Current Events > How big of a part do you think chance and privilege play in success?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Many of the conservatives I know seem to think that they are successful purely because of hard work and determination, and that unsuccessful people need to adjust their way of thinking and work harder. To me, this doesn't make much sense. Yes, everyone needs to try their best to improve their lot in life and achieve their goals, but life sucks for huge swaths of the human race even in rich, developed countries like the United States. Not everyone can be successful---the world can only support so many millionaires and billionaires, and those who have a great deal of wealth horde it like a dragon hordes gold, and work to game the system so that it benefits them and their interests at the expense of everyone else.

Even people with advanced degrees and high paying jobs are often drowning in debt. Over half of the US population lives paycheck to paycheck. If you get get stuck on a minimum wage job, it can be very difficult to leave that life beyond and strive for better wages without someone helping you. It's the same sort of deal with disability: unless you are in a situation where you have made a miraculous recovery and don't need expensive medical care anymore and can jump off and start working again full time, you are severely penalized for trying to rejoin the workforce, and you flat out can't build any savings of any kind (it is forbidden except in very special cases that the government has to sign off on, like saving up for a wheelchair accessible van or something).

Minimum wage is such shit that the government is literally subsidizing companies like Walmart and McDonalds with food stamps. And now, various news sources are saying signs point to a coming recession which will have a disproportionate impact on the poor and middle class. I don't know about you, but I've done the best I could with my life, and it hasn't amounted to anything like success. I was dealt a very odd hand, and even with hindsight in my favor, I don't know that I could have done things significantly differently to get a better life than the one I've got now. I'm doing my best to make a better one, but I really do believe that most people who reach success have gotten lucky.

There is no one answer to that, it depends on the person. And what are you talking about with the forbidden to build savings by the government thing?

this says it all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JgG0ECp2U

Tenlaar posted...

There is no one answer to that, it depends on the person. And what are you talking about with the forbidden to build savings by the government thing?

Some social service programs cut you off if you have a certain amount in the bank. Like I just googled my state's food stamps requirements and you can't have more than 2k in the bank (3k if you're caring for an elder or someone with a disability).