I learned that I can learn a lot faster on my own. Maybe not everyone can, but after suffering through classes with people that seemed to not be able to get basic concepts in physics and calculus, I realized that I could buy the text books and teach myself at a much faster rate. And since the computer lab was open to the public, I had full use of the facilities to do the homework assignments.

What I hope happens is that those that need college to learn continue to have the opportunity to go. And the smart people that don't need it will stop having to justify themselves simply because they don't have a piece of paper that says they had to spend a lot of money to learn something because they weren't able to do it themselves.

I'd much rather hire self-motivated people who can learn new things by themselves. They are much quicker to adapt to changing technology than someone that had to go to school to learn.

They can't have the same opportunities, they don't have the skills to do so. 'Equal' would suggest that if this mythical stupid, lazy person and I applied for the same job, a flip of the coin would decide who gets it.

The opportunity is always there, what one chooses to do with it is another matter. I've never gotten every job I've interviewed for, so apparently there are people out there smarter than I am.

I didn't go whining to the government to make it 'more equal'.

He has to buy gas to drive, which helps pay for the roads. Unless you know of a way one can drive a 1978 diesel Volkswagen that barely runs without using fuel. I suppose technically, his friend that converted his diesel to run off of used cooking oil is a bit of a leech in that regard.

'Stupid' and 'ignorant' are two different things. People who are ignorant can be educated, people who are stupid don't have the same mental capacity and will NEVER have the same opportunity. You can teach them all you want, they will never have the same abilities as smart people.

Liars and thieves will always be liars and thieves. Giving them more stuff will never change that, they will just take more stuff. I've known plenty of liars and thieves that had more stuff than I did.

You do realize that 35 years ago I lived with my parents and didn't get married or raise kids until my income became enough to actually move out and do it. By then I was a computer programmer. Took me 5 years to go from office clerk to junior programmer, and then 20 more to make the salary I make today.

Please explain why people today can't do the same thing I did (it's called living within one's means) Just because somebody wants to get married and have kids doesn't mean they should do it and then expect taxpayers to pay for it. No harm in taking it if it's available, but still pretty shortsighted.

My oldest step-son lived with his mother until he was in his late 20s. Married a woman who made enough together to have a kid, then was able to get a job himself in computers. They now own their own home. He's 32.

My other step-son joined the navy at 24, and will probably be in the navy until he retires. He has learned some great IT skills himself.

BTW ... she was a single divorced mother before we got married 8 years ago, barely making ends meet. But she never took charity (except from family) or food stamps. So don't tell me it can't be done today. Sure, she had to go without cable or cell phones and drove junk cars, but she made sure her kids were well fed and educated using today's public schools.

Umm ... that's why 'equal opportunity' doesn't mean anything. Someone who is smart and personable already has an 'unfair' advantage of people with lesser intelligence and poor social skills.

My son, even in times when people are out of work, never seemed to have problems finding enough work to feed himself, keep a roof over his head, and his car running and insured. He had to work at finding work, but he always managed to find something. So why is it so many others can't find work??

BTW .. I'm a libertarian, meaning I feel government interference is usually causes far worse situations than the problem trying to be solved.

Try to actually understand labels before you use them.

You are a moron. What are you, about 25???

Your first argument about public services is nonsense. I have no idea how I would have survived in those situations, but 'poverty' and 'sustenance living' are pretty much synonymous. Just because someone is poor doesn't mean they don't have enough to eat. Or a place to live.

Sure .. there are areas of the world with corrupt governments that exploit their people, or are so crime ridden that people live in fear. Short of invading those countries, there is very little the 'civilized' world can do about it.

The argument about 'finding himself in a situation where he wants to support a wife and child' is also a moronic argument. A person who lives within their means doesn't get married unless they can support a wife, and doesn't have children.

Your definition of opportunity means something only to you. As I noted, my son seems to be able to get by just find without succumbing to such a narrow world view. He has had plenty of opportunity to learn many trades.

No one is trapped in poverty, except in their own mind.

You should look around in the US to see the movement toward 'less is more' living. Take the minimum wage. Sure, living on $9/hour is tough with a wife and kids. But for four people that share an apartment, it's not a bad life. Or several people that live in an area where they can grow their own food.

And they all would qualify as living under the poverty line.

The problem isn't poverty, it's people who don't understand how to live within their means.

Very little. I pay for his cell phone, that's about it. Maybe if you got past my spelling error you would have read that part.

And you are right, he knows his father is always there to help him if he needs it.

Just as I felt my father was, even though he didn't have any money to spare. There are other ways of being there for your children than giving them money.

In theory, anyone can scrimp and save and work hard and get ahead. I've done it .. without a college education and growing up in a from a family barely getting by, I've managed to improve my income starting as a minimum wage bike repair worker, working two years as an office clerk, and 35 years later clear over $130K/year. I did it because I'm smart, reasonably personable, and have a strong work ethic that makes it easy for me to do just about any job my company asks for, yet strong enough to go look elsewhere when the time is right.

So .. should stupid people have the same opportunity that I have had?? How about lazy people??? How about liars and thieves???

So what type of opportunity are they talking about?? My son and daughter took two different paths through life, she took the college/marriage/house/kid route and she and her husband, who just got his doctorate, are doing much better than I was at 30 years young.

On the other hand, my son took a more laid back, artsy, 'no working for the man' route. While fiscally, he is far worse off than I was at 32, he has traveled the entire United States, has friends in probably every state, does what he wants, doesn't pay taxes, and yet makes enough money to not live off the state. He is 100% debt free. He lives on what he makes, and occasionally dumpster dives for food and materials. Yet .. it's what he has chosen to do. Because he feels we throw away far too much stuff, buy way too much stuff, and spend too much of our lives doing work we don't like.

The things they both have in common is they are both very smart, have good work ethics, and both know the importance of living within their means. I'm sure my son would qualify as someone below the poverty line. Yet he has never gotten food stamps in his entire life and has never asked me for money. Except that one time he broke his glasses jumping off a freight train in Kansas City.

He also is far more in touch with the nutritional value of food and makes good choices when he can than I am. He's pretty darn healthy for someone that doesn't have a regular job. Yet also knows how to pour concrete, build a boat, restring a fiddle bow, and a dozen other things. He has become a modern jack-of-all-trades than can make a few bucks in just about any town, any time he wants to.

So is opportunity just getting what you want?? Or is it having a specific income level??

'Equal opportunity' is a phrase that means nothing, and is constantly overused by those willing to take things from other people and give to others under the guise of 'doing good'. Or as an excuse to control people's behaviors or, in this case, probably their children.

What a great excuse, taking children away from people simply because they are poor. What will the progressive's think of next ....

I run a tanning salon you insensitive clod! ;)

Combining different deposition technologies to manufacture items with multiple materials has been possible for quite some time. The problem is mostly with the patent system in the west. It's a patent minefield of obvious claims by patent holders that aren't even using the tech or are not interested in anything other than prototyping at slow print rates with very high profit margins on the materials. I expect an explosion of the tech in China or after a few more of the patents expire in the west.

WTF are you smoking? Held liable? Women were raped and murdered while on the phone with 911 and a police unit never even showed up. The judge said that the police do NOT have a responsibility to protect and serve. Police shoot people dead all the time and even in some of the grossest of negligence cases, the police walk free.

Held liable. Over a neglected suicide? Meh. When unicorns start farting iridescent rainbows on my front lawn while the fairies frolic about with the wood nymphs.

Did you marry Angel_X11?

<sarcasm>Good thing you did research and didn't just use one web site to have an opinion.</sarcasm>