Everyone In America Is Even More Broke Than You Think

[davidthegnome]

45. I won't disagree with you on that point.

Yes, we do need - desperately need - better financial education. These kinds of arguments always strike a nerve for me - I was one of those young parents, aged 18, without a clue in the world, thinking he knew everything. I struggled for years, living in poverty with my fiance, our infant son - and her young daughter. This was... almost fourteen years ago now. Minimum wage up here was 5.65? 5.75? An hour, and I washed dishes, spent time as a telemarketer - spent time in between jobs during lay offs, business closings, or even once or twice, I lost jobs due to getting sick - or not having a car decent enough to make it to work in poor weather.

Oh I could have done things so much better, I could have been so much smarter, wiser, more responsible - but I wasn't. Knowing now what I didn't know then doesn't make up for my poor decisions, doesn't alter the fact that I made them. I don't consider my son as a mistake - not in the least, but I do wish I had been better prepared, wiser, older... ready, for what I was trying to do, which was, raise a child when I was barely more than a child myself.

Yeah, I've faced those cruel lessons of life, a lot of them - and a lot of it was my own damn fault, I won't deny that. I will say though, that a lot of young people, regardless of their backgrounds, make poor decisions... some times it's the result of poor education (I had a GED, which is no substitute for a damned clue about the world), general ignorance (sheltered, middle class upbringing) or simply the powerful passions (and hormones) of youth.

There is no way - at least no reliable way, to prevent young people, or poor people, from having children altogether. I do not think it is possible, or even reasonable to attempt to do so. I believe we should focus, instead, on improving our economy, our social safety net, our education, our infrastructure, our healthcare, and other things, in order to give everyone a good shot at survival if not decent living.

We are the richest Nation on earth. I get so tired of saying that - but we are. We can afford to do all of these things that before now we have largely only had the courage to dream of. Everyone should have a chance to go to college, to get a higher education, to have a reasonable wage, healthcare, a home. No one should need to be homeless here, or so deeply in poverty that it comes to a decision between buying groceries, or paying for heat. Or between paying the rent, or paying for medication.

The problem is poverty... not the people in poverty. We can educate, we can rebuild, we can do so much damned better than we've been doing for decades now. That's what this new political revolution is all about...

Sorry, guess I got carried away. Anyhow, perhaps I did read too deeply into your post, but I think about these sorts of things (and talk about them) quite a bit. Often on my mind.