A few unrelated observations in no particular order after wading through all these pages:
1. Those evil rich people pay a disproportionate share of taxes. We aren't supporting them, it's the other way around. There's a thread here somewhere about a house being repaired and upgraded for free (and she's complaining about how long it's taking). It isn't really "free" - evil rich people are paying for that. I remember several threads about folks going to emergency rooms, being shocked at the bills, and not being able to pay them. Guess what? Those evil rich people picked up the tabs. If any of us are ever lucky enough to win the lottery, the tax bill that comes with it will be an instant education about those evil rich people.
2. Our education system isn't going to be fixed by Obama throwing money at it. First of all, it's just one of the many promises he's made that he has no way to pay for. It's campaign rhetoric, nothing more. Second, money isn't the problem. Countries with far fewer resources have better education systems. Money isn't the reason so many doctors, engineers and scientists are from India and China.
3. There are no poor people in America except by choice. I'll say that again: There are no poor people in America except by choice. I'm in the Dominican Republic as I type this. Next month I'll be in Haiti. I've spent a lot of time in Zimbabwe. If you want to see poor, I can post some pictures. There are members here who claim to be poor, but they seem to have computers. I bet they have cell phones and televisions, too. I bet they live indoors. I bet that if they went to a hospital they could get medical care. I even bet that most of our "poor" people eat TOO MUCH food every day.
4. America used to be the "land of the free and the home of the brave". People came here to work their way up. They were proud of being self-reliant. Somehow, we are rapidly becoming the "land of whining for handouts". Maybe it's appropriate that our country's named for a charlatan.
Okay, rant over. I just don't like to see people - especially those who want to be our leaders - descend into the victim mentality, or encourage it.