job or find a better job, you would have to be one sorry worker in my experience.

Welfare not a great living and I wouldn't encourage anyone to pursue that as a way of life. Should b enough to keep manage your basic needs not enough to lure the lazy into taking it over actually working for a living.

Worked with international students my last tour in service and most of those from poorer countries could not believe what we consider poor by western standards. The comments about the poor in my earlier post were mostly taken from their impression of what we seemed to think of as poor, compared with the starndards they had to live with at home.

If we were really poor obesity in America wouldn't b quite the issue it is.

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Originally Posted by watchman

minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage, it was supposed to be a starting wage so u can get some job skills and move on to a better job. If you really want to work and can't get more than minimum wage after any length of time at the job or find a better job, you would have to be one sorry worker in my experience.

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I worked my fair share of minimum wage jobs as a high school student.

During that time, I also saw my fair share of people who would straddle not that high above the minimum wage (maybe 1 Canadian dollar or so above it).

A lot of people don't have the education, charisma or personality necessary to get a higher paying job.

I would not make this a standard to qualify them as lesser human beings (morally speaking, a lot of people who are filthy rich are quite rotten).

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Originally Posted by watchman

Welfare not a great living and I wouldn't encourage anyone to pursue that as a way of life. Should b enough to keep manage your basic needs not enough to lure the lazy into taking it over actually working for a living.

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Again, thats a the problem. Its enough for a lot of people.

Not everyone are big consummers or driven by a desire to consumme beyond the basic necessities.

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Originally Posted by watchman

Worked with international students my last tour in service and most of those from poorer countries could not believe what we consider poor by western standards.

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I would consider a lot of those poorer countries (the worse cases anyhow) to be situations we should try to avoid.

Not examples we should be trying to follow when determining our own standards.

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Originally Posted by watchman

If we were really poor obesity in America wouldn't b quite the issue it is.

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Actually, a lot of poorer people are obese because bad food is cheaper and more accessible.

You can eat a pizza meal for 3$ and be satiated. Of course, you'll get fat pretty quick if you eat pizza all the time.

Don't take me wrong, I grew up poor, and then started at the bottom like most folks. Then I retired early by choice deciding I would rather live a simpler standard than continue on in the rat race.

I have found over the years that a good number of the poor, at least in the US tend to be poor more from bad choice than from lack of opportunity to do better for themselves. I tend to favor more of a hand up than a hand out mentality as too many seem content to keep taking the handouts rather than putting out the effort to improve their lot in life.

"A young man who isn't liberal doesn't have a heart, and an old man who isn't conservative doesn't have a brain" (Churchill I think, though I would have to look it up)

I tend to resemble that remark, as when I was younger I was all for the idea that everyone should have everything, then as I got older started to realize that most of those who had a lot seem to have put a heck of a lot of work into getting it, and no longer feel like they should have to support their own families and everyone elses, provided the everyone else has some ability to support themselves.

Having worked at a clearing house for social services in a community, I can tell you it was frustrating to have a client tell you that he couldn't get a job because he had dropped out of high school, then when you told him you offered free GED programs to improve his prospects get the response that he had kids and couldn't make the classes, then when you told him you also provided free day care so he could attend, be given another excuse, then another, then another. After awhile it seemed that some folks seem happier working harder at not working and living on the dole than they would actually working for a living.

Those who really need assistance should feel no shame in taking it, that is what it was intended for, but IMO entirely too many are just feeding at the trough, to some extent taking services that could better go to caring for those that really need some help.

Socialism is the first step to communism.

Socialism is the first step to communism. What is communism? Terms we throw around with no real understanding of them. True Communism cannot exists with humanity and all it becomes is a small group ruling a larger group.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFXuG...eature=related