Question o' the day.
Why am I okay handing over $5 in cash to someone selling tickets to this, but not okay handing over any cash to the little boy with the laminated flier raising money for his basketball team? (Maybe because we're #4?)
On another topic, I had a very humbling conversation this afternoon with someone who moved here from a war zone in [an anonymous foreign country currently at war]. There, he got a great education, worked for his government and made lots of money. Here, he makes next to nothing while trying to support a family. How true this must be for so many immigrants. How frustrating it must be to learn after they get here that they could have a wealthier life in their home country. If America really is the promised land, perhaps we should change our promise... (Insert snarky cynical new U.S. motto here.*)
And then I went to Cost Plus and bought a bunch of things I don't really need, and all was well in my head. Yay, capitalism!
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* I can't remember if I already mentioned this... The boneheads on a local morning radio show recently had people call in their ideas for mottos for the Bay Area. My favorite? "The Bay Area - better than you since 1969." Haha.
Actually, for many immigrants, making next to nothing here still works out to a lot of money in their homeland. Ya, hard to believe with the dollar's value these days...
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, that and the fact that at least in America there are many *opportunities* to rise above poverty, get a better job or start one's own business, and eventually earn more. When you factor in families left behind in the homeland, then that's another motivation to take a less prestigious job for not much money, if it means being able to help put food on your family's table. Many immigrants sacrifice being with their families in order to send them their hard-earned cash.