Obama's plans for College Tuition

[kilanath]

I have to agree that the income tax is a horrible system of taxation. Taxes are an unfortunate requirement in order for governments to provide public services, but the income tax is irritatingly complicated. On the other hand, I have no opinion nor ideas for a better form of taxation.

[HawkGuy]

I love the liberal idea that because I work hard for my money, pay my taxes, and put myself and my children through school, I should help you because you are disadvantaged and don't make as money as me.

If you want to spend $100,000 on a degree in Underwater Basket Weaving, go for it. But don't expect me to pay for it. Join the military, I hear they have great education benefits.

It's handouts like this that ruined the economy in the first place. Everyone should own their own home!!! Apply now!!! Oh wait, you can't afford to make the mortgage payments?? Eh, it's ok. Everyone should own a home!! It's the American Dream!!!

[dc67]

That class sucked. Not because I am a guillt ridden middle class white man but because I am so tired of hearing the same old crap. Yea, It's all Bush's fault. Whatever.

How are the poor doing since Roosevelts Great Society started? The government gets bigger and bigger and people fall farther into poverty. Government is not the answer. The democrats just buy the vote of poor people election after election by promising all of this free stuff and keep them dependant so that they will vote again next time. Liberals poloticians do not want people to get off of the system, that is their voter base.

As much as I like to think I have the answers, with our current political system, it is almost impossible to change things. Not that I have lost hope or am giving up. I am scared to death to have a quasi socialist as president and have him with a majority in both the house and senate but that is where we are. God help us all!!

[creationstory]

This is a great post. I am truly amazed at how people cannot see what has just happened in this country. The rich (who in many instances are no smarter than you or I), are finding loopholes that in many instances were created for them. THEY are getting wealthy and the middle class is paying for it. Look at the distribution of wealth in America, your kidding me, right? Look at how much minorities have been screwed in this country. If you think your a Republican, I hope your making quite a bit of dough because if your not, they've screwed you too. I mean, I sometimes can't believe how people think in this country. I am white but I can see it. The threat is coming from above, not below, but it will be. Keep enough people down and you will see the riots they had in Paris, France right here in this country! You must be using dry humor in reverse on me, right? In NJ, Superintendents of schools (of which we have 616 districts, more than Maryland, Delaware and Virginia combined) make close to or at least $185,000.00 a year w/numerous perks on top of that. We haven't touched on assistants or support personnel. This is not a NJ problem, open up eyes wide, these people are not worth that. Heck, the president barely makes that, at least in salary. I like a good joke, this is Aprils Fools, right? C'mon, there are so many talented people out there that will be out of work a long time, I suppose they don't want to work either. More of a drain on the system. GREED, pure and simple is bringing this country down. Read up on H-1B visas and see what is really happening. There is no doubt there are freeloaders in the system and that needs correction. We need to keep illegal aliens out, we should be taking care of our own 1st. I think, the system needs fixing. No, I know this system is screwed, look at what is happening to the vets.......while this frickin VP has ties with corrupt Halliburton. I'm not a Democrat either because they're becoming useless also. I'm a disgruntled American who thinks the trickle down theory is a bunch of garbage. You can give the elitist their due if you wish, I prefer to think of many of them as Prima donnas. Don't look now, your country is falling apart. Don't blame people for wanting the dream of home ownership, blame the bank execs for authorizing it with rates they new could never repay in the event of a blip. Those are our great minds at work. Do we hold them accountable? They make enough, don't you think they shoulder a huge responsibility for this or do they get a waiver? Back to the original statement, every American should be able to live the dream, and if college or trade school is their desire, $$$ should be made available. Heck, you want money for school, why don't we make it mandatory that every person serve in the armed forces? Give me because it's a free country argument and my reply is, how do you think we became free? Somebody's gotta do it, why not everybody who is physically capable? There is not a CEO out there worth the money they are getting, PERIOD! Without a workforce, there isn't any work. President Obama and his team at least acknowledge something needs to get done in this area. That much is commendable. Man.........this is an educational website, isn't it?

i am all for people who are physically able to join the military as a social responsibility.

i am not for though the fact that people should all be able to live the american dream! why? because if we all had the dream than people would want more. the dream is something that for most is unattainable. many people are simply lazy and don't want to work for it. the nation that we had in 1880 and the nation we have now are very different. the republican party of yesteryear and the the republican party of today are different.

yes luck does play a role in many things, but that is simply life. this is not and should not be a socialist nation where we simply provide for people who don't want to put some effort into it. yes there will always be elites. educational elites, economic elites, political elites, industry elites, etc.


when people start working hard. when the talented start using their skills to apply their talent... then we won't have such issues to worry about. sitting back and complaining won't do much. making a plan and implementing it will.

if you want to see some of the really poor in the world... go look here...


India razes slums, leaves poor homeless - CNN.com

[Gary]

You all crack me up. Yea, I said give free hand-outs. I said everyone deserves the opportunity for college. As far as Bush goes, who was behind the wheel, go ahead, give that jerk a free pass. Liberal my butt, your paying more for the rich to get richer than you are for the poor. I suppose the people in NOLA just wanted hand-outs too. It is a fact that who you know in this world is huge, many people that are poor don't have the connections many others do. To deny this is ignorance. I've never said hard working families should just hand over $$$ to the poor but I won't look down on them either. Salaries are out of whack in this country, that's just the way it is. I live in a great neighborhood, great school system in a money area, Mt Laurel, NJ. Matter of fact, my neighbor behind me is Jon Runyan of the Eagles and one of the 76er's lives down the street. My wife and I worked and saved hard for what we have but I've never forgotten what it is like to stand in the unemployment line. Guess I'm a hypocrite, Right? We adopt families for Christmas, give to many charities and do what we can do. I don't blame the poor for taking a chunk of my money, I blame the politicos. A pension system, of which I am part of, I pay into and am eligible for when I retire is sucking NJ dry as are all the pensions across the country. I don't know how old you all are but if you are a state or municipal employee or even in a pension at work, you may not be able to draw from it in the future. You might end up with nothing unless of course you saved in a 401k or Roth (and I'm sure you know how they are doing) Oh, and by the way, in case you didn't know, many of these municipalities are friends and families connected. You don't get in w/out knowing someone. My vet rep was shocked I got in where I am because he said it is nearly impossible for an outsider to gain access. So, I guess it's fair that a poor person walking in off the street shouldn't have the opportunity for this type of employment. This type of hiring is common throughout the country. When they retire, nice fat pensions for all, paid for by you! Family medical coverage for $8.00 a week (fact). So don't give me that bull about working hard etc, etc, etc. If you think that the well won't run dry, think again. Just like the case here where the Chief of Police gets promoted in Camden in March, holds the position until Sept and retires to a $90,000 a yr pension. Then he takes it out of the state to Portsmouth, VA to hold the same post at $110,000.00 there. You call it what you want, I call it favoritism, cronyism and a host of other words. But, you know what, you keep living in the conservative dream, if your making in excess of $200,000.00, it probably fits. Otherwise, you may want to rethink things. I never said free hand-outs, I did say equal opportunity to all, I think the framers of the Constitution intended that. Maybe I'm wrong.

[creationstory]

You all crack me up. Yea, I said give free hand-outs. I said everyone deserves the opportunity for college. As far as Bush goes, who was behind the wheel, go ahead, give that jerk a free pass. Liberal my butt, your paying more for the rich to get richer than you are for the poor. I suppose the people in NOLA just wanted hand-outs too. It is a fact that who you know in this world is huge, many people that are poor don't have the connections many others do. To deny this is ignorance. I've never said hard working families should just hand over $$$ to the poor but I won't look down on them either. Salaries are out of whack in this country, that's just the way it is. I live in a great neighborhood, great school system in a money area, Mt Laurel, NJ. Matter of fact, my neighbor behind me is Jon Runyan of the Eagles and one of the 76er's lives down the street. My wife and I worked and saved hard for what we have but I've never forgotten what it is like to stand in the unemployment line. Guess I'm a hypocrite, Right? We adopt families for Christmas, give to many charities and do what we can do. I don't blame the poor for taking a chunk of my money, I blame the politicos. A pension system, of which I am part of, I pay into and am eligible for when I retire is sucking NJ dry as are all the pensions across the country. I don't know how old you all are but if you are a state or municipal employee or even in a pension at work, you may not be able to draw from it in the future. You might end up with nothing unless of course you saved in a 401k or Roth (and I'm sure you know how they are doing) Oh, and by the way, in case you didn't know, many of these municipalities are friends and families connected. You don't get in w/out knowing someone. My vet rep was shocked I got in where I am because he said it is nearly impossible for an outsider to gain access. So, I guess it's fair that a poor person walking in off the street shouldn't have the opportunity for this type of employment. This type of hiring is common throughout the country. When they retire, nice fat pensions for all, paid for by you! Family medical coverage for $8.00 a week (fact). So don't give me that bull about working hard etc, etc, etc. If you think that the well won't run dry, think again. Just like the case here where the Chief of Police gets promoted in Camden in March, holds the position until Sept and retires to a $90,000 a yr pension. Then he takes it out of the state to Portsmouth, VA to hold the same post at $110,000.00 there. You call it what you want, I call it favoritism, cronyism and a host of other words. But, you know what, you keep living in the conservative dream, if your making in excess of $200,000.00, it probably fits. Otherwise, you may want to rethink things. I never said free hand-outs, I did say equal opportunity to all, I think the framers of the Constitution intended that. Maybe I'm wrong.

you bleeding heart! come give me a hug!

[Gary]

MMMMMMMMMPH. Much better! I hear voices

[Gary]

I did just give a big hug to a girl, correct?

[Farmerboy]

Gary,
I appreciate what you are saying, and I agree with most of your reasoning but I do disagree with your conclusions for the fix. I applaud how you in your small way are trying to make a difference with your own time and money etc. Your above comments are a sad reflection on what government has become in this country. But how did it get this way? I think that both parties are to blame. I am not a Republican or a Democrat or a libertarian or a constitutionalist. Most of the people on this board would agree with me on that. I am a person who derives his world view and thus my political philosophies from the Bible. As such I am probably one of the most conservative people you'll ever meet, both fiscally and socially. In a nut shell I believe that government should only be concerned about defending its citizens and guaranteeing only the basic rights such as freedom of religion, speech, right to bear arms, fair trial etc. The reason so many people have jumped on what you have said is you believe the government should legislate equality for everyone by guaranteeing a good education. By your own admission government is corrupt beyond belief, hardly the institution you want giving you an opportunity. My idea of the ideal government is one that will give its citizens an opportunity to better themselves. But I also believe that until Christ comes back we will always have people who are poor, middle class, and wealthy. I think that history proves that when people try to give everyone the same exact starting position it fails on a colossal scale. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be concerned about helping those in need such as you have. But that is not the governments place. Individuals and churches should be the ones that lend a helping hand on their own initiative. Another thing that you mentioned when comparing "rich" districts and "poor" districts was the grade difference. That doesn't surprise me but my conclusion is different than yours. I think that "rich" kids are more likely to have responsible parents who will impart to their kids character traits such as a good work ethic, honesty, and responsibility. Now what I am about to say could be considered racist but that is not my intent so please don't take it that way. If you look at the poorer districts most of them will have a majority of African-Americans. Now why is that? I believe that is because their family culture is dysfunctional. We have all seen the statistics where blacks have the highest violent death rate. If you think of the typical 18-30 black male you unfortunately think of somebody who is not very responsible and is directionless in life. They have very little drive to improve their situation. This is a very broad generalization and is becoming true of whites as well as blacks. If you look at African culture you will generally see two common threads, corruption, and a lack of exposure to Christianity. Those two factors combine to create a very dark environment as the dad has no cultural or religious reason to invest in his children. And what do you know the African society almost completely lacks responsible fathers! Even those African Americans who are famous have an absent dad and a very strong mom or grandmother (Oprah, Obama). And these same factors are beginning to influence America today. The simple reason that the government is looked to for everything is because individuals and churches have shirked their responsibilities in helping those who need it. But in my opinion the ultimate reason is that we as a nation have strayed from our Christian background and are turning our back not only on the religion itself but the basic tenants that come from it.

I hope this gives you an idea of where I am coming from. I don’t think I can convince you to see things my way but I wanted to set the record straight so that you know what I base my beliefs on.

Farmerboy

[creationstory]

I did just give a big hug to a girl, correct?

nope... like a brotherly hug!