>>>>>Still, I have to confess to a bias in favor of finding ways to uplift groups that are struggling to find a place in our culture, however devious the motives of those pols might be.
>>>>>
>>>>>Making these people dependent on the government is not a good way to uplift them.
>>>>
>>>>Marcia, I know you're speaking from ethical conviction but you insult a lot of people who have taken advantage of government assistance to better themselves, including my brother and myself and hundreds of thousands of GI's who took advantage of the GI bill.
>>>>
>>>>The taxes that we've paid have repaid the government for its investment hundreds of thousands of times.
>>>>
>>>>My brother, who is to the right of you and Kevin politically, would be "interested" to learn that he's dependent on the government.
>>>
>>>The GI Bill was earned assistance by serving in the military.... entirely different than the current government dole...(the earning part has been eliminated).
>>
>>
>>While I don't agree, I'm sure there were some who argued that GIs had been paid for their service and didn't deserve more. FWIW, Congress wasn't able to pass such a bill after WWI and benefits for veterans became a really big political issue.
>>
>
>LOL... my pay was 38.00 / mo. when I went in. Try living in NYC (stationed at the naval yard there) on 38.00 less taxes. I entered in 1970 and didn't make more than 14,000 /yr until the mid 80's. Yeah they paid me well to earn my GI Bill.
>
>
>
>
>
>>Also, checking this out, I learned that the GI Bill was not originally applied equally to black veterans. From the Wikipedia page on the GI BIll:
>>
>
>I'm sorry to hear that, but the fact remains, that those who DID receive the benefits on the GI Bill earned them....

You'll note that I said I didn't agree with the argument. I just pointed out that some would make that argument.

Tamar