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Actually, that is the point. Much like America's decision to enter WWII. Is FDR to be held responsible for not doing more or acting sooner to save the Jews extirminated in camps because now, in 2004, we know how bad it was in 1940?
Well as a lot of Brits remarked in recent times, the Yanks were so late coming to the last war that they came to this one early. So rightly or wrongly, yes that feeling exists.
Criticism of both FDR and Reagan is entirely valid on these grounds. They were the incumbent; the buck stopped on their desk. This does not have to imply a great deal of FAULT, you understand... but they were respectively responsible.
Now, while I may not attribute to much fault despite his responsibility in the case of FDR, under the circumstances, I do attribute much more fault to Reagan. He turned a blind eye becuase of pandering to the religious right. At the very best case, that he underestimated the impact quite honestly, he was still willing to resort to moral condemnation as an excuse to leave his citizens to die. He carries the can.
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Really? Care to present your data showing how many people live out of Ryder trucks? Obviously the absolute dregs of those in the poverty bucket (as opposed to middle-class and rich buckets) will have nothing. You choose to ignore that I am not singling out the worst of the worst; I am speaking of 'the poor,' I refer to the entire group of individuals below the poverty line
Actually, you wrote that "Even at our lowest levels" people have these things. That is indeed false as I claimed, and demonstrably so, as you admit. It was a rhetrical flourish, wasn't it?
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While my personal experience is not a statistically valid sample set, it does demonstrate that there are people who do live below the poverty line yet have a standard of living vastly superior to the majority of the world's poor.
Oh, that I don't challenge.... much. Lets say I think the poor in America often command a lower proportion of national wealth than the poor in the third world do. But yes I agree that the material standard of living in the US for the very poor is usually higher than that of most of the world. But then, thats not surprising, considering how much of the worlds wealth is hoovered up by the US. The poor of the world are subsidising the poor of the US.
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Actually it is demonstratable; it is demonstrated every single day.
LOL. To those with patriotism-tinted spectacles, perhaps.
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Anyone, barring severe disabilities, can obtain a cheap or even free education in this country and use it to go on to achieve greater things.
How is that different to any OECD country? In fact, the very increasing disparity you mentioned previously indicates that the idea that "anyone" can simply make a success of themselves is not actually happening in practice; in practice, wealth begets wealth. Thats why I said talk of "anyone" being Bill Gates is undemonstrable and propagandist; to the extent that its true, its true of all the western democracies, but the extent to which is is true is Not Much.
This message has been edited by contracycle, 06-18-2004 10:14 AM
This message has been edited by contracycle, 06-18-2004 10:20 AM