Should Americans have a right to a guaranteed standard of living?

Comments

• I never thought I'd agree with Republicans, especially Tricky Dick, but three cheers for Ike and Dick.

  • Report
  

  by Anonymously on November 14th, 2009

• Too many of today's Republicans think of Americans as economic units instead of as human beings.

  • Report
  

  by MaineMoody on November 14th, 2009

• xxix You're certainly right about leaving college burdened by debt. College level eduction is a necessity and it should not be so expensive. It should be subsidized or free. Single Payer Universal Health Care is way to go. It would be cheaper than what we have now and everyone would be fully covered. What a joke these insurance companies are...Lastly, anyone who thinks that the working for $10 an hour can pay the bills is nuts.

  • Report
  

  by Knock on November 14th, 2009

Comments

• Unemploymment is now 10.7%. Including those who have given up looking for work and those who have taken part time work, it is thought that the true unemployment rate may be close to 18%.
  
  Even if you work for the minimum wage you are making less than $200 a week. Is that enough for a family of four?
  
  Where do you see opportunity?

  • Report
  

  by Stronghart on November 12th, 2009

• Come to Texas. Two weeks ago Dallas hired 600 police officers from El Paso. Then I read in the news that there will be 5,000 new jobs open about immigration on the north and south boundaries of the US because of the large flow of illegal immigrants. You just can't stay there and complain. Get out and look for work. I'll post more stuff as I hear about it in Texas. You can make your own opportunities. Some people here have 2 and 3 jobs to stay afloat. Take a job that doesn't pay much and add other services. Take a survey of your talents and go from there. I can give you more ideas.

  • Report
  

  by Marguerite on November 12th, 2009

• This country could easily guarantee a minimum standard of living. That would mean bringing every American to a point somewhat above the poverty line. Rent, Food, Medical Care, and higher education would be accounted for. It's a disgrace that this country allows people to go hungry and without medical care. It's un-Christian, and we should stop calling ourselves a Christian country until we ensure that our fellow Americans are okay.
  -
  President Richard Nixon, a Republican-Conservative, understood this, and proposed a reverse tax which would bring every American up to this minimum standard. He also favored Universal Medical Care.
  -
  An educated American increases the productivity of the American worker and higher education should not be out of the reach of the average American. No one should leave college with a mountain of debt to pay.
  -
  I worked as a dish-washer at a dormitory while in college. Today, my taxes are almost 40% of my income. I'd pay more to live in a moral society.

  • Report
  

  by George Dufferin on November 14th, 2009

• Unfortunately, the government isn't focused on bringing people out of poverty, but in keeping the fat cats in the black. Poor people live in a recession all the time and nobody seems to care. Now that the richer in America are experiencing a little discomfort, everyone is going nuts. I know lots of people who have no jobs or mimimum paying jobs and have been like that for years. I think Lyndon Johnson came the closest by declaring war on poverty. As for our society, if you pay attention to what television feeds you day in and day out and buy into their ideas, your morality will slip.

  • Report
  

  by Marguerite on November 14th, 2009

Comments

Comments

• It may be a principal of communism but it is the reality of welfare systems in 1st world nations.

  • Report
  

  by Jacques on November 14th, 2009

• ...and the secondary "unintended effects" of welfare spending are abundantly apparent. Welfare-induced fatherlessness is now in its fourth generation, with requisite alarming rates of crime, unwed young pregnancy, and yet more ills. Entire swaths of the urban landscape have no enterprises, no entrepreneurship, precious little in the way of jobs or hope. Off-the-books illegal income sources, such as drugs and prostitution, are the scourge of neighborhoods. Public housing rots as the "entitled" residents have no sense of investment. The union-ruled public schools, let's not go there. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

  • Report
  

  by More2Be on November 14th, 2009

Comments

• ....+6

  • Report
  

  by Freedom00 on November 12th, 2009

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

• You're great with the quips, but obviously you haven't thought this through.
  You have the brains, think about this.

  • Report
  

  by Dan the Bettor on November 14th, 2009

• I see no reason to reconsider.All should contribute economically unless physically or mentally unable.During economic downturns, the state should be an employer of last resort. Save up public works projects, etc. for these cyclical periods. Standard Keynesian economic theory.

  • Report
  

  by Stranger in a Strange Land on November 14th, 2009

• I don;t think that the question is about giving lazy people handouts--it's about making sure that working people get a fair share of the pie. The spread in wealth and income between the highest 3% of the nation and the lowest 20% of the nation has incrased almost 100% since 1970. The top 3% of the nation owns 50% of the wealth in this country. See Insight@AgaryShilling.com, an economic newsletter from a very conservative writer.

  • Report
  

  by MaryWebb on November 14th, 2009

• Perhaps a more sharply progressive income tax might be a solution. But this may just drive industry out of the country even faster.Unless we abandon "globalization" and adopt a policy of "if you want to sell it here, you must make it here". The consequences would have to be carefully examined.

  • Report
  

  by Stranger in a Strange Land on November 14th, 2009

• I'd like to hear more about your proposal that Americans have "guaranteed starvation."

  • Report
  

  by Prince Hal on November 15th, 2009

• A failed attempt at humor.:^( My real point is that income must be linked to work, if the person is capable of work. Another idea; remember Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream Company? They had a proportional linkage between the highest and lowest salaries, I think it was 7:1 at one point. I don't know how that could be legislated though.

  • Report
  

  by Stranger in a Strange Land on November 15th, 2009

Comments

Comments

• So you think that every waitress, every carhop, every janitor, every un-unionized blue color worker, every lifeguard, every man and woman working at a car wash, every housekeeper in a hotel, every dishwasher, is a "lazy, uneducated deadbeat."
  -
  What are you going to call yourself when your trust fund runs out?
  -

  • Report
  

  by Stronghart on November 14th, 2009

• now for all the things wrong with your comment...
  
  A. people accept service jobs KNOWING that they are low paying, unsatisfying jobs. therefore they have absolutely no reason to complain.
  B. according to 2003 cencus bureau statistics:
  •Associate's degree holders average $8,000 a year more than their high school educated friends.
  •Workers with bachelor's degrees make nearly $23,300 more a year than high school graduates.
  •Master's degree holders average $11,300 more a year than bachelor's degree holders.
  •Professionals with doctorates have annual incomes $37,265 higher than workers with bachelor's degrees.
  so obviously the key to financial security is education.
  C. ANYONE can afford to go to college.
  D. i payed for my education 100% on my own.(with the help of student loans) not my parents
  E. i never have and never will have a trust fund

  • Report
  

  by Capital J on November 15th, 2009

• Capital J: The advantage of shortsightedness is that simple answers suffice.

  • Report
  

  by JUDYRN on November 15th, 2009

• I agree with your thought Judy, but I'd put slightly differently:
  Simple answers for simple people.

  • Report
  

  by WilliamNagle on November 15th, 2009

• Even Newt Gingrich wants better education in the U.S. In fact, he wants an amplification & increase in Pell grants, as he knows that not everyone can afford a good education -- not even in secondary and high schools. What world do you live in that you think (a) that anyone can get a PhD, and (b) that anyone has the intelligence to get one even if they have the money.
  You need to spend some time with real people.
  Every family is entitled to a "minimum standard of living." And every family and citizen should have Medical Insurance.

  • Report
  

  by Prince Hal on November 15th, 2009

• you people are all sooo far out of whack it makes me wonder where you come from. who says you need a phd?? or maybe a bachelor or associates? what is stopping YOU from getting a phd? i dont know anyone who cant afford an education. insurance is a BENEFIT not a entitlement.

  • Report
  

  by Capital J on November 15th, 2009