Originally Posted by
noglider
OK, get angry if you want to. Lots of people take advantage of offerings when things are down. There's a good choice he'll eventually get a tax-paying job and replenish whatever he took, many times over. I have relatives who escaped the Soviet Union and were put up by charities and the welfare system when they arrived. They are extremely productive and high-earning now, thanks to the head start they got. I think the system works.
If you think most welfare recipients make a lifestyle out of it, you are mistaken.
Tom, I think what is setting some people off is there's a difference between situations where "life has got you down" and situations where you are a victim of bad luck and/or current circumstances. I'm a consultant, so my income can vary widely. Sometimes I'm on projects that last almost 2 years, sometimes I've got to cobble together short-term things and to make a go of it. And I'm married with kids, so my circumstances have a big role on the choices I make.
But situations like the OP is describing is why there's no middle position in America anymore and why there's a sanity vacuum when it comes to tough issues. I'm all for helping people out and am willing to pay extra to do it, but I'm working for less money than I was 2 years ago at the same time my property taxes are rising steadily and other costs are increasing. And I'm not alone; the situation I describe is why there's no middle class to speak of, especially in high-cost markets. So when someone's doing all this and sees someone wax poetic about freeloading via bike, it is a bit aggravating.
If a person wants to improve their life, touring the country by bike isn't going to do it -- whether they work or not. Simply put, no one is going to take someone seriously who's looking for all but a laborer-type job and is touring the country by bike.