Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:21:00 PM (view original):
I wonder if any of you actually grew up below poverty-level poor or have you guys been middle class your entire lives and are just intellectually debating in a vacuum?

If you all have never experienced destitution, you should be careful about trying to weigh how much 2% would or would not impact or whether or not poverty is an avoidable situation.

When you have lived through it for a period of your life, it changes your perspective.

um, that is what I have been saying all along. Not being poor and never having been poor, I have no idea how hard or easy it is to work your way out of poverty.

Posted by cccp1014 on 2/20/2019 6:37:00 PM (view original):

Posted by wylie715 on 2/20/2019 6:12:00 PM (view original):

Posted by cccp1014 on 2/20/2019 5:56:00 PM (view original):
When my parents came to this country they had $100 and didn’t speak the language. They did OK. I dont but bad lucks privilege bullshit.

You should be proud of your parents, and I applaud their work ethic to build themselves up starting from practically nothing. But, not everyone is your parents. Just because they did it, does not mean everyone can do it.

Actually I think they Can.

You seem to have trouble with this, but just because you think it is true, that does not make it true.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:13:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bagchucker on 2/20/2019 5:34:00 PM (view original):
omg a teen was talked about wrong

how dare they



did he lose a tooth? did someone steal his jacket? WTF are you even talking about

Somebody sucessfully sued McDonalds for selling hot coffee.

I think the teen has an excellent chance of winning some money.

Have you seen the documentary on the coffee lawsuit? It’s incredibly interesting.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:21:00 PM (view original):
I wonder if any of you actually grew up below poverty-level poor or have you guys been middle class your entire lives and are just intellectually debating in a vacuum?

If you all have never experienced destitution, you should be careful about trying to weigh how much 2% would or would not impact or whether or not poverty is an avoidable situation.

When you have lived through it for a period of your life, it changes your perspective.

Yep. Someone living on $20k a year usually doesn’t have an extra $400 laying around.

Posted by wylie715 on 2/20/2019 7:06:00 PM (view original):

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:21:00 PM (view original):
I wonder if any of you actually grew up below poverty-level poor or have you guys been middle class your entire lives and are just intellectually debating in a vacuum?

If you all have never experienced destitution, you should be careful about trying to weigh how much 2% would or would not impact or whether or not poverty is an avoidable situation.

When you have lived through it for a period of your life, it changes your perspective.

um, that is what I have been saying all along. Not being poor and never having been poor, I have no idea how hard or easy it is to work your way out of poverty.

It is incredibly difficult to break the cycle because it is both a physical thing (money/physical environment) as well as mental (educational ignorance/psychological environment.) Believe me, it is not necessarily a choice. Nobody was wearing hundred dollar sneakers or owning fancy toys (the equivalent of smart phones or x-boxes) where I grew up. Poverty is crushing. Most of the people I grew up with are either dead or incarcerated. I got extremely lucky and escaped, although I was the only one in my family to do so.

2% taxes only mean something to those who have some money and can probably afford it to varying degrees. When you have nothing, 2% isn't even a percentage. Conceptually, it means nothing. You can't take away from someone who literally has nothing to give in the first place.

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 7:09:00 PM (view original):

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:13:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bagchucker on 2/20/2019 5:34:00 PM (view original):
omg a teen was talked about wrong

how dare they



did he lose a tooth? did someone steal his jacket? WTF are you even talking about

Somebody sucessfully sued McDonalds for selling hot coffee.

I think the teen has an excellent chance of winning some money.

Have you seen the documentary on the coffee lawsuit? It’s incredibly interesting.

I have...and I agree. It was fascinating and a little bit frightening.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:13:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bagchucker on 2/20/2019 5:34:00 PM (view original):
omg a teen was talked about wrong

how dare they



did he lose a tooth? did someone steal his jacket? WTF are you even talking about

Somebody sucessfully sued McDonalds for selling hot coffee.

I think the teen has an excellent chance of winning some money.

Why?

What did the media outlet DO that "damaged" him?
What did they say that was "slanderous"?

I'd like to know.
I've never heard the alleged offensive words or actions.
What did they do to the kid?

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 7:32:00 PM (view original):

Posted by wylie715 on 2/20/2019 7:06:00 PM (view original):

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:21:00 PM (view original):
I wonder if any of you actually grew up below poverty-level poor or have you guys been middle class your entire lives and are just intellectually debating in a vacuum?

If you all have never experienced destitution, you should be careful about trying to weigh how much 2% would or would not impact or whether or not poverty is an avoidable situation.

When you have lived through it for a period of your life, it changes your perspective.

um, that is what I have been saying all along. Not being poor and never having been poor, I have no idea how hard or easy it is to work your way out of poverty.

It is incredibly difficult to break the cycle because it is both a physical thing (money/physical environment) as well as mental (educational ignorance/psychological environment.) Believe me, it is not necessarily a choice. Nobody was wearing hundred dollar sneakers or owning fancy toys (the equivalent of smart phones or x-boxes) where I grew up. Poverty is crushing. Most of the people I grew up with are either dead or incarcerated. I got extremely lucky and escaped, although I was the only one in my family to do so.

2% taxes only mean something to those who have some money and can probably afford it to varying degrees. When you have nothing, 2% isn't even a percentage. Conceptually, it means nothing. You can't take away from someone who literally has nothing to give in the first place.

Right. You have experienced poverty, so you have some idea what you are talking about. CCCP hasn't, so when he says 2% won't hurt the poor, I question it. We are agreeing here.

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 5:35:00 PM (view original):

Posted by strikeout26 on 2/20/2019 5:26:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 1:29:00 PM (view original):

Posted by usf_bulls on 2/20/2019 1:25:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 1:21:00 PM (view original):

Posted by usf_bulls on 2/20/2019 1:17:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 12:59:00 PM (view original):

Posted by strikeout26 on 2/20/2019 8:49:00 AM (view original):
Topic of the day: Journalistic integrity. When did it die?

In the last couple of weeks, we have had the media report two false stories. The Jussie Smollett and the Covington Catholic story. Both turned out to be false. The major media outlets refused to take blame for the major inaccuracies in both stories. How do we revitalize journalistic integrity as this is essential to our freedoms?

When did it die?

It didn't.

If you are saying that Journalism never had integrity, then I agree with you. It didn't die because journalistic integrity was never born.

No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying plenty, if not most, journalists go out of their way to be ethical.

Perhaps there should be a distinction between the journalist and the editor/producer/grand poobah paying the bills. The journalist may have integrity when doing the legwork. The end product (what we read or see) is probably not exactly what the journalist submitted and has been modified to fit a particular agenda by the not-so-integrity-driven axe grinders.

(gomiami1972 alt ID)

If we're limiting this discussion to reputable organizations like the NYT or Wapo, then no, I don't think that's true at all.

WaPo is the essence of this topic. They slandered a teenager. How can you call them reputable?

You're going to have to show how they "slandered" him.

I don't have to show anything. That's his lawyers job. I can have an opinion without building a court case. You know, kind of like you swore up and down that Kavanaugh was guilty without hard proof. You were entitled to that opinion. It was her attorney's job to prove it had she pressed charges.

Posted by strikeout26 on 2/20/2019 7:42:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 5:35:00 PM (view original):

Posted by strikeout26 on 2/20/2019 5:26:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 1:29:00 PM (view original):

Posted by usf_bulls on 2/20/2019 1:25:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 1:21:00 PM (view original):

Posted by usf_bulls on 2/20/2019 1:17:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 12:59:00 PM (view original):

Posted by strikeout26 on 2/20/2019 8:49:00 AM (view original):
Topic of the day: Journalistic integrity. When did it die?

In the last couple of weeks, we have had the media report two false stories. The Jussie Smollett and the Covington Catholic story. Both turned out to be false. The major media outlets refused to take blame for the major inaccuracies in both stories. How do we revitalize journalistic integrity as this is essential to our freedoms?

When did it die?

It didn't.

If you are saying that Journalism never had integrity, then I agree with you. It didn't die because journalistic integrity was never born.

No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying plenty, if not most, journalists go out of their way to be ethical.

Perhaps there should be a distinction between the journalist and the editor/producer/grand poobah paying the bills. The journalist may have integrity when doing the legwork. The end product (what we read or see) is probably not exactly what the journalist submitted and has been modified to fit a particular agenda by the not-so-integrity-driven axe grinders.

(gomiami1972 alt ID)

If we're limiting this discussion to reputable organizations like the NYT or Wapo, then no, I don't think that's true at all.

WaPo is the essence of this topic. They slandered a teenager. How can you call them reputable?

You're going to have to show how they "slandered" him.

I don't have to show anything. That's his lawyers job. I can have an opinion without building a court case. You know, kind of like you swore up and down that Kavanaugh was guilty without hard proof. You were entitled to that opinion. It was her attorney's job to prove it had she pressed charges.

I’m not asking you to prove a court case. Just link the story. That should be easy.

Posted by wylie715 on 2/20/2019 6:08:00 PM (view original):

Posted by strikeout26 on 2/20/2019 5:33:00 PM (view original):

Posted by wylie715 on 2/20/2019 4:44:00 PM (view original):

Posted by strikeout26 on 2/20/2019 1:12:00 PM (view original):

Posted by wylie715 on 2/20/2019 12:55:00 PM (view original):

Posted by strikeout26 on 2/19/2019 8:13:00 PM (view original):
If you are temporarily poor, it is misfortune and bad circumstances. If you are permanently poor, you are bad with money.

strikeout, while I agree many poor people are just bad with money, to lump all poor people like that is wrong. Some of them just don't have enough money to be bad or good with.

If they go through life without enough money to be bad or good with it then they didn't make choices that put them in a situation to earn money. America has more than enough opportunity to go around. People just have to take advantage of the opportunities.

I think it is not always that simple. Just my opinion. Not everyone has access to the same opportunities.

It's the rule. There are exceptions to every rule. I'm not talking about the exceptions. And you are right. Opportunity is not equal. I had the privilege of going to a very good prep school. I inherently had an advantage over the kids at the government schools. I'm not saying that getting rich is easy. I'm saying that not being permanently poor is easy. The opportunity is there for everyone to be rich. It's more easily obtainable for some than others, but the opportunity to not be poor is easily obtainable for everyone. It's all about making the right choices.

Strikeout, I am not saying you are wrong, but being that I am not poor, I really have no idea how easy or hard it is to not stay poor. Are you poor, or have you been poor? If not, you really don't know either. Its like CCCP saying a 2% consumption tax wouldn't make a difference to poor people. How could he possibly know? he isn't poor. You may very well be right, but since I have no idea, I won't say that. Like I originally said, it is not always that simple.

My parents made about $800 per month combined until I was about 13. There were weeks where we had hot dogs all 7 days because they were cheap at the time. I lived in a single wide trailer where our power was consistently being shut off. Yes, I have been poor.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 7:30:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bad_luck on 2/20/2019 7:09:00 PM (view original):

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:13:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bagchucker on 2/20/2019 5:34:00 PM (view original):
omg a teen was talked about wrong

how dare they



did he lose a tooth? did someone steal his jacket? WTF are you even talking about

Somebody sucessfully sued McDonalds for selling hot coffee.

I think the teen has an excellent chance of winning some money.

Have you seen the documentary on the coffee lawsuit? It’s incredibly interesting.

I have...and I agree. It was fascinating and a little bit frightening.

Also, the idea that McDonald’s was responsible for the damages becomes a lot more reasonable when you know the full context.

Posted by wylie715 on 2/20/2019 6:12:00 PM (view original):

Posted by cccp1014 on 2/20/2019 5:56:00 PM (view original):
When my parents came to this country they had $100 and didn’t speak the language. They did OK. I dont but bad lucks privilege bullshit.

You should be proud of your parents, and I applaud their work ethic to build themselves up starting from practically nothing. But, not everyone is your parents. Just because they did it, does not mean everyone can do it.

That's the thing. Anyone can do it. You just have to make the right choices. It happens all the time in America.

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:21:00 PM (view original):
I wonder if any of you actually grew up below poverty-level poor or have you guys been middle class your entire lives and are just intellectually debating in a vacuum?

If you all have never experienced destitution, you should be careful about trying to weigh how much 2% would or would not impact or whether or not poverty is an avoidable situation.

When you have lived through it for a period of your life, it changes your perspective.

See my response to Wylie.

Posted by laramiebob on 2/20/2019 7:34:00 PM (view original):

Posted by gomiami1972 on 2/20/2019 6:13:00 PM (view original):

Posted by bagchucker on 2/20/2019 5:34:00 PM (view original):
omg a teen was talked about wrong

how dare they



did he lose a tooth? did someone steal his jacket? WTF are you even talking about

Somebody sucessfully sued McDonalds for selling hot coffee.

I think the teen has an excellent chance of winning some money.

Why?

What did the media outlet DO that "damaged" him?
What did they say that was "slanderous"?

I'd like to know.
I've never heard the alleged offensive words or actions.
What did they do to the kid?

I'll try to find the original article and post it. That way every can read and decide for themselves if it was slanderous.