How can i respond?

[RbG]

Hey comrades, i need some help.

Today in my government class we where looking at the u.s. budget for 1996. we disgused about it. then finally the teacher let us play around with the budget. we where allowed to for example take away money from defense expenses, and add to other areas that we thought needed more money. I added alot of money for food stamps, unemployment compensation, medicaid, earned incometax credit, and a lot of other areas that help the poor people in the u.s.

so some guy said that its stupid for the govt. to pay for "lazy people" who dont have jobs. that they dont deserve help because they are lazy and dumb.

my question is how can i respond to this if it happens again. plus i have to right about the reason why i balance the budget the way i did. so.......

thanx comrades ;)

[ComradeRed]

A lot of people don't have a choice in being unemployed. People don't usually realize that...

[Lenin II]

Originally posted by [email protected] 11, 2007 11:57 pm
Hey comrades, i need some help.

Today in my government class we where looking at the u.s. budget for 1996. we disgused about it. then finally the teacher let us play around with the budget. we where allowed to for example take away money from defense expenses, and add to other areas that we thought needed more money. I added alot of money for food stamps, unemployment compensation, medicaid, earned incometax credit, and a lot of other areas that help the poor people in the u.s.

so some guy said that its stupid for the govt. to pay for "lazy people" who dont have jobs. that they dont deserve help because they are lazy and dumb.

my question is how can i respond to this if it happens again. plus i have to right about the reason why i balance the budget the way i did. so.......

thanx comrades ;)
So the implication here is that poor people are all just lazy? Wow, if so, there sure are a lot of awfully lazy people in the world! Around 3 billion as a matter of fact! Not to mention most Vietnam and Iraq veterans in the US! My god man, where does the laziness end?!? :D

[RbG]

[QUOTE]A lot of people don't have a choice in being unemployed. People don't usually realize that...

What do you mean? Can you explain why some people dont have the choice. Are you talking about like immigrants?

[#FF0000]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12, 2007 01:12 am
What do you mean? Can you explain why some people dont have the choice. Are you talking about like immigrants?
Well, in some places, there are simply no jobs. If you're in a rural area, it can be almost impossible to find work without having to commute (which is the situation in my area).

In a city it's a little easier to find work, but it won't be paying much if times are tough.

Plenty of people work harder than some people ever will and still remain well below the poverty line, and will most likely stay there for a good, long time. After all, how much upward mobility can one have if they work at a temp agency?

[Invader Zim]

The cause of unemployment is largely not the result of individuals being 'lazy', but because individual local areas have a surplus of labour and a shortage of employers. This is why unepmoyment tends to be higher in some areas than it is in others. For the most part people who are unemployed are desperate for work, absolutely desperate. If individuals in your class should respond with that kind of answer in future ask them for evidence of a correlation between unemployment and lazyness. If they ask you for evidence of a correlation between fewer jobs and a larger unemployment rate, firstly call them idiots then ask them to investigate the great depression and FDR's 'New Deal'. The 'New Deal' was designed on the basis that in order to lift the US from the depression and raise unemployment rates, the government would invest money in public works thus providing jobs in areas of high unemployment.

[Q]

Originally posted by Lenin II+December 12, 2007 01:05 am--> (Lenin II @ December 12, 2007 01:05 am)
[email protected] 11, 2007 11:57 pm
Hey comrades, i need some help.

Today in my government class we where looking at the u.s. budget for 1996. we disgused about it. then finally the teacher let us play around with the budget. we where allowed to for example take away money from defense expenses, and add to other areas that we thought needed more money. I added alot of money for food stamps, unemployment compensation, medicaid, earned incometax credit, and a lot of other areas that help the poor people in the u.s.

so some guy said that its stupid for the govt. to pay for "lazy people" who dont have jobs. that they dont deserve help because they are lazy and dumb.

my question is how can i respond to this if it happens again. plus i have to right about the reason why i balance the budget the way i did. so.......

thanx comrades ;)
So the implication here is that poor people are all just lazy? Wow, if so, there sure are a lot of awfully lazy people in the world! Around 3 billion as a matter of fact! Not to mention most Vietnam and Iraq veterans in the US! My god man, where does the laziness end?!? :D [/b]
In fact, 70% of all wealth is in the hands of a mere 2% of the population. This must obviously mean that those other 98% are all lazy. What an insight!

:lol:

Oh and RbG:
You were just allowed to play with the breadcrums that are divided in parliament? You should ask your teacher what the total amount of of wealth is as produced in US economy, then ask if you might just nationalise everything putting it under democratic control and then play with that amount of money ;)

[RbG]

Thanks you guys. this is a lot of help for me. keep it coming!! :D

[Dros]

how can i respond to this

Punch him in the face.

But seriously, that is a ridiculous assertion. 1.) There are large areas of the world where it is difficult to get a job. 2.) Even when people do have a job (or even two or three jobs) it is impossible to make ends meet. Tell him that he should try being a waiter sixteen hours a day before he calls others lazy.

[RbG]

[QUOTE]Tell him that he should try being a waiter sixteen hours a day before he calls others lazy.

Yeah, i told him something similar to that. he just gave me a dirty look, and i smiled at him. :D hes such a dumb ass!!

[Morpheus]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12, 2007 01:00 am
A lot of people don't have a choice in being unemployed. People don't usually realize that...
That's the definition of unemployment, actually. You're only unemployed if you want a job and cannot find one. If you don't want a job (eg. full-time housewives, the super-wealthy, some students, etc.) then you're not counted as unemployed in the unemployment statistics.