Donald Trump running for president

Ricky10 said:
I do see O’Biden’s presidency as the culmination and materialization of something truly evil. I believe our country and the world has been on a that trajectory for many years, and this O’Biden administration is just a fast track to even worse times. I think it’s also biblical- and following that trajectory. Terrible things have been happening, and I know with all my being that things are going to get much worse in the short and long term.

That sums up my perspective from here 🤷‍♂️
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I can't help but think of an exceptionally Irish Biden when you say "O'Biden."

But blaming God for man's greed, selfishness, and foolishness is, in my opinion, a bit disrespectful to Him. The failure in Texas right now likely has no divine reason or purpose, nor is it likely to be "God's will." It was a natural storm that would not have lead to the catastrophe we are now seeing if Texas hadn't set themselves up for said failure with their infrastructure decisions and "independence." In literally any other state in the union, we wouldn't even be having this discussion, because it would be a snowstorm and not catastrophic infrastructure failure to add to it.

Unless you're telling me that it was "divine inspiration" from God Himself that lead to Texas' isolated, deregulated power grid an their failure to winterize their infrastructure?
 
muscleupcrohn said:
I can't help but think of an exceptionally Irish Biden when you say "O'Biden."

But blaming God for man's greed, selfishness, and foolishness is, in my opinion, a bit disrespectful to Him. The failure in Texas right now likely has no divine reason or purpose, nor is it likely to be "God's will." It was a natural storm that would not have lead to the catastrophe we are now seeing if Texas hadn't set themselves up for said failure with their infrastructure decisions and "independence." In literally any other state in the union, we wouldn't even be having this discussion, because it would be a snowstorm and not catastrophic infrastructure failure to add to it.

Unless you're telling me that it was "divine inspiration" from God Himself that lead to Texas' isolated, deregulated power grid an their failure to winterize their infrastructure?
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If Biden had an Irish accent, he would certainly be more endearing!

I don’t blame God for the sins of mankind, that’s on us and our cultural evolution (for the worse). I actually don’t identify with any formal religion but I am very spiritual, and I obviously do believe in God as well as Satan. While I don’t particularly believe in the rapture per se, its hard to ignore that the biblical signs of the end of times are right in front of our faces. Never more than now with all the social, political, and health challenges/unrest we have have endured in the past year alone.

Then we have these severe weather events like we just experienced. Speaking seriously, I’m not necessarily saying one thing is causing another. I think it’s more representative of things coming full circle, and sometimes things aren’t just a coincidence. So I’m not really talking about winterizing infrastructure. I believe god is tied in to nature and the natural weather events as well, and could have destroyed the same area with a massive earthquake if that was his plan for that area for whatever reason at that time.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with all this, but that’s how I’m wired!
 
Does anyone know of a phone app that you can apply to a recorded Biden speech that will convert the audio in to him speaking with an Irish accent?
 
When people think the free market will regulate itself, they forget that greedy people own the largest companies.Invalid Link RemovedInvalid Link Removed
 
Isn’t it also strange how the people who are most opposed or critical of natural energy seem to have stakes in the oil industry?

Obviously they want whats best for everyone else and not themselves though so I 100% know it is just coincidenceInvalid Link Removed
 
A private company has a product that people want and they are the bad guys for capitalizing on it? What did humans do before the discovery of fossil fuels?
 
dixonk said:
A private company has a product that people want and they are the bad guys for capitalizing on it? What did humans do before the discovery of fossil fuels?
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If you want to defend people putting up prices during a crisis, all the more power to you

Its amazing that Ted Cruz made a lot of money AND fled to Mexico while his constituents froze to death.
 
Jiigzz said:
If you want to defend people putting up prices during a crisis, all the more power to you
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I’m not defending them. I’m pointing out a fact. They own a product. People want this product. People will pay for this product. Is it their fault the govt doesn’t provide a public option? Humans have been dealing with snow for thousands and thousands of years before natural gas, coal, electricity, and etc. Wonder if they blamed rich people every time they got cold as well.
 
Generators, propane, wood, fuel, have all been available to purchase long before this storm hit. Living in TX and OK we are accustomed to freak weather. If you aren’t prepared ahead of time then you simply aren’t paying attention. My house was just fine throughout this ordeal. The cost of unpreparedness is higher commodity cost.
 
And before muscleupcrohn jumps in to crucify me, I am playing devils advocate here. I don’t have real skin in the game because I am always prepared. Our house did just fine because we are prepared for this type of stuff as should any homeowner that lives in this region.
 
dixonk said:
I’m not defending them. I’m pointing out a fact. They own a product. People want this product. People will pay for this product. Is it their fault the govt doesn’t provide a public option? Humans have been dealing with snow for thousands and thousands of years before natural gas, coal, electricity, and etc. Wonder if they blamed rich people every time they got cold as well.
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Thats a dumb argument. Everything runs on electricity now: Your heating, pumping gas for your car, your lighting etc. Before that, houses had other forms of heating, like fireplaces and stoves. Now, a lot of houses are built without fireplaces and stoves require electricity.

What happens when you privatize a commodity? People exploit it. The people who knew they could make money off it, decided to pull the govt out of it and make the money themselves.
 
dixonk said:
Generators, propane, wood, fuel, have all been available to purchase long before this storm hit. Living in TX and OK we are accustomed to freak weather. If you aren’t prepared ahead of time then you simply aren’t paying attention. My house was just fine throughout this ordeal. The cost of unpreparedness is higher commodity cost.
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Being prepared for an emergency should be a given, but a lot of people live well below the poverty line and can barely afford to live NOW, let alone prepare for something that may happen in the future.
 
Jiigzz said:
Thats a dumb argument. Everything runs on electricity now: Your heating, pumping gas for your car, your lighting etc. Before that, houses had other forms of heating, like fireplaces and stoves. Now, a lot of houses are built without fireplaces and stoves require electricity.

What happens when you privatize a commodity? People exploit it. The people who knew they could make money off it, decided to pull the govt out of it and make the money themselves.
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If the govt should have any role it would be to generate their own power. Not command private companies how to run theirs. Why doesn’t the govt have any interest in electric generation?

I’m just not a fan of peoples lack of personal responsibility and always looking for someone to blame for all their problems. Before there was poverty, currency, governments, and etc. people survived. Maybe if the govt didn’t create an entire population of people completely dependent on them we wouldn’t have this problem. They can teach little kids about having sex but can’t teach them how to start a fire?
 
Jiigzz said:
Being prepared for an emergency should be a given, but a lot of people live well below the poverty line and can barely afford to live NOW, let alone prepare for something that may happen in the future.
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Yes that’s apparent by our poor peoples obesity rate, their love of 1500 dollar iPhones, 300 air jordans, and 600 dollar a month smoking and drinking habits. We don’t have a poverty problem, we have a money management problem. Probably because parents don’t raise their kids anymore and they leave it up to the indoctrination centers to pump their kids full of liberal garbage and blame rich and politicians for all their problems.
 
Jiigzz said:
Being prepared for an emergency should be a given, but a lot of people live well below the poverty line and can barely afford to live NOW, let alone prepare for something that may happen in the future.
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Yes that’s apparent by our poor peoples obesity rate, their love of 1500 dollar iPhones, 300 air jordans, and 600 dollar a month smoking and drinking habits. We don’t have a poverty problem, we have a money management problem. Probably because parents don’t raise their kids anymore and they leave it up to the indoctrination centers to pump their kids full of liberal garbage and blame rich and politicians for all their problems.
 
Funny talking about American “poverty” while I am literally typing this message from one of the most economically depressed countries on planet earth where I haven’t heard a single person blaming anyone for their life’s problems. We don’t have poverty. The people here have true poverty.

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dixonk said:
If the govt should have any role it would be to generate their own power. Not command private companies how to run theirs. Why doesn’t the govt have any interest in electric generation?

I’m just not a fan of peoples lack of personal responsibility and always looking for someone to blame for all their problems. Before there was poverty, currency, governments, and etc. people survived. Maybe if the govt didn’t create an entire population of people completely dependent on them we wouldn’t have this problem. They can teach little kids about having sex but can’t teach them how to start a fire?
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Good ol free market doing its workInvalid Link Removed
 
dixonk said:
Funny talking about American “poverty” while I am literally typing this message from one of the most economically depressed countries on planet earth where I haven’t heard a single person blaming anyone for their life’s problems. We don’t have poverty. The people here have true poverty.

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You're comparing a 3rd world country with one of the world's richest countries?

Last I checked, noone in the US had to walk 10 miles for water
 
Jiigzz said:
Good ol free market doing its workInvalid Link Removed
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Those people signed up for wholesale electricity from a 3rd party, didn’t read the contract, and now it’s others people fault again. Again I ask, why can’t people have personal responsibility? He enjoyed cheap electricity while the going was good and didn’t plan on it going bad. It’s in black and white if he would have elected to read it.
 
Jiigzz said:
You're comparing a 3rd world country with one of the world's richest countries?

Last I checked, noone in the US had to walk 10 miles for water
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Exactly. I am saying we don’t have poverty. Americans don’t truly know what being poor is really like. If they do then it is completely self inflicted.
 
Only in America can you weigh 300lbs, have the latest and greatest phone, a 70” tv, a car, a free education, food assistance, housing assistance, job placement assistance and still be considered poor. Lol.
 
dixonk said:
Exactly. I am saying we don’t have poverty. Americans don’t truly know what being poor is really like. If they do then it is completely self inflicted.
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Poor is relative. Those countries are poor as entire nations and have humanitarian groups constantly going in to provide aid.

You don't expect that level of poverty in a 1st world country, but that doesn't mean that people cannot be poor in a rich country.

Its apples and oranges. And its not always self inflicted.
 
Jiigzz said:
Poor is relative. Those countries are poor as entire nations and have humanitarian groups constantly going in to provide aid.

You don't expect that level of poverty in a 1st world country, but that doesn't mean that people cannot be poor in a rich country.

Its apples and oranges. And its not always self inflicted.
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I’m saying you can’t be considered poor if you are overweight, have means of getting around, and have access to technology. Regardless the financial status of the host nation. This country has rich people, I don’t hear people here blaming their problems on them. That’s first world crab mentality type of ****.
 
Why is personal responsibility such a hard concept for liberals to grasp? I can’t understand it. We complain about the government in one hand and then look for them to be our saviors in the other? We have churches, charities, volunteers, and etc that are able to come together in a time of crisis. Stop looking to the govt for help. They don’t help. They only make things worse. All we do is give up a little more each time we put our faith in elected officials to help.
 
dixonk said:
Exactly. I am saying we don’t have poverty. Americans don’t truly know what being poor is really like. If they do then it is completely self inflicted.
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Ah, so every homeless veteran living poverty is in the US is there due to “completely self inflicted” reasons? Cool...
dixonk said:
Funny talking about American “poverty” while I am literally typing this message from one of the most economically depressed countries on planet earth where I haven’t heard a single person blaming anyone for their life’s problems. We don’t have poverty. The people here have true poverty.
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Yes, the homeless people living in the streets in the US in a snowstorm “don’t have real poverty.” Do you make a habit of reminding homeless people that at least they’re not living in “real poverty” every time you see them asking for money? Tell them that “it could be worse, you could be in Africa?”
dixonk said:
Yes that’s apparent by our poor peoples obesity rate, their love of 1500 dollar iPhones, 300 air jordans, and 600 dollar a month smoking and drinking habits. We don’t have a poverty problem, we have a money management problem. Probably because parents don’t raise their kids anymore and they leave it up to the indoctrination centers to pump their kids full of liberal garbage and blame rich and politicians for all their problems.
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Oh yes, the average poor person in America has a new iPhone, Jordans, and smoked that much. There’s not one single mother or father raising kids working two jobs in the country. Nope. Not a single one. It’s all poor spending habits. Yep. All of it.
dixonk said:
If the govt should have any role it would be to generate their own power. Not command private companies how to run theirs. Why doesn’t the govt have any interest in electric generation?

I’m just not a fan of peoples lack of personal responsibility and always looking for someone to blame for all their problems. Before there was poverty, currency, governments, and etc. people survived. Maybe if the govt didn’t create an entire population of people completely dependent on them we wouldn’t have this problem. They can teach little kids about having sex but can’t teach them how to start a fire?
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You going to start a fire on the tenth floor of an apartment? You going to keep a healthy supply of wood for the winter in your one bedroom apartment on the tenth floor? Kind of privileged of you to assume everyone is a homeowner and/or has sufficient space to store that much wood to be prepared.
dixonk said:
And before muscleupcrohn jumps in to crucify me, I am playing devils advocate here. I don’t have real skin in the game because I am always prepared. Our house did just fine because we are prepared for this type of stuff as should any homeowner that lives in this region.
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So the guy living in an apartment on the fourth floor should have had a generator or some wood go burn to stay prepared? It’s the job of the little guy to be prepared when they’re already living paycheck to paycheck, but there’s zero blame on the government for being unprepared? For not winterizing their infrastructure because profit was paramount over preparedness and safety. Got it...
dixonk said:
Generators, propane, wood, fuel, have all been available to purchase long before this storm hit. Living in TX and OK we are accustomed to freak weather. If you aren’t prepared ahead of time then you simply aren’t paying attention. My house was just fine throughout this ordeal. The cost of unpreparedness is higher commodity cost.
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So a lower or middle class person who wasn’t prepared with a backup for an emergency is to blame, but the government is not to blame when they were unprepared as well? Their infrastructure (paid for by taxpayers I should remind you) was unprepared for storms, THEY weren’t “paying attention.” Or more like they were so full of greed they prioritized profits over safety and preparedness.
 
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muscleupcrohn said:
Ah, so every homeless veteran living poverty is in the US is there due to “completely self inflicted” reasons? Cool...

Yes, the homeless people living in the streets in the US in a snowstorm “don’t have real poverty.” Do you make a habit of reminding homeless people that at least they’re not living in “real poverty” every time you see them asking for money? Tell them that “it could be worse, you could be in Africa?”

Oh yes, the average poor person in America has a new iPhone, Jordans, and smoked that much. There’s not one single mother or father raising kids working two jobs in the country. Nope. Not a single one. It’s all poor spending habits. Yep. All of it.

You going to start a fire on the tenth floor of an apartment? You going to keep a healthy supply of wood for the winter in your one bedroom apartment on the tenth floor? Kind of privileged of you to assume everyone is a homeowner and/or has sufficient space to store that much wood to be prepared.

So the guy living in an apartment on the fourth floor should have had a generator or some wood go burn to stay prepared? It’s the job of the little guy to be prepared when they’re already living paycheck to paycheck, but there’s zero blame on the government for being unprepared? For not winterizing their infrastructure because profit was paramount over preparedness and safety. Got it...

So a lower or middle class person who wasn’t prepared with a backup for an emergency is to blame, but the government is not to blame when they were unprepared as well? Their infrastructure (paid for by taxpayers I should remind you) was unprepared for storms, THEY weren’t “paying attention.” Or more like they were so full of greed they prioritized profits over safety and preparedness.
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Lol. Good morning man! I will stand firm with our version of poverty being self inflicted. Especially homeless “veterans” who were given all the tools they needed for success and chose to not use them. We live in the land of opportunity. As someone who came from the other side of the track I know there is a way out of it if you want to grab it.
 
To add: there are lots of ways of coming up with solutions without looking to our f*cked up piece of crap government and the piece of sh*t scumbag crooks running it. Stop looking to the government for answers, they don’t have any.
 
Here is how our govt solves a problem. There is a problem that needs 1 million dollars. They will create a bill for 1 billion dollars. 999,900,000 will go to pakastani gender studies, Filipino truancy programs, studies on the effects of viagra on cats in space, studies on the effects of herpes on giraffes, and etc. 100k will go towards the problem of which 90% will go to the salaries of the people tasked with handling it. Our govt is a f*cking joke if I ever saw one.
 
dixonk said:
Stop looking to the government for answers, they don’t have any.
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If I can’t look to them for ANY answers, why the hell am I paying so much money in taxes to fund them? I suppose you’re an anarchist then? If we can’t rely on or trust the government for anything at all, not even our infrastructure, then we shouldn’t even have said government at all, and certainly shouldn’t pay money under threat of imprisonment to fund them...
 
muscleupcrohn said:
If I can’t look to them for ANY answers, why the hell am I paying so much money in taxes to fund them? I suppose you’re an anarchist then? If we can’t rely on or trust the government for anything at all, not even our infrastructure, then we shouldn’t even have said government at all, and certainly shouldn’t pay money under threat of imprisonment to fund them...
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Now you’re talking! We got to turn off the tap to those crooks. Their only purpose in life is to preserve our rights and secure our sovereignty. Nothing else. A standing army and about 25 people is all the federal side should have. We shouldn’t be paying any tax whatsoever.
 
dixonk said:
Now you’re talking! We got to turn off the tap to those crooks. Their only purpose in life is to preserve our rights and secure our sovereignty. Nothing else. A standing army and about 25 people is all the federal side should have. We shouldn’t be paying any tax whatsoever.
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You do know there’s state tax too, right? And they’re just as corrupt as the federal side. If you’re saying that we shouldn’t pay any taxes to them either, then at least you’re consistent. Because Texas STATE government is the one collecting taxes to build, operate, and maintain failed infrastructure. They literally isolated themselves from the rest of the country’s power grid. They’re the ones throwing away tax dollars with their greed and corruption as we speak.
 
muscleupcrohn said:
You do know there’s state tax too, right? And they’re just as corrupt as the federal side. If you’re saying that we shouldn’t pay any taxes to them either, then at least you’re consistent. Because Texas STATE government is the one collecting taxes to build, operate, and maintain failed infrastructure. They literally isolated themselves from the rest of the country’s power grid. They’re the ones throwing away tax dollars with their greed and corruption as we speak.
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I will remain anti tax so long as the govt both state and federal decide to spend my money like they just won the powerball. People are awesome when determination and willpower sets in and we find a way. I’m not quite sure where the govt fits into that because as has been said over and over, if you want to find a way to f*ck something up, let the govt do it.

So I don’t know what the solution is, but what I can observe with my eyes is that the solution is not government. Not in its current form.
 
dixonk said:
I will remain anti tax so long as the govt both state and federal decide to spend my money like they just won the powerball. People are awesome when determination and willpower sets in and we find a way. I’m not quite sure where the govt fits into that because as has been said over and over, if you want to find a way to f*ck something up, let the govt do it.

So I don’t know what the solution is, but what I can observe with my eyes is that the solution is not government. Not in its current form.
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I assume you are familiar with Thomas Paine’s statement that “Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence?” Unfortunately, SOME level of government is necessary, even if it is only to protect the citizens from external threats, and to have a legal system to protect the citizens within the country from each other as well. The government should also regulate basic things, like not having 5 year old working 12 hour days in sweatshops, and also regulate infrastructure to help ensure public safety. Having zero regulations for public infrastructure is, as we are now seeing in Texas, a recipe for disaster.
 
muscleupcrohn said:
I assume you are familiar with Thomas Paine’s statement that “Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence?” Unfortunately, SOME level of government is necessary, even if it is only to protect the citizens from external threats, and to have a legal system to protect the citizens within the country from each other as well. The government should also regulate basic things, like not having 5 year old working 12 hour days in sweatshops, and also regulate infrastructure to help ensure public safety. Having zero regulations for public infrastructure is, as we are now seeing in Texas, a recipe for disaster.
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I agree. Unfortunately our government in its current form is out of control. We need to have clear definitions of what is “essential” and what is just frivolous. The budgets that are being passed now are completely disgusting.
 
dixonk said:
I agree. Unfortunately our government in its current form is out of control. We need to have clear definitions of what is “essential” and what is just frivolous. The budgets that are being passed now are completely disgusting.
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Yeah, but infrastructure supplying power and water are pretty much as essential as you can get, and Texas really dropped the ball on them here. A person on a farm can have wood, and a person with a yard can have a generator, but a person in an apartment can have neither. And this wasn’t some Cat 5 Hurricane where NOTHING could have prevented the devastation it caused, because any of the other 49 states wouldn’t be in the mess Texas is in now if they got hit by the same storm.
 
muscleupcrohn said:
Yeah, but infrastructure supplying power and water are pretty much as essential as you can get, and Texas really dropped the ball on them here. A person on a farm can have wood, and a person with a yard can have a generator, but a person in an apartment can have neither. And this wasn’t some Cat 5 Hurricane where NOTHING could have prevented the devastation it caused, because any of the other 49 states wouldn’t be in the mess Texas is in now if they got hit by the same storm.
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I will confess this is not an argument or discussion I am prepared to make as I would never live in an apartment and I live my life with no expectations of help, not saying it wouldn’t be appreciated if it was there. I enjoy the luxuries our country has to offer but I am completely fine with self reliance if need be. So I cannot relate to people that aren’t like me.
 
dixonk said:
I will confess this is not an argument or discussion I am prepared to make as I would never live in an apartment and I live my life with no expectations of help, not saying it wouldn’t be appreciated if it was there. I enjoy the luxuries our country has to offer but I am completely fine with self reliance if need be. So I cannot relate to people that aren’t like me.
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I mean, just because YOU wouldn’t do it doesn’t mean that millions of people have no choice but to do it. Not everyone can afford a house to live in. There’s not even enough houses in the country for every person or every family to do so.
 
dixonk said:
Why is personal responsibility such a hard concept for liberals to grasp? I can’t understand it. We complain about the government in one hand and then look for them to be our saviors in the other? We have churches, charities, volunteers, and etc that are able to come together in a time of crisis. Stop looking to the govt for help. They don’t help. They only make things worse. All we do is give up a little more each time we put our faith in elected officials to help.
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Its not a hard concept to grasp, and I absolutely agree that a lot of 'poverty' can absolutely stem from a combination of a range of poor life choices and laziness.

For people like that, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy. So I 100% get where you're coming from.

On the other hand, I know people who have done all the right things but just been unfortunate with their luck. For example, I know a few flight attendants and a pilot who have been made redundant, I know of people who owned small businesses that are struggling right now, i know of people who have studied for years, only to be caught in an incredibly tough job market. An ex employee of mine has a Masters degree in Civil Engineering and cannot find a job in his field and has taken up laboring for minimum wage to make ends meet.

When you consider that rent in Auckland is around 400-600 per week, that's a HUGE chunk of someone's paycheck who is barely making above minimum wage. People are still flatting in their 30's to try keep those costs down, but it's still 250 a week plus in an often overcrowded house.

For some, doing all the right things doesn't net them a lot of money and they end up straddling the poverty line. Then people criticize them for not owning a $5000 generator in case their power cuts out is just not feasible.
 
Jiigzz said:
Its not a hard concept to grasp, and I absolutely agree that a lot of 'poverty' can absolutely stem from a combination of a range of poor life choices and laziness.

For people like that, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy. So I 100% get where you're coming from.

On the other hand, I know people who have done all the right things but just been unfortunate with their luck. For example, I know a few flight attendants and a pilot who have been made redundant, I know of people who owned small businesses that are struggling right now, i know of people who have studied for years, only to be caught in an incredibly tough job market. An ex employee of mine has a Masters degree in Civil Engineering and cannot find a job in his field and has taken up laboring for minimum wage to make ends meet.

When you consider that rent in Auckland is around 400-600 per week, that's a HUGE chunk of someone's paycheck who is barely making above minimum wage. People are still flatting in their 30's to try keep those costs down, but it's still 250 a week plus in an often overcrowded house.

For some, doing all the right things doesn't net them a lot of money and they end up straddling the poverty line. Then people criticize them for not owning a $5000 generator in case their power cuts out is just not feasible.
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lots of abuse of the welfare system but without it there would be so much REAL poverty here that the US would look like a 3rd world country and the crime rate would be trippled if not more, imo.
 
thebigt said:
lots of abuse of the welfare system but without it there would be so much REAL poverty here that the US would look like a 3rd world country and the crime rate would be trippled if not more, imo.
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Welfare abuse absolutely sucks. I saw it every single day and it really detracts from the people that need it.

IMO it should just be used to keep people afloat while they work on getting back on their feet, not to be used as a crutch to rely on so they can stay at home and smoke meth all day. Huge problem here. Unfortunately its hard to do that without being 'discriminatory' and so its easier, and less messy to provide the same help for everyone.

So I agree with dixon that people who rely on it to be lazy bums just create the same cycle with their children. It's disgusting, but I do think it has a place in helping those who are committed to being functioning humans in our society.
 
Jiigzz said:
Welfare abuse absolutely sucks. I saw it every single day and it really detracts from the people that need it.

IMO it should just be used to keep people afloat while they work on getting back on their feet, not to be used as a crutch to rely on so they can stay at home and smoke meth all day. Huge problem here. Unfortunately its hard to do that without being 'discriminatory' and so its easier, and less messy to provide the same help for everyone.

So I agree with dixon that people who rely on it to be lazy bums just create the same cycle with their children. It's disgusting, but I do think it has a place in helping those who are committed to being functioning humans in our society.
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lots of warts on the present welfare system but it's still preferable to me than none at all.
 
Jiigzz said:
Its not a hard concept to grasp, and I absolutely agree that a lot of 'poverty' can absolutely stem from a combination of a range of poor life choices and laziness.

For people like that, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy. So I 100% get where you're coming from.

On the other hand, I know people who have done all the right things but just been unfortunate with their luck. For example, I know a few flight attendants and a pilot who have been made redundant, I know of people who owned small businesses that are struggling right now, i know of people who have studied for years, only to be caught in an incredibly tough job market. An ex employee of mine has a Masters degree in Civil Engineering and cannot find a job in his field and has taken up laboring for minimum wage to make ends meet.

When you consider that rent in Auckland is around 400-600 per week, that's a HUGE chunk of someone's paycheck who is barely making above minimum wage. People are still flatting in their 30's to try keep those costs down, but it's still 250 a week plus in an often overcrowded house.

For some, doing all the right things doesn't net them a lot of money and they end up straddling the poverty line. Then people criticize them for not owning a $5000 generator in case their power cuts out is just not feasible.
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Amazingly enough your example of people struggling is the direct result of government intervention. Would your airline friends be out of work if governments didn’t over extend their power and over react to a stupid virus that most people never knew they had?
 
thebigt said:
lots of abuse of the welfare system but without it there would be so much REAL poverty here that the US would look like a 3rd world country and the crime rate would be trippled if not more, imo.
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I think you are wrong. Our current welfare system perpetuates poverty because it doesn’t give people a reason to achieve greater. It has created a society of lazy gimmedats waiting on their check and doing nothing to earn it. Just pop out kids and watch jerry springer while I go to work to support them. There should never ever be cash handed out as a means of help. I would agree with food pantries that distribute wholesome and healthy food. Not some fucking 350lb woman running to Walmart filling up the grocery cart with Dr Pepper.
 
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