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Equal opportunity not equal outcome. Doesn't that require an equal starting point?
The new talking point on the right seems to be equal opportunity not equal outcome, but if so many people are born at a disadvantage, then doesn't it follow that there should be a floor below which no one can fall--thereby establishing a starting point that is equal?
EDIT: I'm not a Canadian--before some nudnik says it. Chicago area, born and raised.
@Joe--Mexicans are people too. They don't cease to have needs just because they are in a hypothetical different country. Borders are myth. The floor applies to everyone on Earth.
@RayHere--My appetite and Mr. Koch's are the same. My need to be warm and have a place to lay my head is the same as Donald Trump. A working knowledge of math and english is as essential for me as for Warren Buffet. Basic medical care is no less important for me than it is for Bill Gates. These are basic requirements for ALL human life. Everything else is extra. That is the floor I am speaking of.
@Shaun Holt: You misapprehend the meaning of my words. The floor is a most basic requirement that is common to every human being. It does not take away from anyone. Equal opportunity requires that the most basic needs for survival are available to all, so as not to be a handicap to those who would otherwise be 10 feet behind the starting line.
@RayHere--As a ward of the state, you were given the floor of which I speak. Congratulations. Too many children do not have that luxury. Because they are poor, through no fault of their own, they are vilified as inferior to those who have never been hungry, homeless or unable to get adequate education or healthcare. You speak of a ladder. I climbed that ladder, but since I was crushingly poor as a child, I started my journey 12 feet underground. I couldn't even SEE the ladder until I had the security of a full belly, warm bed, an education and health care to cure many chronic illneses that were caused by my poverty. I am not a kid, I am 51 years old. I earned everything I have, which is adequate, but I have walked a mile in the shoes of those who need a hand just to break even. There, but for the grace of "god", go I.
@jimbo--What a coincidence! My grandfather was Amish, so I know a great deal about their ethos. The Amish believe in the self-sufficiency of the
community, which was dependent on the condition of the individuals. No Amish would deny another a full, belly, warm bed, education or healthcare. They understand that a community is only as strong as its weakest link. So, please, do not invoke the Amish as validation for Conservative dogma--they have nothing in common. Our Founding Fathers would be appalled that the nation they fought so hard to create has fallen victim to the same attitude that made them revolt in the first place....that the wealthy privileged have the right to make the rules for us all.
3 Answers
- Anonymous7 years agoFavorite Answer
Why do I feel that floor you talk of is what it cost you to live?
Per your edit
It not only YOU it is all of us but most of us know we have to provide these things for ourselves and not too look to other to provide them for us don't know what your ''starting point'' is or was nor do I care as a ward of the state ''graduating'' from Texas youth authority going right into military and when ask who would be my beneficiary on my death and really not knowing who to put down I know what it is to start at the bottom of the ladder but kid once you start up that ladder it gets easier all the time
You express you needs and what very will but have not got it in your head your an adult and what all that entails believe you use your past as a woo is me someone take care of me
- ?Lv 67 years ago
Why would you force someone to have a lower starting point? If someone is born into a family of modest wealth, who can afford to provide a college education for them, why would you take that from them, in the name of 'fairness'? This is capitalism. If my dad works hard, saves, and invests in MY education, then he's helped me to get ahead in life. Is that unfair? Why SHOULD every child have an equal starting point? To do so, you would have to take from people who saved, worked hard, invested wisely, etc. One of the points of the communist manifesto is eliminating inheritance. Do you know that? I think inheritance is one of the best ways TO have progress. It is BETTER to be born with some degree of wealthy. It's not a bad thing. Granted, not everyone will be born into it. Many kids with great natural abilities may lack the means of a suitable education. But we should work to prop them up. Not drag everyone else down to their level.
Source(s): Conservative. - Anonymous7 years ago
Equal opportunity - yes. Equal outcome - "mostly up to YOU!" Why should others pick up your slack - if you made the wrong decisions in your life? Life preserver, if necessary... sure, but NOT an "entitlement!!!!!" Our founding fathers would be "horrified! Look to the "standards" of the Amish - no we all CAN'T be farmers, but we can be SELF SUFFICIENT ... AND - self reliant!!!
Source(s): Reality - Awareness of!