[Superman]

Libs catch crap for supporting efforts to shape society. Guilty. We'd like to see everyone stand on their own two feet. We'd like to see welfare become unnecessary. We'd like people to behave better. So, we imagine taht certain efforts might help create that. Education, for instance.

Cons are also social de-engineers. No talk of encouraging or preparing disadvantaged people. No talk of educating them, or helping them envision success and security. Nope. Just get rid of welfare and they'll either starve of work. They point to successfu lentrepeneurs and other successful people, some of whom have little education, and pretend that everyone can do what they did.

Successful people. Did they become successful in order to avoid starving to death? Or were they working from a circumstance where starvation was not going to happen but financial success might. Were they seeking pleasure or avoiding pain? Would the absence of a safety net have inhibited their strategies? When does negative reinforcement work? When does positive reinforcement work? When are these two previous questions moot because the person in question just has absolutely no idea how to be an employee, let alone a business owner?

BTW, one of the bleeding heart, ridiculous, mamby pamby, liberal, coddling programs I am involved in is one where disadvantated youth are prepared to enter a construction industry apprenticeship program. There are journeymen. There are apprentices. And then there are people whose level of education and exposure are (believe it or not) insufficient to even ENTER an apprenticship program. We teach these people the importance of showing up on time. (punctuality is something that has to be explained to them, since their personal lives, the lives of their parents and friends, have no examples of this) We teach them to bathe and dress decently before approaching employers. They appreciate this coaching. They learn and practice these basic things. Before the program, they didn't know.

Those of you who scoff at this, taking the position that there is no way (except laziness and sloth) that anyone could possibly NOT know these basics........




.............simply do not get it. And because you don't get it, you will support this notion that eliminating programs is the way to get these lazy asses to work. The solution is pretty simple, as long as you don't really understand the problem.

So.....you guys think we should be fixing problems BEFORE they happen, through education for instance? Or would you rather just build more jails. BTW, jails are more expensive than actually fixing the problem.