Cain: Not rich? No job? Blame yourself

CNN ^

[Chode]

The message of existentialism, unlike that of many more obscure and academic philosophical movements, is about as simple as can be.

It is that every one of us, as an individual, is responsible—responsible for what we do, responsible for who we are, responsible for the way we face and deal with the world, responsible, ultimately, for the way the world is.

It is, in a very short phrase, the philosophy of “no excuses!”

Life may be difficult; circumstances may be impossible. There may be obstacles, not the least of which is our own personalities, characters, emotions and limited means or intelligence.

But, nevertheless, we are responsible. We cannot shift the burden onto God, or nature, or the ways of the world. If nature made us one way, it is up to us to decide what we are to do with what nature gave us—whether to go along or fight back, to modify or transcend nature.

[ToxicMich]

Yes, you are right. That’s why catch phrases are often a bad idea. “Hope” anyone? Yeah right...

[HiTech RedNeck]

But it is an oversimplification of what God is about. If God were some disinterested creator, existentialism would make as much or little sense as any other philosophy. But God cares about his creation and durn tootin’ he wants his creation to care about him. Far from saying “don’t put your burden on me,” he says “cast your cares on me.” It’s an invitation too many people are too proud to accept.

[familyop]

It’s your own fault, that you didn’t get a high paying government job or get into a business that sells to government employees. Onward to default. ;-)

[Chode]

i can accept that statement as true and still love and believe in God... remember when you ask God for something, sometimes his answer is no

[Tucker822]

I agree with all that you say. It boils down to responsibility for one’s self. Also, there are a lot of opportunities out there and classes that teach how to take advantage of opportunities. Look at your state’s DOL and see the jobs lists they have. Georgia has quite a list and it never seems to get filled.

[HiTech RedNeck]

God’s no is always there to say yes to something else, often that you wouldn’t have expected to be blessed through.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I think Kartographer was joking.

[CynicalBear]

Well, I’ll tell you where I come from on my attitude toward that concept.

I had polio when I was two years old. My parents were then told I would never walk. My dad never allowed me to sit back and not be a part and taught me to take care of myself. I grew up actually training horses. I have trained horses and raced horses myself. By the time I was ten years old I owned a yard of fat cattle and have owned my own businesses ever since. I have a cousin who is a quadriplegic and owns his own business.

My wife and I were foster parents to handicapped kids and all were taught and expected to do all they could to contribute to the jobs in the household and taught to expand on their individual talents. I have met no one in my life that does not have some sort of talent that they can expand on and use to contribute in some way.

Poor? What is poor? I have never met a person in these United States who needs to be poor. I have met broke people. Broke is a temporary condition of mismanagement of funds or unwillingness to do what is needed to improve ones financial situation. Poor is an attitude which is self inflicted.

You have probably figured out by now that I tend to agree with Cain.

[Chode]

no can mean "no, you don't need that you simply want it, so no", and it can mean "what you ask for is not going to be good for you, so no"

other times it simply means no...

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

And Obamao too!

[goodnesswins]

Poor People have POOR habits....is that too simpleminded?

[traditional1]

"saying that poor people have to blame themselves because is simple minded. It's no better then saying that capitalism is bad for the environment. It’s moronic"

What IS moronic is when people point to a small minority of the population, which contains a demonstrable exception, and then IMMEDIATELY point these out as the counter-argument.

THAT defense is ALWAYS used by Liberals for arguing against the common sense statements ("Old people will be eating dog food", "children will go hungry", "it disenfranchises minorities", etc., etc.)

Common sense and the real world will show conclusively that those who are un-willing to raise themselves up ON THEIR OWN INITIATIVE, make up the VAST majority of those who think other people's earnings should be confiscated and handed to them.

If you don't like your position in life, get off your ass and do something about it. (If you are PHYSICALLY unable to get off your ass, then you have my sympathy, but I have no tolerance for whiners who do NOTHING on their own).

[ToxicMich]

I must admit that you make a good argument. But, to prove my point, yours is nuanced, which is not the case with Cain’s.

[jpsb]

Well ya know in a very short amount of time the whole **** house is going to go down the drain. I got layoff at 60, now who is going to hire a beer drinking, cigarete smoking programmer? lol, but lucky for me I can see the future and have spent the last 2 years preparing for the collaspe that is coming. I think I timed it just about right as I am now almost out of money and so is the USA and Europe.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The denial of one possibility is logically necessary for mutually exclusive possibilities to come to fruition.

[Sylvester McMonkey McBean]

The beauty of life as we know it is...both success and failure leave clues.

Most of these whiny Wall St 99%ers as they have branded themselves have collectively...chosen poorly.

[Drrdot]

"Don't you mean......"insensitive" < /sarc>"

No I am sure its Heartless. ;-)

Oooh... I can't believe I didn't get it the first time.

[FourPeas]

First, Cain was commenting on the Wall Street protesters, the clueless socialists who seek to blame all their inadequacies on anyone but themselves and the “rich, fat cats on Wall Street” are their latest target.

Still, “Not rich? No job? Blame yourself” holds true. I’d argue that people are poor because they valued something else instead of doing what’s necessary to make more money. That something else doesn’t necessarily have to be laziness, or meth, or materialism, or some other vice, but it’s certainly the case for a large number of the poor I know. It could be living on a single income to have a stay-at-home mom for the kids, or living close to family members rather than moving to an area with more opportunities, or simply not working day and night to allow for time with family. Both groups have consciously made a decision on their priorities. Still it’s the people in the first group who are usually the ones griping. The people in the second group are happy with the choices they’ve made. Yes, there are those on whom misfortunes have fallen due to no fault of their own. I’ve known a number of people like this and rarely are they the vocal ones. Usually they’re just trying to do what they can to make ends meet and aren’t into finding someone to shoulder the blame.

America is the land of opportunity, even in this cursed Obamanomy.

[CynicalBear]

Nuanced? Not at all. Let’s look at the quote from the article of what Cain said.

"Don't blame Wall Street," Cain said. "Don't blame the big banks. If you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself."

How, in light of that statement is what I said nuanced. I didn’t say what I had to go through to be able to train horses or establish businesses. It’s a persons attitude and willingness to learn and actually do something for themselves instead of waiting for someone else to either do it for them or somehow give them something. Not being willing to step back and start over, not being willing to live on less, not being willing to move or change locations or learn new skills all contribute to not moving forward and are all personal decisions.

I’ll give you a little more background. I only have a high school education but I have owned a feed and soil testing laboratory, a custom furniture manufacturing business, a computer store, a computer networking business, and a long haul trucking company. All started from scratch and I didn’t borrow money to get any of them started nor did I inherit a dime or get financial help from family. I am now retired and travel in a 40’ motor coach.