Re: Is it Time for a Balanced Budget Amendment for the Federal Government and All Sta
A DECENT LIFESTYLE
Why is there income disparity? See, I think that it is because those who are successful keep making the decisions that made them successful, while those who are barely scraping by... They are making the same type of decisions that led to their low incomes in the first place.
Oh, come off it - will you? The above is about as dumbfounding as saying "it's God's will".
You've bought the hogwash that "if you try hard enough, you can make it". That aint necessarily so. (Tell that to any black person you know.)
People are rich because they luck-out. Not necessarily because they are "inventive or creative". Some examples:
*The two kids at Stanford (in 1990) who "stumbled upon" a well-developed technology for
alphabetizing the text of any document and then relocating the document when a word or phrase was "googlized", which was child's play (technically). But both are now multi-multi billionaires. (The right place at the right time.)
*The person who's an Investment Banker and makes a megabuck toying with stocks (in a growth market) with other people's money.
*The guy-or-girl who moved to Hollywood and in an instant became "bankable".
These are all instances of the few who "lucked out". The greater part of the population emulates them for their "luck", but know that none of the above will ever happen to them.
We don't see Jack 'n Jane America on TV at night. We see those who "succeeded", and we think (stoopidly) that "anybody can do that". Nope it is NOT anybody. It's more like one in 5 million!
The greater part of any population on earth are just "working joes-'n-janes" trying to make a living. But, in a world where the minimum wage is 7 bucks and hour, they just cant make it up the grade. And their kids will never find their way out of poverty for as long as tuition-costs keep them away from a post-secondary education (which means "vocational, two- and four-year" diplomas).
So, the kids become the next generation of "working joes-'n-janes" (and on, and on, and on).
Moreover, given the transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, obtaining that post-secondary degree to get out of poverty and into a sufficiently well-paying job is
essential for a decent existence.
But, all that is lost on people who think it is just "a matter of luck or effort or both". Which is consummate BS!
You don't climb the highest mountain in the world without the right "kit". And if you try, then likely you die.
It's the same for education that allows one the
right credentials to find a decent job. People NEED nowadays those post-secondary degrees to do so. It is highly
inconsiderate of a nation that does not to make the necessary investment for them to achieve that goal: A decent salary that affords a decent life-style.
That is, a post-secondary degree free, gratis and for nothing. If we, as a nation, could achieve that for a secondary-school degree, we can do it also for a post-secondary degree as well ...