Confusion

To alleviate any confusion that may have been caused, here is a post that I had up originally and then chose to erase based on the fact that it was slightly belligerent and typo ridden. It was inspired by a brief research project on the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Think Tank, based in Washington D.C. This organization claims to have no ties to the government, however seems suspiciously close to those in the White House, as well as has strong ties within the media with sources including the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The Think Tank produces research that more or less supports the idea that there should be less government assistance for the poor and focuses on more individual freedom as well as free enterprise. In essence the theory is this: People can be successful based entirely on their own talents. It should not matter whether a person is Hispanic, or black, or white, a man or woman, coming from the streets, or coming from wealthy suburbia. Surprisingly funding mainly comes from a few extremely wealthy donors, and then a seemingly never ending list of large Corporations.

I am white. I am from an extremely affluent section of Connecticut. I attend an even wealthier Ivy League University and I can tell you right now without batting an eye that I am not here solely based on my personal work ethic. It does happen that I have a fabulous work ethic, don’t get me wrong, however I have a lot more factors on my side that will allow me to be successful in the future. I have two supportive working parents that have provided me with love and financial security since birth. I have been provided with some of the best public lower level schooling in the world and now a highly regarded College education. I have always been well fed, well –dressed (relatively speaking), and well groomed.

So it may be extremely easy for me to say that all it takes is hard work for someone to get to the top, but the truth of the matter is this is simply not true. Poor people do not have equal access to good health care, education, or training. People that are less than poor do not have equal access to safe housing, nutritious food, or public funding that may help them get back on their feet. Once one reaches the bottom, it is virtually impossible to get back up. The fact is this we should not be providing flat taxes in order to preserve the sickening wealth possessed by a small minority of those living in the US, but we should be focusing on increasing public assistance to help get people at a level where they have a fighting chance to sustain themselves. Furthermore, I think we all need to be a little bit careful when reading, seeing, or hearing anything, because it is more than likely the researcher quoted is funded by the people they are claiming to support. And more than too many people trust the media as an accurate source for non biased news, so my friends, I would highly suggest we all suck it up, be a bit more skeptical and stop trying step on the little people in order to get to the top.