Cuz Merica

[racerx]

The first and last teachers of our children are the parents, not the government. Yes schools play a part, but what do they say, "the apple does fall far from the tree". Though my immigrant parents hardly expressed their love for me. They demonstrated their keen ability to work hard and manage their money. In 2 years, after arriving in the USA, they were able to afford a 4 bedroom house. Eventhough my dad was an accountant in the PI, he knew he had to start in the bottom in theUSA and secured a job as a bookkeeper, my mom, did not have to work in the PI, and when we got here she realized that she had to work. She found a job in the fruit canneries. And eventually took classes to further her career where she eventually secured job with the state and retired at the ripe old age of 78 with the city of san jose, working at the sjpd.

[Rjawm]

^ It's actually "The apple doesn't fall far from tree."

 

But I'm guessing that's a typo

[racerx]

Rjawn, yes typo, thx for catching that.

[RatVonDude]

Hard work is the gateway to poverty in my fuo. Smart work and the ability to manage and capitalize is how to succeed I'd guess. I work my ass off in a specialised trade. Your average lizard dick real estate goon probably makes my annual take home salary in 10 weeks. He works smart. Also I'm happy and love what I do.

[VFR800]

[a.d._510_n_ok]

Part of the problem is that there are jobs some Americans don't want and feel they are above. This has been happening for years where people are growing up thinking they need to be the CEO of some mega company, a rap/pop star or just plain famous for doing nothing! 

 

Me clean up a hotel room, wash dishes, work in the fields or mow your lawn? Fuck that, I wan't more!!! No experience and you owe it to me!! 

 

Fuck'em! They would rather sit and play games than go out and just work. And until people get to work, those jobs will go to those that want them, and  they happen to be illegals.

it wasn't always like that. I had a friend (an old white guy) who grew up in California in the 1940-50s and would talk about following the harvests there - olives, avocados, oranges, etc. he said the work was hard but a lot of folks loved not being tied down to a 9 to 5 job and stayed with it for years. Most of the crews back then were white.

 

Locally, families had as many kids as they could to help bring in crops or get jobs in town to bring home cash. the work was hard but the money actually bought stuff back then too!

 

I understand a third world immigrant coming here, having $9 an hour treble what he was making back home and becoming a highly motivated worker! heck, double my wages (or cut my taxes!!!!) and i'll be more productive.

 

personally, I think that a lot of good people who survived the horrors of the Great Depression gave too much too soon and too easily to their baby boomer kiddos. a lot of boomers seemed to live by the motto, "if it ain't easy I ain't doing it!".

 

it's not just boomers though. I just finished a summer job hauling concrete to wind farms. the company hired three felons convicted of violent crimes to include a murder. these guys begged for the job and seemed so grateful for the chance to work. two of them were good the first week but after that......they showed up when they wanted, took great pride in calling out the boss for perceived slights, looked to start fights with anyone who had been law enforcement or part of "the system" and sulked like moody teenagers most of the job. the murderer was actually a very good employee though. you could look in his eyes and see he was bat shit insane but he worked hard. I think people work as hard as they have to and if the government safety net or family wasn't there to constantly catch them a lot of them would work harder.

[q-tip]

Too many people think they're above manual labor, root of problem. I know for a fact the vast majority of my generation wants nothing to do with it, fuckin slackers.

[racerx]

I have tons of respect for people, immigrants or not, who works hard and are not picky about kind of work, specially if they dont have a formal education. I really think its the generation. I do see some young people who does not shy away from hard work but, like my sons friends, who are mainly hispanics and they are doing odd jobs, from security to construction. And they even help out their parents with rent.

[q-tip]

Less than a year out of high school I was working in a trade a lot of my graduating class didn't get a real job until their mid 20's and I was already buying my first house. My 22 year old cousin, who's dad is a union rep for the ferry engineers, still lives at home has only a part time job and doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, he damn sure doesn't want to work for it.

[racerx]

At least he is working but how was your cousin raise?

[Mattndew76]

Family dynamics seem to be the key to keeping the next generations on track.

 

I hear some parents say they don't want their kids to have to go without as they themselves did growing up. Yet that type of life without created a grounded person...So shouldn't we as parents change that idea and say we want to give our kids a life like we had. 

 

Adversity is a wondrous thing for molding good character content.   

[q-tip]

At least he is working but how was your cousin raise?

My uncle is was a real blue collar guy until he got a desk job, he worked on fishing boats in Alaska for years and worked on the ferries for a long time. My aunt on the other hand is a just do what ever you wamt kind of person, she works for ups, has been on like 4 lni claims for the same reoccuring injury and has had months off at a time because if it, all paid mind you. My uncle has tried to push his boys to go out and get into a trade and actually do something with their lives but it didn't seem to take root.

[racerx]

The wisest thing you can give your kids is time, patience, being a positive role model and tough love. Giving them things like a new car will do more harm than good, specially if he/she is a spoiled brat because it will never be enough.  I've seen this with too many of my friends who are much more wealthier than me and you can tell, their children are more "me-centric".

 

I bought my son a use car and told him that he will have to pay for gas, maintenance, registration and used that car as a learning tool to how to maintain it. And he had to work and go to college or else I will take it away.

 

Importantly, parents have to show their kids how to be responsible by being responsible themselves.  Telling is just an introduction to the adult world but showing is much more effective in the long run.  As they say, "monkey see, monkey do".  It may not seem obvious but children are watching and listening to everything you do or say.

[angliagt]

                    In,& after high school,I detailed cars,specializing in 240Z's.

Got to drive BMWs,Alfas,& even a Maserati Mistral & Ferrari Daytona.

                I always had money.Wish I'd bought a really cool car back then

with it.,

[RatVonDude]

Haha, funny we're still on this subject, the whole union painting crew got sent home today for bickering bullshit. It's basically two total dickweeds that can't handle a black female being left in charge while foreman was on emergemcy leave. The third guy just is just lazy and on hard drugs.

 

I don't know shit about unions except these guys are pretty much all flawed, except the female journeyman. Aren't apprentises supposed to work under journeyman and people that are late everyday for 2 months sent home?

[datzenmike]

Painting, drywall, roofing, fencing, are the four most preferred no-mind, low respect  jobs by drug abusing loosers around here. A friend had a roofing business. He liked to tell how when a random cop car would drive by the front of a house they were working on... he would turn around an half the crew had jumped off the back of the roof. 

[tr8er]

 

I don't know shit about unions except these guys are pretty much all flawed, except the female journeyman. Aren't apprentises supposed to work under journeyman and people that are late everyday for 2 months supposed to get paid to stay home?

[HRH]

Has anyone examined Gary Johnson as a candidate?  Seems better than the two current options, running short of 15% to get into the first presidential debate though.  

[datzenmike]

A vote for anyone else is a vote for Hillary. You see, there's instant death by plane crash or death by cancer. Choose cancer and hope they find a cure in time.

[racerx]

I like what gary johnson said, " building a bigger wall will only result w taller ladders". Hes a liberterian.

[paradime]

If I allow myself to measure or judge this generation from the standards of my experience, than I become that stereotypical old fucker we all knew back in the day "You kids these days, why when I was a youngster blah, blah, blah". I also think it's a mistake to simply blame the parents for what we see as self entitled prima donnas. If I look at what has change in my live time I start to understand what I'm looking at. My parents were 18 and 21 when they married and had kids right away. They bought our house for $19K back in 1964. My Dad was a welder, my mom stayed home with the kids, and although we didn't have much, we did have a stable home life. Today that house is worth almost 1000X that amount, and wages have not kept anywhere near pace with that kind of housing inflation. So today there is no way a tradesman could afford that house. Both parents would have to work upper level white collar jobs, and those kids would be raised in after school programs and summer camps. Socioeconomically speaking, this is a different planet my wife and I are on today. 

 

A short time ago a father and son shared a similar cultural environment, and because of that they share a common experience. Today, technology and culture are moving so damn fast, in one generation kids occupy a very different reality than mine. I used the physical world to entertain myself, and because of that, there were limitations of what I could get my hands on, where I could go, and who I could play with. From that perspective I see kids with their faces stuck in a screen and thing Jesus H Christ, what a waste of life. What I didn't realize is today play is unconstrained by the physical limitations I had. Today it takes place on a totally even playing field in a globally interconnected universe of almost limitless possibilities. Look up the game No Man Sky and you'll get some idea of what I'm talking about. It's literally an alternate universe with billions of planets, each with their own unique ecosystems, and natural resources to be explored, cultivated, or exploited. Anyone saying this generation is soft doesn't understand what is actually happening in there experience. Is this transcendence, or escapism, good or bad? Honestly I have no fuck'n clue, but like it or not, this is the direction we are going.

 

My kids (15 and 11) are limited to no electronics on school days, at least one organized sport, and no more than 5 hours of gaming/internet on weekend days. Shitty grades, no electronics. I did get a strong work ethic from my folks, what I didn't get from them was ANY study ethic. I want my kids to navigate this world with their intellect, so 4 days a week, I'm home by the time my kids get back from school at 3:30. While I cook dinner, they do homework on the kitchen table. It is our routine. As for a work ethic, my kids aren't as money hungry ambitious as I was. Not that I would stop them, but to be honest, I wouldn't want my kids doing the shit jobs I did to earn money. They are starting to hustle up odd jobs and money making schemes though. Baby sitting, car washes in the hood, slightly used toy sales on the sidewalk, etc. The reason they're motivated to earn spending money is, aside from Xmas and Bdays, my wife and I don't buy them what ever they want, they have to earn it. It's understood, their only job right now is school work above all else. Beyond that, they play or work as they want.

[Ratwagon1600]

I love this thread ( and everyone on Ratsun in a purely platonic way).

 

/homo

[tr8er]

Only in the context of 2016 United States presidential race is Gary Johnson a valid option. He's not exactly class president of the Libertarians in my book. But I expect he owes far less to far less people. That alone makes him rise to the top. I would certainly enjoy his presence in the debates. He should be able to simply stay out of the crossfire while the Bull and the Matador dance their dance.

[TENDRIL]

[TENDRIL]