Americans, how do you feel about America?

[ruby59]

[quote="redwood66|

I guess there are not many conservatives on PS, at least not many that post. I am glad to be here to voice another opinion. Thanks to DF I am not totally alone.

Even though I have these gripes with America - it is still the best place in the world to me.

I'm sure there are more conservatives on PS but their just afraid to post their opinions... I'd give you a lot of credit for admitting being a conservative on PS. The last count was 5 and 4 of them are hiding under their bed...

[/quote]

Well, here is a conservative who is not hiding but has been here long enough to know the odds are not in our favor. I am all for helping the truely needy - people who are handicapped, old, sick, down on their luck. Yes, we as a civilized society are obligated to care for them.

But there needs to be a better process to weed out those who are abusing the system. Give them a certain amount of time to get their act together and then cut them off. When there is a family who has been on welfare generation after generation, someone needs to step in. A helping hand should be offered. Time should be given to help turn things around. But at a certain point, enough is enough.

As far as those coming in from other countries, it should be as it always was. You apply and then come in the front door as our grandparents did before us. No more "anchor" babies.

 

[partgypsy]

I am pmsing so take what I say with a grain of salt, but from my experience the people who seem the most entitled to me is my parents generation (the boomers). They benefited from the boom years after WWII where employment even at a HS or college degree was plentiful and well-paid. In addition to decent social security they often had pensions that have now gone the way of the horse and buggy. Higher education was affordable and you could actually work your way through school without having huge student loans. If you had a master's degree or higher education it was worth a considerable amount and you could accrue a large amount of savings over your work life-time.
There is this disconnect; they see what they have earned and received as a direct reflection of their self-worth and "hard work" and and not in any way due to special circumstances of the time they grew up in or the the country they were born in.

They do not understand why the "youth" is not as successful as they are. that they have higher degrees, but earn proportionally less than they did with lower amounts of education. They do not understand why the youth has student loans, when they were able to work their way through. They don't know why these people keep losing their jobs in these recessions and downsizings and outsourcing of jobs, they must not be hard working enough. Or the lucky ones who retain jobs, having to take on the workload of those downsized, but with no raises to account for the additional workload and responsibilities.
Oh, it must be because they are lazy, or entitled or something.

 

[packrat]

Maybe it differs by state? I dunno. I think some knowledge or non knowledge of it comes from where you live and the people you come in contact with. I don't know that there's a day since JD got hired on at the department that he hasn't come home and shook his head and said "I don't know how these people do it. What're we doing wrong?" Shoot, my aunt and uncle have been to Hawaii like 5 times. So, apparently in Iowa you can be on welfare but still save enough to go on tropical vaca's, I dunno.

 

[liaerfbv]

I am pmsing so take what I say with a grain of salt, but from my experience the people who seem the most entitled to me is my parents generation (the boomers). They benefited from the boom years after WWII where employment even at a HS or college degree was plentiful and well-paid. In addition to decent social security they often had pensions that have now gone the way of the horse and buggy. Higher education was affordable and you could actually work your way through school without having huge student loans. If you had a master's degree or higher education it was worth a considerable amount and you could accrue a large amount of savings over your work life-time.
There is this disconnect; they see what they have earned and received as a direct reflection of their self-worth and "hard work" and and not in any way due to special circumstances of the time they grew up in or the the country they were born in.

They do not understand why the "youth" is not as successful as they are. that they have higher degrees, but earn proportionally less than they did with lower amounts of education. They do not understand why the youth has student loans, when they were able to work their way through. They don't know why these people keep losing their jobs in these recessions and downsizings and outsourcing of jobs, they must not be hard working enough. Or the lucky ones who retain jobs, having to take on the workload of those downsized, but with no raises to account for the additional workload and responsibilities.
Oh, it must be because they are lazy, or entitled or something.

You have so succinctly summarized how I feel about this issue, I wish there was more I could say other than x100,000,000.
I am about to turn 30 and I feel my generation is at such a disadvantage in the workforce. I am so thankful I have a career in a largely recession-proof field, but so many of my peers are not as lucky.

 

[ruby59]

As part of that baby boom generation (the end of it), yes life was simpler then. A college education did not cost a fortune. And a job then meant you had it for life. But the world changes and you have to change with it.

When I went to college it cost $2,500 a year. But remember it is all relative to the time you live in. I put 3 through college. Today there are all different ways to get help to pay for it - you just have to go out and look. A state college, where your child lives at home, should not be prohibitive. And if your child works hard in high school, colleges will be coveting them with scholarships.

Jobs have changed. In my little state, the economy is still terrible. So what do you do - give up? My children found jobs in other states and commute daily because it is still cheaper to live here. And yes they now do the work of 2 or 3 but are grateful to have jobs and be able to support their families.

I am sure their children wil be having the same conversation of how easy their parents had compared to them. And then they will go out and do what is needed as those who did before them.

 

[packrat]

Part Gypsy, I'll give you that, just from my own personal experiences. I can't speak for *every* boomer obviously, but my boomer parents sooooo do NOT get the differences between NOW and the 60's/70's. We bought a Ford Escape in 2004 (which I still have btw) and ALL we heard was "This cost more than our first HOUSE!!!!" and "Our first BRAND NEW car was only 6,000!!!" mmmmyeah I don't set the prices. And let me remind you that we make LESS HOURLY than YOU did 30 years ago. With LESS benefits. LESS insurance coverage. OUR dollar doesn't stretch NEAR as far as YOURS did back in the day. Well so sure, if you can find us a 1600 square foot house, only five years old, on a gigantic lot in a nice neighborhood, for 22k, boy I'll snatch that sucker up. However, since that is currently out of the any realm of the here and now, or reality as some of us call it, we'll have to make do w/this 53k house that is 40 years old and we need to remodel the entire thing. Yeah it's interesting.

 

[Dancing Fire]

[quote="redwood66|

I guess there are not many conservatives on PS, at least not many that post. I am glad to be here to voice another opinion. Thanks to DF I am not totally alone.

Even though I have these gripes with America - it is still the best place in the world to me.

I'm sure there are more conservatives on PS but their just afraid to post their opinions... I'd give you a lot of credit for admitting being a conservative on PS. The last count was 5 and 4 of them are hiding under their bed...

Well, here is a conservative who is not hiding but has been here long enough to know the odds are not in our favor. I am all for helping the truely needy - people who are handicapped, old, sick, down on their luck. Yes, we as a civilized society are obligated to care for them.

[/quote]
Don't worry, you can come out of hiding now, b/c even MSNBC and the NYT have turn the table against the current Admin... The Dems will be in for a rude awakening come this Nov...heads will roll !..