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Here's some advice: drop the whiney "oh poor me" routine and just go out and do it for yourself.

Bully for you. I'm not whining for myself. I'm whining for people who would never darken the doors of a website such as this and who are really struggling to do what you did. Money went further then than it does now. One emergency room visit because you don't have a regular doctor can set you back months.

I'm sorry you are so bitter at life. Money went further then? HA When did you think I went to college? I clearly said I graduated in 1982. The prices for good and services were MUCH HIGHER than even today with FAR LOWER WAGES.

Gasoline hit $1.20 in 1982. If that price kept up with inflation since then it would be over $3.00 today. As I mentioned I delivered pizza and a large supreme from Pizza Hut was close to $20. It's about $15 today.

I was a Busch beer fan and a six-pack of 12 oz. cans cost $3.25 ($3.50 for six 16 oz. cans). Today it's about $3.59 for six 12 oz. cans.

I paid $400 a month with two roommates in 1980 for a crappy house in 1980 and today my nephew pays $300 a month with one roommate for a nice place with far better amenities than I ever had like cable, AC, private bath, big kitchen, etc.

My mom, in 1972, got appendicitis. There wasn't health insurance like we know it today. My dad went back to California (we moved to Ark), lived with his parents again (at age 37) and worked as a mechanic at the dealership he used to work at to earn California wages and sent the money back to us in Ark to pay off the hospital that billed us what we could afford. I didn't see him for 14 months. I had to take up the slack at age 13 and got a job stacking goods a local grocery where they were kind enough to offer us credit.

I rode my bike. I walked a mile to the store and back when needed.

So don't tell me about struggling. It's useless. There is nothing, NOTHING, that can't be overcome if you just want to. And there is LOTS of help out there that doesn't come from the government or taxpayers. What really TICKS ME OFF is that now THERE IS so much taxpayer funded programs that go to those than DON'T need it so whiney-assed politicians that use the same language you do can buy votes or attack capitalism.

We hire LEGAL immigrants like crazy at my hotel. A lot from Eastern Europe. A lot from Mexico. And we currently have over 20 unfilled positions that pay anywhere from $8-$15 an hour. The overtime I pay is unbelievable because I don't have enough bodies. I offer health insurance after 90 days for only $36.98 a month for single coverage. I offer a free meal a day. I pay 401(k). I offer other employee paid health benefits if you want to buy into them. I pay for the uniforms. I offer cash bonuses for cleaning more rooms than the daily allotment.

I can go on and on and on and on. And I still can't fill the jobs. So don't tell me people are struggling. People that struggle just won't do what is necessary to make it better. The #1 reason most people don't do better is that they just won't MOVE! That's right. Bad off? MOVE!

Oh, then the excuses really start to fly. They don't have the money to just pick up and move the family. Who says pick up the entire family? Read again about what my dad did. He left us. He had to. Or, my favorite whine, they say "I can't just sell my house" which implies THEY OWN ONE! Poor them.

Or, "I can't leave my family in the area". Why not? If you are that joined at the hip with your family in some city then make them give you money. OR MOVE TO WHERE THE JOBS ARE!

Face it. You are going to live your life complaining, making excuses, finding some little problem in life that can be blamed on the evils of capitalism, the rich, greed, etc. You are an unhappy person and that will never change.

Personally, I pity you and everyone like you. But then it does make Oprah very wealthy (as I notice you sit behind a computer with internet access I'm sure you think someone else should pay for).

Then they shoulda paid attention in school and learned something and some skills, shouldn't they?

I have no sympathy for them.

You're a commie, and I smell a DU plant.