Let me start by saying that there are those who actually need a little help. There have always been, and there always will be. That's life, and most of us have been in need at some point.

But are you kidding me??

Want, want, want. Everybody WANTS and no one wants to pay. This might be the most ludicrous proposal I've ever heard. Maybe the most ludicrous that anyone has heard.

Does this group seriously aim to make a case for a bailout that would allow, if not encourage joblessness? No one cold or hungry? Not possible in our climate!

Everyone's economic problem is his/her own to deal with. Not the government's. Not the wealthy's.

Do I think the bailouts that have already occurred are more or less a joke? Absolutely. But adding more for every group who feels like getting a handout isn't the answer. It only perpetuates the problem.

The real problem with our economic crisis is that Americans have become spoiled and complacent. It's been far too easy to get "stuff" in the past decade. Everybody wants everything, and they don't want to go without. Anyone who can fog a mirror can buy a home worth 4 to 5 times their income, even if there is no way to keep that home long term.

Your house is just your house. The people and your things inside it are what makes it your home. Your job is just your job. The average worker changes jobs 7 times in his/her career, changes industries at least twice.

Ever since I can recollect, layoffs make the news. Northwest Airlines lays off 5,000 workers. Ford cuts 2 assembly plants and 22,000 jobs. People move on and find new jobs. No one is irreplaceable at work--regardless of your income tax bracket.

There are plenty of jobs for people to go and work. Not necessarily in the income bracket you're used to, certainly not in the field you desire. But JOBS are out there, if people are willing to work. Everyone's just too damned proud to step back a notch or two.

Our ancestors rode leaky boats for weeks or months to get here, beat the forest and grasslands back with sticks and machetes to tame this place. The buried children, brothers and elderly all along the way and built this country with sweat and tears. They had nothing and many of them lived their whole lives just to get a little more than nothing.

They would puke their guts out and disown those of us complaining about what we have or don't have today. Groups like this want to tax a hundred thousand of our wealthiest citizens to save the backsides of twenty or thirty million on the bottom. Tell me, where does that stop?

Welfare needs to have an end date so that those who abuse it need to stop. Immigration needs to encourage and demand a desire for citizenship so that those who don't want to be Americans go back where they came from. If you can't sustain your standard of living with 5 years of assistance, you need to change your standard of living. Lost your job? Find a new one. Lost your home? Rent an apartment.

And for crying out loud, stop asking everyone else to fund your existence.

The bailout story caught my attention, but part of a careless comment changed my attention.

"Our ancestors rode leaky boats for weeks or months to get here, beat the forest and grasslands back with sticks and machetes to tame this place. The buried children, brothers and elderly all along the way and built this country with sweat and tears. They had nothing and many of them lived their whole lives just to get a little more than nothing."

The version of U.S. history that I have come to understand is that we not only beat the forest and grasslands back to "tame this place" but we also beat back an entire race of people almost to the point of total genocide. Oh, and building the country with sweat and tears, I'm pretty sure those were the sweat, tears, AND blood of another race of people enslaved to build up this country for rich people.

Our ancestors had the CHOICE to come to America. Our ancestors were not enslaved, forced onto leaky boats, or forced to "tame" the country already inhabited by HUMAN BEINGS living in food collecting/ horticulturist societies.

I see that you are trying to make your point concerning your opinion about the "people's bailout" by using examples to stir up people's emotions and pride concerning ancestry...but the sick truth is that this country was founded on violence, bloodshed, and exploitation.

I am not agreeing or disagreeing with your opinion about the people's bailout...although I do have one question for you....how do you rent an apartment after losing your home if potential landlords do credit checks and require first and last month rent and you have no job? Sorry to say, it isn't just as simple as "lost your house, rent an apartment" I believe it is a little more complex than that... I agree that handouts are NOT the answer,but what do we do with these masses of people, cram them into settlement camps? Let's pretend for a moment that ALL of these people (including their innocent children) made poor decisions regarding credit, debt, and employment, drug addiction whatever...does this mean they don't even deserve shelter, food and heat in winter? Are they not still HUMAN BEINGS deserving of the most basic of life's necessities?

It is easy to sit back at our computers and say "well so and so was an addict, lazy, too far into debt etc. screw them, they don't deserve any "welfare" What is more difficult is to find REAL solutions for our societal problems. Why not focus the energy on finding solutions instead of sitting back and passing judgment. How many people reading this have been homeless? How many have faced a life crippling drug addiction? How many people reading this have seen the face of a baby born to a crack addicted mother? Look into the tiny infant's face screaming with crack withdrawal and tell me that when that child grows up it is her/his fault for being born to a homeless drug addict riddled with debt, and how dare they not have a job and house of their own.

I am sorry for singling you out, but that comment irked me. Everyone reading this, please remember the humanity behind these problems. They are not numbers and statistics, they are people.

For anyone doubting the brutality of Minnesota's beginnings...here is a painful reminder that Mankato Minnesota was the site for the largest mass execution in
Unites States history.

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200209/23_steilm_1862-m/

Ancestry was not my point, but yes I do know my ancestry as far as arriving in Marystown in 1858 from Darmstadt Germany. Also, I did not really mean that it gives them a right to blame others for their situation. The meaning behind the examples were for people to see that America is not the perfect Utopia of vast wilderness for the taking that we were taught in textbooks. Part of being in a bad situation is realizing how you got there, and assessing the options for resolution. I do know people who wallow and blame, and life is not easy or good for them!

My main point is for people to look at the humanity involved. I am not talking about getting a handout to stay in the house that was way out of of your budget. I am talking about basic, life sustaining needs being met. I am not talking about staying on welfare, being jobless etc. I am saying that no matter what, laziness, drug addiction, spending carelessly, citizens of our state and country should not be dying in the streets as a result of any situation caused in their life internally or externally.

The list posted is ridiculous! Of course! In my opinion, it sounds like a type of ransom note or demand list... and you are absolutely right in the following statement

We are all responsible for ourselves and should all stop acting like we are entitled brats of a 90210 zip code.

I couldn't agree more! And once we are able to be responsible for ourselves we need to look around at our fellows members of the human race and say "hey buddy...I see you struggling, my family and I are warm, clothed and fed. Can I help you?" Then there will not be a need for government handouts and extended welfare. I don't mean hand the guy money, and more money and leave..really help them. Instead of watching TV call the guy you know was laid off and for the first time in his life has to swallow his pride and sign up for foodstamps..or call the single mother you know and offer to watch her children so she can look for a new job, work on her resume, take job training classes, and go to interviews. We all know someone who just needs a little boost to keep them from becoming another statistic...and if you do not you are a fortunate person indeed because human suffering is all around us and Jordan is no exception.

We are all acting like entitled brats. I am glad I live here, it may not be perfect, but at least I don't have to watch my child starve to death in front of my eyes because my country puts a price cap on human dignity. Prisoners who have committed violent and heinous crimes have more entitlement than a homeless woman and her children. At least he/she gets three hots and a cot. America is better than this....we need to be.

And while the subject was brought up about lifestyle changes like changing your own oil, and not knowing how to cook..those are perfect examples for starting points! Teach that kid down the street without a dad how to maintain his vehicle. Instead of sitting down and watching YouTube videos, as cool as hilarious as that can be, compile and print out some 5 ingredients or less recipes for a friend who is used to going out a lot, and never learned how to cook..better yet cook the dinner together! Show her how! How does the saying go...teach a man to fish...Again, it is easy to sit and say "this is how people should live" but to take the time to do it...that is the challenge...and a big part of that challenge is due to our insatiable desire to be individualistic. I come first, you come...screw you buddy I don't even know your name!

I practice money saving techniques even when times are not hard. Instead of buying new toys, get together with other people who have kids and trade. Kids grow tired of toys quickly anyway. Same can be done with video games for older children. I am actively involved in an online group called freecycle, you can post what you don't want and reply to things you do. These simple ideas may seem like a no brainer to some, but to others it is really a new idea.

I firmly believe that these small changes will result in greater self reliance for all people. I have experienced so many good things that life as an American has to offer....frequent foreign and domestic travel, continuing education into adulthood, owning nice cars, going to do basically whatever I want...movies, vacations etc. Of all the places I have traveled, nice cars I have owned, and luxurious vacations I have taken pale in comparison to the feeling you get when you make a lasting positive impact in another person's life.