keep your stick on the ice

this is good.

ever since i visited Finland, which has a similar social support system to that of Sweden, i wondered what was wrong with the US. most middle class Americans already pay a third of their wages in taxes. i dont see how increasing that to half and worrying about nothing is a bad deal.

call me a liberal or communist, i dont care. i do think it is ridiculous that untold numbers of Americans struggle the way they do. i have said a number of times how thankful i am that i was born into a middle class situation with few barriers in my path to a good life. not everyone is that fortunate.

not everyone can pull themselves up by the boot straps. a guy in Greenville, Michigan who has been building refrigerators for 20 years isnt in the position where he can just start a new career over night. its not like theres another factory in town. he has a house and a family to look after, so he cant afford to go to school. its a real tough spot.

i was fortunate to get and education and a degree in an in demand field. i was unfortunate enough to be laid off from my first job out of school through no fault of my own. but being young, and single, and in a booming metropolis i quickly found new work. but without that degree and tied to a state with a failing economy, i would be screwed.

those who say that you need to make your own way and that they should not have to pay someone else's way are short sighted and unfeeling. not everyone has control over their own fate. people should not just be left by the wayside if they fall off the tracks. especially if its of no fault of their own. Greenville's woes are not theirs in a bubble. its one piece in a great chain that is the American economy. and any chain is only as strong as its weakest link. we are better as a whole if we are better as individuals. that means lending a helping hand from time to time. treating everyone as a friend or neighbor.

as Red Green says 'keep you stick on the ice. i'm pulling for ya, were all in this together.'