<p>Yes, because you have no control over who your parents are. Without financial aid, it would be extremely difficult for lower-income Americans to rise above their humble beginnings. But you’re probably fine with that: let’s perpetuate the modern aristocracy!</p>
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<p>Well, obviously. But it’s not like colleges are accepting URMs who are unqualified. Even URM admits are stellar applicants.</p>
<p>In fact, numerous studies have shown legacy hooks are far more helpful than URM status. That’s also governed by who your parents are instead of any accomplishment of yours, so why aren’t you complaining about it?</p>
<p>The principle is that those of the upper-class have been granted certain unearned privileges at the expense of the lower-class. The principle is that our country has a history and our actions have consequence and precedent and do not exist in an abstract, isolated, individualistic moment. The principle is that maybe we’re all individuals but we live in an interconnected society in which others’ actions have an affect on us, and it is our job as humans to be conscious of that, even if we have the privilege to ignore this basic truth.</p>
<p>That statement doesn’t even make sense. How the hell is an award for their accomplishments?</p>
<p>You guys are ridiculous. You’re arguing that we should only judge students on their merits (so, no URM bonus), yet we should also give a boost to legacy applicants because of what their PARENTS did?</p>
<p>Sounds like you’re just a bunch of rich kids who want to perpetuate socioeconomic disparity.</p>
<p>Actually, no. Neither of my parents had the opportunity to attend college, so I’m a first generation college student. However, my parents did and do work eighty hour weeks to enjoy their “unearned” benefits. Also, I work and manage my own stocks. Why should I pay for anyone else? Soon, you all will be left with the looters and moochers once Obama turns the US into a socialist society, and then where will you be? Everyone complains about the upper class when they are the ones sustaining you! Why is everything at the expense of the lower class? This is ridiculous.
Supply side economics does not perpetuate socioeconomic disparity, but rather fosters job growth. And URM status IS from your parents. I can’t control that I’m white either.</p>
<p>It has no point anymore beyond spewing ridiculous Republican talking points.</p>
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<p>Nobody is saying they shouldn’t earn benefits from their hard work, we’re simply saying you should recognize that every human owes a debt to humanity. No man is an island and we would do well to recognize that by helping our fellow man.</p>
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Actually, it’s been shown that social/liberal economic policy provides greater growth for the economy than “supply-side economics.” When unbridled capitalism is practiced, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. When regulation and social reforms are put in place, the economy improves for everyone and everyone’s standard of living rises.</p>
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<p>Oh come ON. Enough with the bogus claims. He has done no such thing. Oh, and most of Europe is socialist. Do they have a major problem with looters and moochers? No. The world isn’t suddenly going to collapse into any apocalyptic nightmare just because the government exercises some compassion… though I could certainly understand your attitude, given your unfamiliarity with the ideas of “justice” and “compassion.” Go back to your tea party.</p>
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Really? They are? Hmm… last I checked, the upper class isn’t paying my mortgage or groceries.</p>
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Good question. Obama is trying to fix that.</p>
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Obviously, but so is legacy status. I can’t control where my parents went to college.</p>
<p>“The principle is that those of the upper-class have been granted certain unearned privileges at the expense of the lower-class. The principle is that our country has a history and our actions have consequence and precedent and do not exist in an abstract, isolated, individualistic moment. The principle is that maybe we’re all individuals but we live in an interconnected society in which others’ actions have an affect on us, and it is our job as humans to be conscious of that, even if we have the privilege to ignore this basic truth.”</p>
<p>what a croc of ****. FA isn’t exclusive to upper-class and whoever earns it shouldnt reject it just because some other lower-class individuals are competing for it too. money people don’t owe poor people jack. get off your high horse.</p>
<p>Stop being an idiot. Nobody said you should reject FA.</p>
<p>Financial Aid should be grounded in need (as it is at enlightened institutions). If you don’t need help to attend an institution, stop complaining.</p>
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No, they don’t. But they do owe a debt to humanity as a whole, and the generations which have come before. Without their sacrifice and COLLABORATION, we would never be in the position today.</p>
<p>Being social is what separates us from beasts; when we forget that, we are no better than animals.</p>
<p>“Everyone complains about the upper class when they are the ones sustaining you!” </p>
<p>“Really? They are? Hmm… last I checked, the upper class isn’t paying my mortgage or groceries.”</p>
<p>Well, since the top 2% of taxpayers pay >50% of the income taxes that fund our government, the upper class is indeed paying for all the social benefit programs the government provides to the lower class.</p>
<p>Nice job on quoting completely false statistics! You have a great career ahead of you as a Republican operative! Unless you have a source, it’s not true.</p>
<p>Okay. “Being social is what separates us from beasts; when we forget that, we are no better than animals”
You believe that we should all share. That’s your belief. But you can’t take others wealth and just expect them to WANT to share. That’s left, that’s looting, that’s unprincipled. You have no right to anyone else’s money. If I work eighty hours a week, why should anyone else that’s not working as hard as I, have access to my money?
I don’t know how there is even another side to this. Theft is theft.
“Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil” - Ayn Rand. Read, please before you infect anyone else with your flaming, uninformed liberalism.</p>
<p>And you said before “Actually, it’s been shown that social/liberal economic policy provides greater growth for the economy than “supply-side economics.” When unbridled capitalism is practiced, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. When regulation and social reforms are put in place, the economy improves for everyone and everyone’s standard of living rises.”</p>
<p>“But you say money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expenseof those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is made- before it can be looted or mooched- made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can’t consume more than he has produced.”</p>
<p>Sorry for the all the quotes, but no one can phrase it as perfectly as she does. And you get my point…</p>
<p>“Well, since the top 2% of taxpayers pay >50% of the income taxes that fund our government, the upper class is indeed paying for all the social benefit programs the government provides to the lower class.”</p>
<p>More lies. The top 2% of thieves in this country pay absolutely NO TAX after they squeeze every tax ride off imaginable to fund their yachts and lavish lifestyles as business expenses. Anyone who believes otherwise is a both a fool and a tool.</p>
<p>As for the Ayn Rand Sean Hannity loving libertarians, you are no different than right wing extremists like Rush and Paul who are calling for the overthrow of the federal government acting like seditionists under the guise of being “true patriots.” The fact is white privilege and acting like America is the only country that matters is dying a slow painful death and many people of ALL RACES and ETHNICITIES support fairness in this way.</p>
<p>As for the “myth” of the free market. This country was not built on a “free market” if that was the case then blacks would have been allowed to maximize their own individual potential contributions to the “free” market and Indians would not have been slaughtered in the process of “free” market expansion. The country was built on racialized slavery, land encroachment and genocide along with the relegating of women to the domestic sphere. Those of us who recognize this and are trying to correct it are the only people patriotic enough to try to have this country live up to its credo. </p>
<p>Those who want to perpetuate inequality are trying to bring us back to square one. </p>
<p>Thieves? I think not. I’m not ashamed of coming from a priveleged family of “thieves.”</p>
<p>Work hard, make money. Neither of my parents (or most of my friends parents) went to college, and here, “us elitists” sit at the top 1%. Nothing was handed to anyone. Stop making assumptions about the wealthy.
I hope someday the top two percent paying everyone else’s taxes leaves, and you are forced to fend for yourselves.
The below link isn’t exactly what we’re talking about…but it’s really funny and should give you some perspective. [Bar</a> Stool Economics | Wise Bread](<a href=“http://www.wisebread.com/bar-stool-economics-0]Bar”>Bar Stool Economics)</p>
<p>If you’re rich, you have a choice of where you live. Feel free to move to Somalia. You won’t have people “stealing” from you there. Lets see how you like it without the reforms which a government provides.</p>
<p>You are making straw man arguments. I never said money was made by the rich at the expense of the poor.</p>
<p>But the money we make today is thanks to the investment of our forefathers.</p>
<p>As any decent capitalist or economist knows, you need to pay off your debts. And we pay off the debt we owe to humanity by donating back to humanity.</p>
<p>The United States doesn’t even practice true capitalism, hence the reason it’s not working.
So why doesn’t everyone pay the same amount of debt back to humanity since we all came from the same forefathers? That’s a terrible argument. I don’t owe anyone that got themselves pregnant and are on welfare anything.</p>
<p>“Nice job on quoting completely false statistics! You have a great career ahead of you as a Republican operative! Unless you have a source, it’s not true.”</p>
<p>“More lies. The top 2% of thieves in this country pay absolutely NO TAX after they squeeze every tax ride off imaginable to fund their yachts and lavish lifestyles as business expenses. Anyone who believes otherwise is a both a fool and a tool.”</p>
<p>You can see the details in Table 1. For the 2006 tax year, the top 1% of taxpayers paid 39.9% of all income taxes. The top 5% paid 60.1% of all income taxes.</p>
<p>Vociferous, being upper class doesn’t mean you’re a “thief”. I think most educated people would see that as an extremely naive and uninformed comment.</p>
<p>Again, please do. But wait: there are many extremely rich people who worked very hard for their money, yet still feel it is their duty to contribute it back to society. Ex. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, etc.</p>
<p>I’ve read Ayn Rand, despite disagreeing. Maybe you should take the time to actually read some alternate viewpoints.</p>
<p>"Stop making assumptions about the wealthy. "</p>
<p>You mean like the fact that they work harder than everyone else? That is a crock of garbage. Trying working in a lettuce field, you would not last 5 minutes. </p>
<p>As for them leaving, they already are, they have bankrupted the government (thanks to Bush, his daddy and Mr Trickle Down Reagen) and stolen everyone’s retirement funds and now they are hiding all of their stolen cash in off shore accounts and fleeing the scene of the crime. So hollow threats are in fact just that-hollow. These leaches have no loyalty to anything but their own individual well being, not to their country or to their people. THAT is what happens when you have a hollow philosophy that emphasizes the individual over the greater good.</p>