Political Joe TAN (Page 5)

Hey, PoTan!

Hope everyone had great weekend.

Bears won!-Yay!  Cowboys lost. Normally a Yay, but they let GB beat them, so Boo.

Pat Lost

Broncos Lost

Does ANYONE besides Seattle want to win the SuperBowl?!  (Not that the Bears have ANY chance) 

Pats = No Red Zone offense and no true "Go To" receiver. 

Coldest winter I ever spent was my summer in Seattle, err San Francisco.

Hey now, don't be picking on me.    BTW, it doesn't bother me one bit about my son getting screwed on his student loans, but it certainly effects his ability to be upwardly mobile out of school.  He did come from an affluent family and the deck is stacked AGAINST him now that he's on his own.  I know it doesn't support your argument, but it's the reality of it.  I'll also tell you this.  Even with the deck stacked against him, he will be successful in life and it has nothing to do with anything that's been handed to him, he will do it because he believes in himself and doesn't listen to the negative nancy's who tell him that he can't succeed because the rich are screwing him over.

To add onto Jackemy's point earlier income distribution does nothing for the economy other than simply taking "chips" from one person and giving them to another, minus the house fees which is the government inefficiencies.  If you take $10k from me and give it to Fred in the hood, it doesn't help the economy.  You're just letting him spend it on what he'd spend it on vs. what I'd spend/invest it on.  I know you're not a fan of trickle down economic's growing the economy, but does trickle up work any different?  If I spend $10k on a new couch then I'm employing people at the furniture factory and the factories that make the parts for the furniture, etc...  If Fred spends the money on a couch as well isn't he doing the exact same thing by employing people at the furniture factory?  I guess the point is that it's a wash because the same money is put into the economy, just by different people and in different places.  Heck, even if it's me using the 10k for a vacation to Florida or Fred spending 10k to buy a used car for his family, it's still the exact same $ going into the economy, so nothing is improved.  OK, one more used car can get hired, but Disney has to lay one person off, so it's still a wash.

I'm not an economist by any stretch of the imagination, but it is pretty clear that simply redistributing money does nothing for the overall economy.  It does attempt to "right a supposed wrong", but what's the point?

I saw this a few weeks back and think it's fitting:  (http://www.stacymakescents.com/poor-is-a-state-of-mindand-so-is-rich)

I talk to people nearly every day who are struggling to make ends meet.  Financially, things are tight and there is often little hope of things getting any better.  By their very situation, most would call them poor.  I think that’s wrong.  You may not have any money, but you are not necessarily poor. Poor is a state of mind.  If you are short on cash, that doesn’t mean you’re poor.  If you are behind on all your bills, that doesn’t mean you’re poor.  If you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, that doesn’t mean you’re poor either.  You’re only poor when you admit defeat, sit down anddecide you are poor.  This is a very serious (and bad) place to be.  When you are poor, you stop believing in yourself. When you’re poor, you start looking at others and believing they are evil for having more than you do.  When you’re poor, you decide the government (or the church, the community, your neighbor, etc.) owes you something because you’ve been wronged.  In other words, poor is the decision to give up on succeeding financially.

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by mr2tony

Originally posted by tuwood Hey now, don't be picking on me.    BTW, it doesn't bother me one bit about my son getting screwed on his student loans, but it certainly effects his ability to be upwardly mobile out of school.  He did come from an affluent family and the deck is stacked AGAINST him now that he's on his own.  I know it doesn't support your argument, but it's the reality of it.  I'll also tell you this.  Even with the deck stacked against him, he will be successful in life and it has nothing to do with anything that's been handed to him, he will do it because he believes in himself and doesn't listen to the negative nancy's who tell him that he can't succeed because the rich are screwing him over.

Oh, quit your whining and pay for his college -- you can afford it. Frankly, I don't want to subsidize your rich son's college education. I'd rather my money goes to someone who needs it rather than someone who's rich parents refuse to pay for his college out of greed. Geez Tony you act like you're so oppressed when in fact you have everything you need and a ton of stuff you don't need. In fact, instead of buying another new gun or adding the HAL2K1 defense system to your home, do him a solid and pay his tuition. Your son isn't getting screwed on his loans -- that's how the system works for everybody. He doesn't qualify. And besides, if he can just get by because he believes in himself, then he doesn't need your money or a subsidized loan.

You gotta admit, the HAL2K1 Defense System comment was pretty damn funny.  LOL

Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by mr2tony

Originally posted by tuwood Hey now, don't be picking on me.    BTW, it doesn't bother me one bit about my son getting screwed on his student loans, but it certainly effects his ability to be upwardly mobile out of school.  He did come from an affluent family and the deck is stacked AGAINST him now that he's on his own.  I know it doesn't support your argument, but it's the reality of it.  I'll also tell you this.  Even with the deck stacked against him, he will be successful in life and it has nothing to do with anything that's been handed to him, he will do it because he believes in himself and doesn't listen to the negative nancy's who tell him that he can't succeed because the rich are screwing him over.

Oh, quit your whining and pay for his college -- you can afford it. Frankly, I don't want to subsidize your rich son's college education. I'd rather my money goes to someone who needs it rather than someone who's rich parents refuse to pay for his college out of greed. Geez Tony you act like you're so oppressed when in fact you have everything you need and a ton of stuff you don't need. In fact, instead of buying another new gun or adding the HAL2K1 defense system to your home, do him a solid and pay his tuition. Your son isn't getting screwed on his loans -- that's how the system works for everybody. He doesn't qualify. And besides, if he can just get by because he believes in himself, then he doesn't need your money or a subsidized loan.

You gotta admit, the HAL2K1 Defense System comment was pretty damn funny.  LOL

lol, it did make me laugh too.

I need to go refresh my thread where I was "whining" about paying for his college.  It has nothing to do with being able to afford college, it has to do with a personal choice to let my kids pay for their own college so they will value it more.
I thought progressives were Pro Choice, so I'm not sure what the big deal is of me choosing how we pay for college.  

I was just going to ask what your reasons were for choosing to not pay for your kids college when it appears you could afford to. Not that your money is any business of mine or anyone elses... but it's an interesting discussion.

Have you thought about a hybrid solution - like matching him dollar for dollar on his scholarships or his contributions, or loaning (with minimal interest) him the money yourself and having him pay it back? 

I don't want this to come out wrong, but it's hard for me to wrap my head around a parent who can afford to help with something like college tuition - but chooses not to.

I, also, 'declined' to pay for my son's college tuition.  He was a mediocre student, at best, in HS.   "You can work, you can take out loans and go to school, you can join the military or you can do a combination of the 3.  But I'm not paying for you Weight-lifting/Yoga/Basket Weaving class, your $6.50 grande mochachinos or you 11:30 PM Dominos cravings.  I will send you home with leftovers and clean laundry and spot you a few bucks every once in a while.  It's YOUR life and it starts NOW." 

My Air Force Airman now takes his college education waaay more seriously.

And while I'm guessing you didn't 'mean' it to come out wrong.  Almost every time you have to preface a comment with "I don't want this to come out wrong....." it usually does. 

PREPARE YOUR CHILD FOR THE PATH, NOT THE PATH FOR YOUR CHILD!  (author unknown)

I didn't think it came out wrong and is a valid question.

One of the biggest challenges that all parents face is to not spoil their kids to the point that it harms them later in life.  I'm sure we all know parents who have "spoiled" their kids to the point that they destroy them as adults.  I don't profess to have all the answers, but my wife and I try to do our best to make our kids self sufficient citizens who don't need somebody else to prop them up in life.

We could just hand them off to college and pay for everything, but what does that accomplish?  If anything I feel it allows people to just segregate our kids as "rich kids" who had everything handed to them.  That's why I find it funny that when we don't actually hand our kids everything and encourage them to build themselves up I get tongue lashed for being greedy.  It's a lose lose.

The true funny part is our kids really appreciate the fact that we're doing what we're doing.  My son flat out told me that he feels so much better knowing that he's doing things on his own and that he's going to be successful like his Dad on his own.