<p>And even some Republicans are against it. Not to mention the irony of job-training programs WHEN THERE ARE NO JOBS.</p>
<p>The article said that his mother immigrated to the US three years before he was born. If he was born in the US, then he is a citizen. I think it very unlikely that his mother traveled out of the country to give birth – so I would assume him to be a US citizen based on the information provided. </p>
<p>The article doesn’t say whether he has worked or not. Obviously it would be unreasonable to expect a high school student to earn enough to support his mother. The article did say that Chen made enough money to buy himself a computer and a camera in middle school by reselling candy, and that he is active in Future Business Leaders of America. It’s quite possible that he make more money buying and selling stuff than he could reasonably earn with a part-time, after school job. (I’d personally characterize the process of investing $$ to purchase items that are subsequently resold at a higher price as “work”. When my great grandfather immigrated to the US in the 19th century, that’s what he did for a living. )</p>
<p>“This means that we have to support some adults for longer than we might like to, but that is preferable to creating even more wards of the state. It’s not ideal, but it is the better option.”</p>
<p>18 years is too long. I’m not against some short term help, but in many cases government help becomes a way of life. Not in this case, but in many others.</p>
<p>“And even Republicans are against it.”</p>
<p>Well, I’m not thrilled about it, but at least he’s tying welfare to work.</p>
<p>You are missing the point. There is no work. Our state is bleeding jobs because of his policies.</p>
<p>“You are missing the point. There is no work.”</p>
<p>I’m confused. Isn’t the job training the work?</p>
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<p>Yikes. When my son went out east to college, the cost of warm clothing + bedding was well over $200 – and no, we weren’t shopping at Nordstroms-- though I admit that we didn’t shop at Goodwill either. If a west coast CCer asked my advice on what the costs would be, I’d advocate budgeting something more. </p>
<p>So – good for Harvard, but as a practical matter, I think the kid’s relocation and move-in expenses will rack up to somewhat more than that.</p>
<p>I also don’t see where in the article that it says his family has received government assistance since he was born?</p>
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<p>18 years may be long, but it is the age of majority. It is also the age at which most students complete their legally mandated education. At what age would you cease providing government assistance? When should Lloyd’s family have been booted from their subsidized low income housing? At what age would it have been okay to cut his family’s food stamps? When should his mother have been forced to choose between giving her kids up and bringing them up under a freeway overpass?</p>
<p>“When should his mother have been forced to choose between giving her kids up and bringing them up under a freeway overpass?”</p>
<p>There is another choice…working.</p>
<p>Are there any California posters in this discussion? Your state has billion dollar deficits. At what point do you begin capping your runaway spending rather than raising taxes?</p>
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<p>With medical disability (depression)?</p>
<p>mimimom, you keep missing the point. In order for someone to work, there have to be jobs. And as I said earlier, even a substantial portion of the working poor are still receiving government benefits.</p>
<p>I have friends and family who are struggling with depression- and working.</p>
<p>“imimom, you keep missing the point. In order for someone to work, there have to be jobs. And as I said earlier, even a substantial portion of the working poor are still receiving government benefits.”</p>
<p>In Wisconsin, which you brought up, the Governor has asked for job training to be a prerequisite for receiving government aid. The job training will train people to get a job. In a sense, you’re correct. As long as taxes are high, people are disincentivized from starting new businesses and hiring.</p>
<p>To comment on a few of the points:</p>
<p>My So Cal. son didn’t need to spend $200 on winter clothing. One good winter coat (given as a gift by my sister) and some gloves got him through this past brutal winter at MIT.</p>
<p>My son was blessed to be 10 for 10 in his college acceptances including Princeton, Penn, MIT, Caltech, Mudd, Vandy, and WUSTL. He was admitted to Princeton SCEA, did get the f. aid package within a week of acceptance, but definitely needed to wait to make his decision until spring because he was also waiting on a big outside scholarship that ultimately made it possible for him to attend his school of choice (MIT), and most probably without debt. (Actually, though, he made his decision before we had the final numbers on his scholarship and that was unsettling, I admit, but it worked out very well)</p>
<p>So, young Mr. Chen definitely was wise to wait until until he knew about the Gates.</p>
<p>We’re a middle income family (family of 5 under 80K income) and packages did vary widely for my son. Surprisingly, Caltech and Vandy were by far the most generous followed by Princeton and then Penn and MIT (both had loans in the package).</p>
<p>My son worked from age 13 and paid for things like car insurance, clothing, computer, phone, gas, and so on. His main sources of income were tutoring (both private and for a company) and teaching/playing violin. We had private help purchasing his violin and it is the most expensive thing we own (and it wasn’t that expensive as nice instruments go)</p>
<p>But, we are not poor and we have resources to draw upon in our church, friends, and family. (Like the time my husband suffered a brain injury at work and was out of work for 6 months. People poured out such generosity on us at a time that we would not have made it without the help) The article doesn’t mention whether or not the family had any support network like that.</p>
<p>“My son worked from age 13 and paid for things like car insurance, clothing, computer, phone, gas, and so on. His main sources of income were tutoring (both private and for a company) and teaching/playing violin.”</p>
<p>Wow, congratulations to you and your son!</p>
<p>mim,</p>
<p>I know plenty of people with depression who work, too. My husband had pretty bad depression after his brain injury but he continued to work; he got help for it. Depression runs in our family anyways. The article didn’t say if it was debilitating depression or not. I have seen people with debilitating depression that cannot work, at least for a period of time and perhaps never (I don’t know).</p>
<p>Thank-you, mim. My son’s really resourceful and blessed in many ways. I think he, like my husband, will always be able to find work somehow.</p>
<p>Nearly all of the top 10 states in terms of percentage of population receiving disability benefits are red states. Go talk to them.</p>
<p>“Nearly all of the top 10 states in terms of percentage of population receiving disability benefits are red states. Go talk to them.”</p>
<p>Many recipients of disability are veterans, and many veterans retire or settle in red states. In Texas, we have a very large military population.</p>