How many here were born to VERY poor families?

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Yeah...like a lot of others here, born with nothing, no dad, no car, no phone, no pool, no pets. A 'child of the Depression'.
Took my lumps; worked my way through college. Used my head more than my antecedents had, gave my kids some of the things I lacked, growing up. Proudest of that: adding three good human beings to the gene pool.
Not rich now, but the level of comfort is so much better than childhood that it seems like luxury, and no one had dang-well better try to take any of it away from me. That's sort of where the guns come in.
I wouldn't call myself a libertarian...more an anarchist in my sympathies. Or maybe just anti-busybody. Fersure, I know that the whiners who complain about not getting a break, and the sob-sisters who want to take from you and me and give to them, have it all wrong.
--slabsides

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If they take our guns, I intend to let my hair grow long and acquire the jawbone of an ass.
 
Well, we were never really *poor*, my Dad made good money for us as a pipelayer.

However, I'm not a white male...so that shoots a hole in these unspecified people's theory.
 
It seems the topic shows that wealth will come from hard work and honesty. But liberals believe honesty and hard work come from wealth. Hence they lust to give away other peoples money to sooth thier feelings.
 
Sometimes we where poor, other times we where doing pretty well. I grew up on a dairy farm. It really depended on the individual year, but we always, and I mean always, worked our butts off. When I was 17 we lost the farm, some bad business decisions and a crooked partner finished the family business off. No matter what we always worked. Convinced me not to go into farming.

I'm 24 now, and almost done working my way through college. I've worked at crappy jobs part time for five years to do it. I'm mostly republican with libritarian tendancies. (actually I just hate all things liberal). :)
 
I wouldn't say that Libertarians have no compassion for "the poor." It's just that we don't like the government deciding where our "charity" goes (that is, AFTER they skim off their 90% for "administrative/program costs"...DSS, etc.). Charity is something the individual chooses to do, not Big Brother. When you get to the point where you're barely taking home half of what you grossed (including sales tax, property tax, etc), that's more like "redistribution" of wealth than anything else. Not very "capitalistic." I think most people (including Libertarians) would happily donate to their chosen charities if they had a little more disposable income, which isn't going to happen if taxes keep increasing. It just irks me that the first half of my day at work is spent to pay Big Bro/Uncle Smack, whatever.... (BTW, I'm not a "middle class white male," I'm a single mother, for what it's worth!) :)
 
Most of us here are rather conservative, and understand the relationship between cause and effect. I'm sure most of us believe in God, Who does not obstruct our moral ambitions.

Ever notice how liberals confuse cause and effect, and apparently believe in Santa Claus?
 
I know my parents struggled and it wasnt until later that I realized it. My mother married my father (stepfather) when I was 7, Id grown up without a father until then. Id be fortunate enough that I grew up in a home with my GreatAunt and her son. My first bicycle came off of a horse drawn refuse wagon, that my cousin made work, it had no brakes.....was a riot. My father (stepfather, for clarification only), was a soldier, and we know they dont make much money. He became a Warrant officer the last part of his career in the military and after 30 years in the military went back to college to accomplish his doctorates in Criminal Justice in his 50's...My mother has done her share of struggling as well. On the shores of the lake near were I live now, my father and I had a brief talk on our way to go fishing one afternoon, he told me that he would not be able to leave me an estate, so dont expect it,,,,,I had to be not in my teens yet, and I remember thinking that this was something I needed to understand, from his attitude about it,so I asked him what an estate was...lol....att he said about 50K...lol......for simplier times.....I was blessed though, you see the entire time I was a member of their household I only once saw them fight, they had arguments Im sure, but they had respect as well as love.
-----as for the great depression you bet it had an influence on people who survived it and the next generation following....my great aunt would buy food in quanity and put it in the basement, when she died her son found old canned food down there, anyones guess at the age, but the peaches in the can he opened were black........
---tks for the thread oleg, good memories...fubsy.
 
Oleg, my father was a Russian immigrant to this country and if it weren't for public funding he would have never gained the skills necessary to become as successful as he has. The Boys and Girls club of America (which is a popular program in innercities) taught him lapidary, kept him off the streets, and provided him with resources and sparked an interest that he would of never received at public school. Later as a teenager, the Barnsdale Art park which is subsidized by the NEA provided him with the tools and knowledge he would of otherwise been unable to afford. This was an immense help for him as he embarked on a career as an illustrator and jewelry designer.

I have absolutely no qualms with paying taxes for quality programs that truly help the poor. I would rather help someone get the skills to become a productive citizen rather than pay to build prisons so they can be housed and fed like children.

Oleg, for someone who is actively making posters for the RKBA, you should look into the programs available to you. Public Access television, PBS, ect. ect. are venues that have never been if rarely utilized by the RKBA. It cheap and effective.
 
Poor, well I've never been poor in my life. My family, most of them, as far back as I know worked in sweat shops, cotton mills to be more specific. My Grandparents raised me for the most part. Both of them worked 12 hour shifts in cotton mills and moved all over the south living in one mill town after another. My Mother worked for years as waitress in cafes then later in her life, early thirties, she worked in cotton mills too. Those loved ones are all gone now and left with very little more than they come into this world with. They worked hard long hours and for the most part were happy and enjoyed their lives. I think my Mother accumulated less than any of her family. She was sorta a happy go lucky person and probably the happiest of the bunch of happy people. I suppose much of their happiness came for hope, tomorrow was a new day to them and they were doers and builders to the best of their abilities. As a kid we always had plenty to eat, a place to stay and so on. I never missed material things because none of us had much material thing, nor did our neighbors.

Looking back from my old age I finally realized how much they all did for me. They gave me much love which I always knew but it took some time to realize they gave me freedom too. Such as, when I was 12 years old we lived in a fairly large city and it was nothing for me to get the 22 rifle from the house and old blue (squirrel dog), walk 2 miles to the woods and go hunting anytime. Yeah, a kid walking down a city street with a gun. Or about the same to go fishing or swimming, in creeks at that. I believe children today cannot, for many reasons, enjoy the freedom I had as kid. I am sadden about that too.

My life? What is money? In my old age I lived in a car, an old one, in the winter time even and worked 40 years in sweat shops, cotton mills, for the most part. In 1980 I had and owned very little more than the clothes on my back and an old car, bow & arrows, fishing rod & reel and a few hand tools of my trade. I was still without money at that time. Well, I got scared, real scared, of working in cotton mills til I died. Throughout my life I had learned to live with very little money and I started saving it, for the first time ever. A lucky investment here and there and I retired January 1991 and have only good money problems today. Nope never stole any money nor married any either, nor no rich uncles. I earned in by the sweat of my brow. I can tell you for a fact you don't need a million dollars a day to live in retirement comfortably. No unhappiness, only sporadic temporary unhappiness in my entire life, here and I have a most wonderful wife and super children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. What more could anyone want?

As for government/politics I am a one dimension guy, The Constitution. Strict interpretation too, any other interpretation renders it worthless. The only label I claim is American and political parties are worthless in my opinion. I will vote only for the candidate I feel will honor the oath of office and for no other reason. We do no justice today to our Founding Fathers wisdom for them giving us the greatest two government documents ever written in the history of mankind, The Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Socialism is not in the Constitution nor do I believe charity is remotely related to the government of this Republic.
 
My family did fairly well until the divorce. Then I lived with my mother, a single-parent forced to support a child. Times were meager, but I never went without. However, somewhere the sociliast doctrine entered my mind. Not until recently have I understood the depth of the socialism ingrained in my mind, not until reading "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand did I fully understand the horrors of socialisim that had been forced upon me. I got a real good taste of the socialist mind-set when I pastored a church briefly two years ago. It seems that the poorer the people the more they tend to lean towards socialisim. Now I am learning to be Liberterian, hopefully I will one-day become a Federalist, and a true defender of capitalism.

Chink and others, regarding charity for the poor, the Apostle Paul has this to say:
"2Th:3:10: For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat."
"1Tm:5:8: But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."


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Know Yourself, Know Your Weapon, Know Your Enemy; then Know Victory! ---DaHaMac
 
AllanHampton,

According to liberalism/socialism you shouldn't exist.

How does it feel to be one of the liberal/socialists' worst nightmares?
:D :D
 
My experience with abject poverty forced me to be a libertarian. I grew up middle class, but when my ex-wife decided to "spread it around." I got my first taste of Government power. First off I was forced to give her 48% of my take home pay or go to jail. I only made 1100 bucks a month and that wasn't take-home. I was able to afford rent of $200.00 a month for six months. I lived in a trailer on a ranch that was used by illegal aliens. I had no electricity, no gas, no heat, no A/C, no furniture, no transportation, I mean nothing. I litterally was force to hunt for my food, yet I didn't qualify for foodstamps because I made too much money. They don't take into account how much you're paying in court ordered child support and alimony. In the mean time, my ex wife took a trip to the Bahammas, and was living in a 3 bedroom house in a West Houston middle class neighborhood. She got on Welfare, Food stamps, and other goodies, and she has yet to ever work one day of her life at a real job. The Government taxes me to support her. She is perfectly capable of work, but chooses not to. I eventually joined the Army to get out of that trap, and it worked. I will never forget being cold, hungry, and without most of what people think is necessary. It wasn't that I wasn't working though, it was because our government wants to be "daddy" to everybody, and charges those who work to pay for those who won't. It is a slap in the face that "Family Courts" routinely run debtors prisons which are explicitly unconstitutional. I can't help but be a libertarian, and for me that is the only way to insure that we all have an equal chance to succeed.
 
Indirectly related to this thread, but quite instructive as to who is rich in this country and why is the best seller "The Millionaire Next Door."

As with firearms, the myths abound regarding who has wealth and how they did it.

Regards
 
If life as an affluent white male makes it impossible to have compassion for the poor, then compassion couldn't have been the motive for Franklin Roosevelt's social programs, could it?
 
Munro Williams, I wish to confirm your assessment of me, hopefully you are correct. Thanks, seems to me not many know where I am coming from in government/politics. I'll assure you, your freedom is as important to me as my own because they are one and the same.

kjm, I hear you and understand your injustice by the hand of your supposedly protector, government. 40-50 years ago chain gangs in the deep south were full of mean ol' white men who would not pay for their wife's boyfriend's beer. I personally know of husbands paying child support to the county and the kids (wife) not getting a cent of it.

Bunkster, aside criminality and inheritance wealth comes from; Labor earns wages, wages create capital and capital creates wealth.

I have forgotten her name, shame on me, but I got information of her story from different places. An elderly black lady in her 80s gave something like $80,000.00 to a university. Reported as half of her money. How she got that money is rather remarkable, she ironed clothes (at her home I'm sure) all her life. I saw her interviewed on tv and she said she liked to iron clothes. I read in the paper that she passed on recently at 91(?) years young. Her story says a lot that is not necessarily printed. Evidently she was happy and money was not of much concern to her. I do see some parallel with her life and my own. Above necessity, money is not now nor ever was much of a motivation in my life. Oh yeah, I had a touch of greed here and there but it never settled in for long, LOL.
KuP52Q
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by AllanHampton:
....Bunkster, aside criminality and inheritance wealth comes from; Labor earns wages, wages create capital and capital creates wealth.
KuP52Q[/quote]

Allan, criminality and inheritance do not even show up on the radar screen as paths to wealth. This is what I mean by myths.

I realize you are not implying they do, however the mere mention of them when speaking of the issue further confuses the Jerry Springer/Oprah Winfrey crowd.

Respectfully
 
The first 5 years of my life I was in a very wealthy family. That changed when my parents immigrated to the United States 20 years ago. They started over and we had nothing. My mother had three small children to care for in a foreign land.

What I am most proud of is the fact my parents never went on wellfare. They taught me that you earn your money and never allow anybody to support you.

Now I have a double bachelors degree and almost my masters. My sister has her masters from the University of Pennsylvania and my little brother will graduate next year with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Yeah I know what being poor is like. My family did something about it instead of whining or being spoonfed from the government.

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ArmySon
1911 Addiction
"Rangers Lead the Way!"
 
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