Imagine you skipped college, went to work making 10 dollars per hour at age 16 (we had someone in our family who did this, before she blew herself up). Imagine you never got a raise, once, ever and put 6% of your income away each year, getting 5% return on it, and worked 50 years (retiring at age 66). You would certainly have to adjust your standard of living, but it can be done. I know immigrants who get by on less. At the end of your working days, you would have an savings account of over $277,000. Remember, this is for the low income low educated person, who is not stupid in the sense that they blow themselves up by getting deeply into debt, or having children without a stable family, or developing serious addiction problems, but is not well educated and in a lower end job. THE POOREST person in our society would have savings of close to $300,000. I know some people I love dearly who came here from El Salvador. The guy literally swam across the Rio Grande 3 times because he was young and strong and could swim and helped 2 other people who could not swim to sneak in. He went to work underground in the restaurant industry in DC. He worked very hard and became a chef at one of the premiere restaurants in the town. He worked two jobs. One as a chef (he actually served food to two presidents and has pictures of himself with NUMEROUS public officials like Ted Kennedy, Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney etc etc), and he bought a limo where he worked that service. Some senator befriended him (he is eminently likable) and got him a green card, so he is legal now. His wife (legal from the get-go due to the refugee program from El Salvador) is also an extremely hard worker. She has worked for years as an Insurance customer service rep, as well as cleaned houses. She also prepares taxes on the side. They bought a home in Maryland, sold it at the top, and used the proceeds for her husband to buy an auto sales business, and he also invests in real estate. They have been disciplined, focused, driven, and diligent. They are not rich but started with NOTHING (not even any English) and have built a nice life for themselves. They did not do so by whining about their victim status, or wailing about being poor, or sitting around with their hands out, like so many amazingly privileged white people who have more advantages from the start than they could ever dream of. They just went to work, under great disadvantage, and saved. I have a hundred stories like that of customers of mine. This is the history of our country. Spotty? Yes. Hypocritical at times? Certainly. Placing barriers and obstacles in the way of certain peoples (blacks especially) who want to get ahead? Absolutely. As an insurance agent who really tried to take time with immigrants who were TOTALLY clueless, I got referred by groups of Ethiopians, Kenyans, Chileans, Mexicans, Cambodians, Burmese, etc etc and had a steady stream of all kinds through my doors. I saw over and over and over the beginning and then the maturation of HUNDREDS of little little success stories like this, of proud, stubborn, determined people who OFTEN FAIL and then get back up and go on... over and over and over... It is why I am so viciously aggressive with the STUPID anti immigrant stuff that comes out of the conservative camp. These people are far more representative of family values and the work ethic they want than your average white suburbanite. I think they are hypocrites and liars, frankly, bawling out about well, we arent against LEGAL immigration and then doing all kinds of gyrations to explain why they are against any program to let people living here for years gain legal status, whose only crime was ducking under a fence and then ducking under rules so they could work. I also love these people because they show leftist programs for the dependency producing lies they are. They are like a petri dish in that respect. A social experiment we can watch, as government help takes people and moves them (often in one generation!) from real contributors, job creators, wealth builders.... to government parasites, victims, and entitled bitter people who think in terms of class structures, envy and social injustice. The left and right are busily murdering the American dream. I dont care if you protest that this is not your intention. It is what you are doing, though.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 10:46:49 +0000
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