Big Labor is here to stay

[Ian Gills]

I agree with Ian. Why are Americans so distrustful of each other?

People want to work. They do not want to be poor. They want the dignity of earning their own living.

But they may also need a little bit of help from the Government from time-to-time.

Why does everyone in the United States think that everyone else is out to milk the system?

[Cookie]

People are not so much distrustful of each here other, most are just ignorant to each other.

Like for instance, you talk about physical disabilities? Well, a few years back I had a Picc Line in my arm. Clearly visible since it was summer. For those who do not know what a picc line is, it is an IV that ran from my heart through the main vein in my neck to the outside of my arm. Throught the opening of the skin on the outside, dangles a very purty plastic tube so, a connection can be made to the pole which holds whatever, you need dripped. It is another way of making a person a vein. My husband had dropped me off at the door of the market and I was holding my arm to my side when, an older man, about 40 years older than me, slammed the door on my arm, knocking out the tube and blood was everywhere. I asked him, " why did you do that?" He said, " you didn't hold the door for me and I am old."

Today, I had to have the stitches and staples taken out, all 10.5 inches of them. Well, I had to cancel 2 appt recently to do this due to 1. A major snow storm 2. More recent an ice storm. This woman in the office has never much liked me, I cannot imagine why, since I am nice to her. But, today, here I sit to hear her tell me that she drives in any weather, yet, from the opposite direction of where the storms was at. I said to her, " you ever have an accident?" Of course she never did, and when I informed her of mine, she said, " well, you just got to get back up on that horse." I informed her, that even horses won't walk on ice. And, reminded her, that 5 diagnoses of cancer shows that horse is worn out but, I still get on that poor thing. Then, she had to see the incision and grabbed my head & hair in such a fashion I yelped and pushed her hand away, telling her it still feels like someone hit me in the back of my head with a baseball bat and to be gentle. She is just ignorant.

I work for a woman who wins prizes at being ignorant. She tells you, " I don't want to be nice." Yeah, I noticed...

Oh, Ian, hang around the USA and you will see, we are not distrustful as much as just ignorant. And, it is not the same as manners, like saying, thank you or please. The words are spoken through actions.

I did hear a couple of words today that did sting. The surgeon asked what the oncologist told me. So, I said, this and that. When I asked him, his opinion of the report, he said, " I don't care." You don't care? He said, " I don't care." He said, all he cared about was that it was not lymphoma. When I asked what it was though, he said, " I don't care."

So, there sat this pathetic little person with a really bad haircut having a really bad hairday, and no one cared. That my friend, is America.

And, to add the govn into the picture is like adding insult to injury.

I should add, that after a few moments while looking at this man who wears the white jacket and has all the knowledge, I said, to him on my behalf, " you know, no one knows what it is like when you get a major illness, no one knows how hard it is to be a person like me."

With that, he looked at me sheepishly, and said, " okay, Cookie, I will see you in 3 or 4 years." Which I added, " 30."

[ianrtech]

i feel for you cookie. hope things get better.

[Cookie]

Thank you Ian. I wanted to express to the other Ian, that distrust and being ignorant are 2 different things here. I am old enough to remember a much kinder caring world. It wasn't perfect and it surely, wasn't ever like the old tv shows but, it was better in regards to kindness. This is a loss. I am able to see this loss in our country. I see it in all walks of professions and all ages of people. I don't know how this happened or why it it happened, but it crept into our society like a cancer itself. And, like cancer it is going to be hard to get rid of even if possible. I notice it but I wonder how many others see this occurance, like Ian, I think, he sees it as a sense of distrust. I wish it was that easy. Maybe things in a weird way has been too easy here in the US. And, like discipling a child a contemp sets in. That would make them be accountable... accountable for their actions.

Life maybe hasn't been easy for most people but compare to the harshness of today, it might be seen that way. How funny it is but no one wants, really wants change.

There is a wave of change going across the US, it has been for years. Those who realize it and roll with it are fine, those who have not been aware of it, cannot. And, it will have adverse reactions. 1. The kindness towards other will be slim to none 2. The attitude of the people will change and like playing dominoes that will be the mood of the country.

You can't put the whole country on anti-depressants like fluoride in the water, although I would like to add it to a few people's coffee I know, lol; my fear is, I may never live long enough, and I don't mean because of my health issues, but because this mood of the country will take generations to play itself out. So, am I talking great-grandchildren will inherit this? You bet.

Will people now continue on not caring about their fellowman? Will an old man slam a door on someone, (who when I was a child, would never had slammed a door on someone who clearly, was dealing with something and needed the help) do it yet, today and in the future? Age over physical problem? I am afraid, yes. I think, the much older generation of today are very lost. And, in some ways so rightfully, so. Here, they were brought up to respect their elders and now, that they are old, see they are not getting it. They express it by actions which are much less than kind. This is the generation whereas, in our country real estate was booming and most made a nice bundle in their homes, had pensions, had savings plans which did nothing but increase through the years, things looked stable for them, and now, things are not stable and lost stuff due to maybe, alittle bit of bad judgement, bad planning, bad luck, and maybe, even alittle bit of greed. Yet, instead of being appreciative for all good fortunes and good times, others may never see in their lifetime, they are angry. They will say and believe things like, " I worked all my life and this is what I get!" They will not see that others have worked also, maybe, just as hard, and didn't get one-half the results they did. Anger is a bad thing for it speads to those around you; be happy, for what you had, be happy for being able to work hard to get what you got or had. If it bothers you that your shoes are worn out and you can't afford new ones, just stop and think, about the person who has no reason to buy shoes, for he has no feet. One person at a time, one attitude at a time, can change the mood of this country and your life.

People in the age bracket of the late 30's to 40's, have developed a chip on their shoulder, they have developed a cocky attitude and this is being passed on to their children. Their attitude is such as, they were promised a rose garden and got a whole bunch of thorns. I see this generation as the last real spoiled children syndrome. This is the generation that you can't teach because they know everything.

How often do you remember as a child, your parent teaching you to be kind. Manners and kindness can be confused. It is teaching kindness to open a door for someone, or pick up something someone dropped, an action... How often do you see it today?

You can teach an ape to say in sign language, " thank you" but, can you teach him kindness? Can you teach him an action which comes from a feeling heart with regards, to others? To think, only of others?

How often do you hear ignorant things coming out of someone's mouth and you stare in disbelief that someone actually, said that to you? That is because of the anger people are feeling in our country. Anyone and everyone become their pressure relief valve.

It is not distrust, it is everything but. It is anger because things are changing, and maybe, some not for the good, higher prices in everything. Having to work harder to save a dime, to buy gas, education, health, everything in life. Yet, the answer is not in the govn dictating our lives; the answer lies within, each and everyone of us. To do our part to make the changes positive ones, not for us, but for our generations to come. We need to care.

Boy, do we need to care.

[LOTW]

I agree with Cookie. I am a strong supporter of programs which provide assistance to improve a person's condition. Subsidized higher education, Habitat for Humanity, etc are all examples of programs which require people to contribute to their own improvement and which should be supported. However, there are too many government programs, i.e. Section 8 housing, which provide an incentive for people to stay single and poor, have children, and not improve their condition. These, types of programs, in my opinion, need to have time limits put on them. But that does not mean that I do not care. Think tough love and review Redwood's real life examples which he posted. And also remember that every dollar spent on government employees who administer the program is a dollar taken away from the people who could benefit from the program.

I also agre with Ian the Brit who believes that we should do more for university education. Before we simply increase funding, however, we should scrutinize the way money is currently being spent. For example, the local state university here pays its football coach about 4 million dollars per year. Couldn't some of the money generated by athletics be applied to academics? And this university's art museum many years ago was given a painting by Jackson Pollack which is now worth somewhere between 150 and 200 million dollars. Think how many scholarships could be provided at the local community college to educate electricians, plumbers, dental hygenists, teachers, cops, etc if this painting was sold and the money invested. Would that not be better than having a painting which looks strikingly like cat puke? And don't get me started on the number of highly paid administrators that are employed at the university.

[ianrtech]

i have Dysgraphia so bear with me. yes charites are great i'll give money to a homeless program but not to the person on the cornor. a time limit is not the answer its arbatary its the person you have to consider. what about the ones that first got the axe in the ressetion. times up but corps still are not hiring to bad for you. guotes like "the top 10% pay 50% of taxes so there taxes are to high" but they controll 95% of the money. tricle down ecomomis do not work. billoin dollar corps that pay close to nothing on taxxes? advertise we give ?% to charities while are schools get cut. yes thigs need to change. but getting rid of govt is not the answer. put more money in the class rooms. longer sohool year and days and better lunch progarms. to impove the future. school vochures? yea that and 10K+ will get your kid in a good school. probily run by the likes Bernie Ebbers

[ballvalve]

These poor mothers need help. Not the full weight of your American economic abuse.

Give them generous social payments.

Provide social worker visits.

Provide subsidized housing and utilities.

Else feel the wrath of their angry kids when they grow up.

The choice is yours.

Pay now. Or pay more later.

That IS available to them in abundance. There are even transportation assistance programs.

But mom is watching the home shopping channel and the kids are on satellite #2 and #3 watching the 'chain saw massacre' movies.

The car sits idle as it blew a rod because mom didnt know it took oil, and that tires need air.

Dad is rapping on the street with malt liquor, and hasnt been home in a year.

I would like you to extract a happy, balanced child from that morass. You would have to start building orphanages again and removing the kids from the monsters.

Paying now, paying later and building bigger prisons.

Here is my kids playground. Bought this remote mountain years ago by working like the proverbial horse and growing my own food. Anyone instilled with a hard work ethic can still do it. But your social programs provide an incentive to hold down a sofa.

Give me a 2 year old from the inner city that does not have fetal alcohol syndrome, and I'll raise him up as god intended.

And give me a flock of those 18 year old rappers at 6$ an hour, and I'll provide the food, chainsaws and shovels to teach them the good feeling of hard work. Lots of dead trees left after the fire. And they can run 6"pipe for my hydro project.

Might have an issue setting my 8" ballvalve - the heaviest thing they ever carried were t.v's from the wallymart during the last riots.

[Redwood]

I agree with Ian.

Good I'm glad you do but I myself do not care to be so narrow minded....

[ballvalve]

Your only hope is a WPA type program that collected all the unemployed kids and had them live in the forest and perform all the needed work on trails and bridges and railings and small public works projects. And cutting the brush along the road.

And mommy dearest gets bussed to pick up trash on the parkway, the infants go to daycare, and she gets to work off her stamps and rent payments.

Now you are creating a work ethic that may provide results. No cell phones allowed.

Why feed a healthy chicken that lays no eggs?

[ianrtech]

yeah there is something in what you say. theaching hard work and get away form the tube. 6$ hr? does that have healt ins. a 401K for retirement wrk comp...? are you really trying to help or just get cheep labor. basicaly something for next to nothing just like walmart. and whos going to hire the other 5000+ kids part of the trouble is where the jobs are you cannot live on the wages. and where the rents cheap theres no jobs. 10$hr -rent, heath ins, daycare,food clothing,ect your spending more than you earn wpa? what about high seed rail,masstransit, fixxing the roads, honnest inspections of pipe lines and other infastructure and repairing those? with real pay and bennifts

[Cookie]

Since no one is asking this Ballsvalve, I will. Where is your compassion? Anyone of us is only one step, one pay check, one adverse event including a illness, from being homeless, jobless, and depending on welfare and others' help.

Location is everything in Real Estate, but not in parenting a child or probably, much to your disbelief, education. Kids who are Harvard bound can get into just as much trouble as a kid in an Inner city school.
Kids infact, who live in a rural area statistically speaking will commit crimes to a worse degree for fun. They are loaded with bullies. Usually, an inner city kid who commits a crime is to eat or to survive.

Drugs are found my friend, anywhere, and in an expensive area the kids are doing more much expensive drugs, which makes their habit harder to kick. Inner city kids smoke grass, they can't afford coke.

Food for thought.

If anyone really wants to be a good parent, teach them right. Teach them to respect their fellowman instead of teaching ridicule, and to judge. Teach them compassion. Teach them to make a difference in this world, to make a difference in someone's life so they themselves, one day, will teach their children this. Then, maybe, the world would be a much better place to live then, the only real concern about real estate would be just how big a house or lot you want, or how many baths.

[LOTW]

Cookie, out of fairness to Ballsvalve you may want to re-read his posts. As I understand his position, he is advocating for the benefits of hard work. And the WPA did teach construction skills which resulted in some wonderful masonry, log and other craftsmanship. The bottom line as I see it is that we have lost the War on Poverty which was declared by LBJ and that many of the cures that we/big government have been administrating do nothing but perpetuate the problem. And Ballsvalve is right when he argues that a work ethic is necessary before this can change.

[Cookie]

I have no problem with hard work, but compassion goes a long long way.

[ianrtech]

Ballsvalve comes across as i got mine every one else shoulb be able to get there own. im sure no one ever help him a long. gavin newsam put care not cash into sf. its not perfect but its better than giving the homeless money to go party with. i used to do work a the shelters. look at it from the kids view. they see pepole work every day of there life and have nothing. but the drug dealer got his. they can not aford collage which is not a garanty of a job and nether is vocational school. and if you get a job does it pay a living wage. can you even aford to work? yes the war on poverty is lost now they are coming for the middle class.

[Redwood]

Your only hope is a WPA type program that collected all the unemployed kids and had them live in the forest and perform all the needed work on trails and bridges and railings and small public works projects. And cutting the brush along the road.

And mommy dearest gets bussed to pick up trash on the parkway, the infants go to daycare, and she gets to work off her stamps and rent payments.

Now you are creating a work ethic that may provide results. No cell phones allowed.

Why feed a healthy chicken that lays no eggs?

The WPA programs were a great idea that jumpstarted us out of the great depression....
I would have been good to see something like that happen with our present economic mess...

However, instead of doing that we bailed out the Insurance Industry, Wall Street & the Banks, along with some large corporations like GM & Chrysler...

The majority of the people who would have benefited from a WPA type program are waiting for that to "Trickle Down" to them....
They shouldn't be holding their breath considering it went to Bonuses for the people that created the mess....