"We teach what isn't taught." - Dennis Prager
As a child I grew up in what would undoubtedly be considered a poor family. Funny thing is I didn't know we were poor, however, because my mother worked full-time for the entirety of my time at home and she gave my sister and I as much as she could. We moved quite a bit, ate a pretty boring diet, had few creature comforts, and our entertainment was playing outside and with one another...But I never thought of us as poor. That said, there is no denying we were poor - especially by today's standards.
The key is my mother never talked about us being poor. She provided what she could, and my sister and I lived the childhood given to us...But again, the key is my mother WORKED! She not only provided what she could, but she showed us the importance of 'grinding it out.' Of fighting to make things work; of not relying on others to provide for our needs and happiness.
I have no doubt my mother's doggedness, and the importance she put on work propelled my sister and I out of joining the terrible group of generationally-poor Americans - pushing us to work our way into the middle class...It was the result of my mother's hard work - decades of work, which eventually propelled her well into the middle class as well.
My mother is unique in that she fought the system by refusing to become part of the system. She is not unique in the possibility of getting out of poverty, though...It was her choice to not get stuck in it forever; nor to allow her children to be trapped in it either.
This semester of Prager University is presented by: Michael Tanner
I have no doubt my mother's doggedness, and the importance she put on work propelled my sister and I out of joining the terrible group of generationally-poor Americans - pushing us to work our way into the middle class...It was the result of my mother's hard work - decades of work, which eventually propelled her well into the middle class as well.
My mother is unique in that she fought the system by refusing to become part of the system. She is not unique in the possibility of getting out of poverty, though...It was her choice to not get stuck in it forever; nor to allow her children to be trapped in it either.
This semester of Prager University is presented by: Michael Tanner
"Only two-and-a-half percent of Americans working full-time, are by government standards, considered 'poor.' Given then, that work is the road out of poverty, shouldn't we be doing everything we can to encourage people to get on that road? Of course we should. Unfortunately, we are doing just the opposite." - M.T.
"If welfare pays better than work, why choose to work? But in the long run, that tempting choice is a bad one. Because it will end up keeping those in the welfare system trapped in poverty." - M.T.
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