Have we as a people lost the ability to take care of ourselves

Well, in my country... if you enroll yourself to a plan so that you will receive benefits after you reach 60.. then you can... but you have to pay for it while you are young and while you are working. Its like investing and you gain profit afterwards. You have to pay 1,200 I guess in Philhealth every year so if you got sick, Philhealth will help you to pay hospital bills. You can get educational plan for your kids, so it will be a big help when they reach college. But just like the others you have to pay for it... you just earn interest that will be your profit when your children have to use it already or your plans matured. The government will help you make life a little bit easier but you must help yourself also... you cannot push all the responsibility to the government. I dont think its right. I understand what you are trying to point out. Because some people blame all the poverty to government. SOME who does not have a job or have a low salary...will have 7-8 children. What do they expect after that? They cant send all their kids to school... or they cant provide enough foods for them... then blame it to the government. I think we know our capabilities...so lets not make something beyond it (like lots of children) and then make them suffer or expect our government to take the responsibilities we cannot do. Responsibility should start from ourselves and not from others.

In my country, we don't have such problems.I have to earn my living, once we were children,we were told that we should study so hard that we could earn lots of money and lead a rich life in future.When we went to the college and left our hometown, all things are there for you to seek for,we only count on ourselves to choose the life. I still study in the college as a pistgrad,and i hope tomorrow will become brighter an brighter for me.God bles me:0

I have worked in Public Education for many years. I started out making, $7,100, per year with a 4 year college degree at the same time HS grads were making $13,000, bagging grocerys. My fellow classmates were starting at $15,000 to $25,000, in other areas of employment. I stayed in Education because of the benifits - Health Insurance and Retirement. Now these people are demanding that the government pay for their Health Care and they want better Social Security benifits. They want the government to bail out their retirement plan. Is the government going to go back and pay me because I choose to take care of my future needs or am I just going to get stuck with the bill?

Personal responsibility does seem to have fallen by the wayside for many, however, I do not feel that the Government takes care of us. Education, health care, retirement, etc., are still the responsibility of most individuals. yes, we all pay taxes to support certain programs but I personally do not see most of these programs as effective at all. I am still 100% responsible for myself and my family, as I am sure most people are. The government can not be depended on for much.

Everything must start within ourselves first. We need to sow the seed and wait for its frutis. If we will take cae of what we sow and teach others to do so, then the world will not be what it is today. You,re right, we all lost our ability to take care- not only of ourselves- but most of the important things life offers.

"It's not my fault" or "It's YOUR fault" or "It's teh government's fault" Yep. Let's all sit back and let the State run everything. :::shudders:::

That is an important point. Many people don't want to take responsibility for themselves or their family anymore...or they can't get help when it really does count. That's...very wrong of this country. Isn't it? Babying those who should take responsibility, and turning the cold shoulder to people who've been responsible for their entire lives and exhausted all other options.

My Dad was raised in a time when it was considered shameful to ask for public assistance. You were expected to work hard, save your money and if things got rough, family was there to help you out. My Dad retired 2 years ago after he had a spinal injury that left him unable to walk for almost a year. He'd worked since he was like 15 washing rigs for my Grandfather. He held after school jobs until after he graduated and then went to work for a trucking company driving during the day and turning wrenches in the evening. He bought a house and spent 15-20 years paying it off, he bought and paid off their vehicles, bought and payed off a cabin to go to in the summer for 2 weeks and worked 3 HUGE gardens for our family, my grandparents and other relatives. Even now that he is retired, he raises livestock, gardens and still helps reletives with their crops. He refuses to draw Social Security even though he's paid into it instead he draws his pension from the company he worked at for almost 50 years. To me, he is the very meaning of the words hard working. If more ppl were like him, there would be alot less ppl sitting by waiting for the government to take care of them. **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~

oi