In that case you are probably just slightly over the line (which makes the raise thing make sense).

We actually don't fill out our paperwork. We give the school an LES (Leave and Earnings Statement) and they fill it out. I was very surprised about qualifying for free lunches this year and I felt a little guilty, but the schools do like to have as many kids on free or reduced as they can because it helps with their funding.

Oh, and Adrian just found out he made points for SSG! Woohoo!

CharlesCS1,

I agree with all 6 of your points. My concern isn't so much about the old freeloaders on society argument but about creating a two-tiered class based society, where you have two groups of kids- one group which has been given every advantage and opportunity to grow and learn (these kids will probably grow up to be the boss-man, and will hang out in their own social circle of fellow educated elites) and the other much larger group which end up with a dumbed-down education because the public system had only the most bare-bones funding (this much larger group will end up being the workers and probably have an unhealthy addiction to NASCAR and NFL)

It's slowly being recognized in the mainstream media that the words "middle class" aren't so much anymore- over the past 30 odd years or so thanks to inflation a middle class family has a lot less spending power than they use to. Back in the early 70's it was entirely possible for the average family to be supported by one income. You know, those heady days when the average joe (or jane) had an average job, one or two kids, station wagon and house, and on top of it was able to take the family somewhere nice once a year for vacation. These days "middle class" means at least two incomes, MAYBE a house (unless you're one of the unlucky 7 million people who will lose their homes in the housing bubble collapse that is just starting)and maybe two cars. maybe. If you're a lucky middle class person then your employer is providing your healthcare or a good portion of it. If not, then the average joe has to dole out approximately 15 % of his take home pay just for coverage.

Anywho. I grew up in a small town that is close to a big city. What this meant was that there were two types of people living in town;

1) people who lived and worked in town- mostly at the sawmill, the biggest local employer.
2) people who lived in town but worked in the city as highly paid professionals, executives, but wanted to have the "small town" life

Because of the boom in the big city, both categories were close to equal in size, let's say the mill group was about 60% and the well off group were about 40%. Today this number is closer to equal.

Now, most of the people in category 1 and 2 sent their kids to the same public schools in town. Some of the really well off sent their kids to fancy private schools in the city, but not so much. But boy did you see a world of difference!

The well off kids grew up not worrying about where their lunch would come from. If they were having trouble with their classes the folks made sure they got a tutor, special extra-curricular classes, schedule cleared until the grades went back up and no price was too high. The issue of post-secondary was never a problem for them. Mom and Pop had enough money set aside so they could easily do a four year university program, with of course a complimentary summer trip to europe after graduation! During high school some of the well off kids got a part time job here or there but the moment that awesome weekend party came along, guess who would be quitting in a heartbeat!

The "mill" kids was a way different story. Their folks would have loved to give them all the same advantages that the well-off kids got but they were too busy keeping their heads above water, paying the bills and putting food on the table. Most of these kids didn't have the luxury of actually getting to be a 'kid' as they learned early on that the world is a tough place. Language enrichment classes? Sorry son, but we've gotta make the mortgage payment and keep gas in the tank! Need extra time to work on some problems you're having with your classes? Oohh, I dunno, that might mean you'll have to quit your 5 nights a week job, can't have that now! And college- well, unless you get a scholarship for being really smart, looks like you get rewarded with tens of thousands of dollars of debt for a sub-par community college!

How it all worked out in the end was this:

A very small portion of the mill kids, the ones who were naturally gifted or ridiculously hard workers DID excel, they put their noses to the grindstone and did pretty well for themselves. However the vast majority of the mill kids now work in the mill or other similar industry. They have no real interest in politics other than gruffly muttering "they're all liars!". For the most part, they don't believe that they can change the world in any way. And then a good maybe 20% never graduated and either went to work in some dead end menial labor job, or fell into addictions problems, fell off the face of the earth etc.

A very small portion of the well-off kids, the best and the brightest were groomed for executive management roles and are now among the small percentile of people who call the shots for big companies and organizations, ran for office etc. The average of the well off kids are now in the equivalent of middle management jobs or above. They are almost all politically active and versed in other cultures, many are multilingual. The "failures" of the well off, while not doing anything productive are living at home with mom and pop and still living the high life. The group of failures among the well off is relatively small.

I believe both sets of kids were roughly equal in intelligence, but one group was nurtured and provided every opportunity for growth, and the other was not. When one group ran into problems and needed some help to understand things they got it. The other group was told that they had to do things on their own, never ask for anything! And so they grew up into a bunch of rugged individuals with one hell of a work ethic, but too damned proud to ever question why they seemed to get the short end of the stick!

OK LW. I think you are judging way too fast before you even get to understand my point and who I really am. You came to this article with a set mentallity and never gave a chance to understand it.

Don't worry, I knew this article would bring some criticism so I am not feeling picked on. I myself have admitted to being really bad at managing my own money, though I have made a great improvement these past 6 months.

I have 2 kids not 1. My youngest goes to a daycare of which we pay $145 a week. That's $580 a month for those of you who are too lazy to calculate. My oldest gets out of school at 2:00. At this time both me and my wife are working. I have been forced to change my lunch schedule at work in order to pick him up and drop him off at the boy's & girls club every day. This cost me a lot of gas since his school is not around the corner from me and the boy's and girls club is not close to his school. Lucky I only pay $20 for the whole year but during the summer I paid $60 every 2 weeks. That was after I got him out of another summer camp which I paid $85 a week. I had to wait for an opening. It took a while let me tell you.

This is not about me feeling entitled to anything. You must be confusing me with people who don't want to work and want everything given to them. I work hard for my money, I like buying my own stuff with my own hard earned money. I don't mind paying for my sons lunches. My point is that when I was a child kids did not have to pay for lunch before. Now they do and I think that is wrong when a child goes without lunch just because either the parent did not have the money at the moment the child was told he needed to add more to his account or the school failed to let the child and parents know he was over his limit. As I said before, breakfast and lunch is an essential part of a child development. I just don't see why, with all the billions being poured in to the education system, should children have to pay for it. I reiterate my words. this is not about feeling entitled, this is about ensuring our children have the necessary benefits that would allow them to get the best education possible. Let the failures stand out not because of lack of money, food and school supplies. This can make it easier to target those who are not doing well in school and give them the help they need to succeed or at least pass.

BTW, considering I know what it's like to be poor and I have seen it time and time again, I do not feel poor. I believe I make a decent living and if I learn to manage my money properly I can avoid repeating my last 6 years of my life. I work for the biggest cement company in the US, which is now the second in the world since we were bought of by the second largest. I work in the Accounting Dept and I have some of the best benefits in the company including incentives and a lot of free food. With time and hard work I see myself moving up in the company faster than I can imagine it. The company will even reemburse me for going to school.

Poor? Not a chance. Bad at managing my money? Yes, but am improving.



As I said I am improving on my budget. Right now all my bill are up to day, my rent is paid and I still have a few bucks in my pocket. I always shop for value, Walmart is my best friend, but I sometimes buy a bit more expensive for the quality and for it to last longer. Trust me when I tell you that most of my meals at home are inexpensive though not all are very nutricious I will admit, but I have changed things such as soda in the house making my kids drink stuff such as natural orange juice and lots of water.

I have to worry about my son being picky. He has gone a whole day without eating just because he did not like what we had in the house to eat at the time. I don't want him to eat something he does not like and make him sick like I have seen happen before with him. You may think its no big deal but (without any insult intended) I would like to see you try to force something to your own child that he/she does not like. I should know, as a child I was just as picky if not worse than him. I learn to expand my palet as an adult chosing to do it at my own time.

I think you got me all wrong here LW, while I see and understand your point and somewhat agree with it. I stress this is not about entitle ment, or any democratic mentality. My goal here is to provide our children (keep in mind that while not every American has a child American children are this countries future none the less) with the best chances to succeed in life to secure a better future for our nation. As adults it's up to themselves to take advantage of this education given to them to either be great citizens or lazy people.

Another thing, some people may think "why should I have to pay if I don't have kids?", but I see it this way. People who don't have cars pay taxes to roads. People who don't have kids pay taxes for education. People who don't use Gov't assistance pay for it. It's just the way this country works. I think that at least for our children and our future, education should be one thing no one should hold back from helping.

Artysim

Thank you, you seem to have understood my point the best. All I look for is to give every child of this nation, citizens of course, the same opportunities to become the best they can be. A rich child is no different than a poor one except one has better chances of a good education over the other. It is my belief that if we want this nation to become the greatest or better than it is right now is to provide the best education possible to all children of this nation, rich or poor.

So far these past few years have shown that the average American, including myself, is not well educated. Feeling we should get everything even when we don't work for it is not the way for a nation to survive and stay on top. We depend so much on technology now a days that I'm sure the average person could not open a can of beans without a can opener or without smashing the can to bits. People don't even understand the basis of this country, the laws, even the Constitution itself.

Most of this ignorance can be cured with a proper education, but if we continue to make getting the proper education as easy as winning the lottery 3 times a year, we're gonna end up like the movie Idiocracy. While it's just a movie and unlikely to happen in such a short period of time, it's scary to think that it almost seems possible at all.