The downfall of America has begun

[Aunty Em]

Personally I think kids have it too easy these days. When I was 14 most of my friends worked for their pocket money/weekly allowance. Now you're lucky in any of them do.

When I got my first weekend job my parents stopped giving me money and I had to pay for schoolbooks, pens, etc., personal toiletries and tights out of my wages. How I spent it was up to me and if I wanted to go to the pictures or buy trendy clothes I had to do that myself too. They still fed me and bought my basic wardrobe but the rest was my reponsibility. So I learnt to budget effectively. If I wanted extra I had to work extra hours to get it.

Now I know this was because I don't come from a privileged background, there were 4 kids and money was always tight, but it was the best education for life I could have had, in my opinion. And because my friends were all in the same boat I never resented it, it was just the way things were. I had a post office account to save for the things that I wanted.

These days most kids just seem to get cash thrown at them for no effort. Personally I think that's wrong cos they never learn the true value of money or how to manage their finances properly for adult life. And yes, I did get my finances in a mess at one stage, but I sorted it out, not my parents, and I learnt a valuable lesson about no overstretching your credit limits and I haven't been "in the red" since I was 25. I've had credit agreements, but my bank account has always been "in the black", even if it was only a couple of pounds.

 

[Raven]

Personally I think kids have it too easy these days. When I was 14 most of my friends worked for their pocket money/weekly allowance. Now you're lucky in any of them do.

When I got my first weekend job my parents stopped giving me money and I had to pay for schoolbooks, pens, etc., personal toiletries and tights out of my wages. How I spent it was up to me and if I wanted to go to the pictures or buy trendy clothes I had to do that myself too. They still fed me and bought my basic wardrobe but the rest was my reponsibility. So I learnt to budget effectively. If I wanted extra I had to work extra hours to get it.

That was way back when though when it was easy for a 14 y/o to get a job. Kimberly (my gf) and I went round town last saturday looking for a job for her. Everywhere we went wanted either over 18's or prior experience. So although they do not have jobs it is (mostly not entirely) through no fault of their own.

 

[Aunty Em]

Paper rounds, leafleting and what's so difficult about working for your parents?

Negotiate a minimum weekly allowance which you will always get and a maximum which they can afford if you do certain jobs in and around the house. e.g grass cutting, car washing etc. Each job has a monitary value. If you want more than the minimum you work for it. It's the system my ex uses with my stepson, he's 15 but he has a very good understanding of the value of money. Plus I think he appreciates the things he works for more than those which he just gets given.

I wouldn't expect a child these days to pay for any of the basic necessities and that includespersonal toiletries, school stuff, etc. because it's so much more expensive and most parents I know would have a hard time being able to afford the amount of money necessary. But if they want something in particular I still think they should work for it rather than just be given it.

 

[Gonz]

Whos gonna enforce that one? And what about girls that get raped? Widows?

Single parent=no spouse

Divorced parent=divorced

widow(er) parent=widow(er)


There is a conscious decision to not look out for the best interest of the child in single parenthood. Divorce may or may not have that aspect, depending on the reason for the divorce & widow(er) had no choice. There is a difference.

Adult is 18 in the USA, that definition was used for reference. It's not some magical number. It's a generalization. Quit being so specific, there are exceptions to every rule. Some 30 year old can't make decisions. I left home at 16. I know people in their late 20's who are still at home.

Here after the age of 16 your parents can not access yoru medical records without your permisson,

Who's got the legal rsponsibility to pay the doctors? If it's your parents then that is BS.

 

[Raven]

Em: She does the chores thing already and the paper round thing is not an option for medical reasons.

Gonz: Here we have the NHS. NO-ONE the governent pays the doctors here so that we dont get hyperinflated medical bills. Might be the same in Canada but I dunno

 

[Aunty Em]

Em: She does the chores thing already and the paper round thing is not an option for medical reasons.

I'm not talking about washing up, taking out the trash, keeping your room tidy etc. I'm talking about the things I hate doing... cutting the grass is a fine example... I pay my niece £10 a time for cutting it for me and tidying the garden... the lawn is approx 20 ft by 25 ft. I think that's a fair price.

If she washes the car it's a fiver.

Actually that's something that Ben does from time to time... he and a friend go round the local houses with sponges and buckets offering to wash cars for £2.50 a time. They usually get quite a few.

 

[Gonz]

NO-ONE the governent pays the doctors here so that we dont get hyperinflated medical bills.

No-one? How about everyone & that creates hyperinflated bills. That however is another thread

Yes, Canada has has a taxpayer screwed healthcare system.

 

[Aunty Em]

Everyone who works here pays into national insurance which includes unemployment benefits and nhs care Stewey. Unfortunately up till now there have been no controls on who can use the health service at the point of access.... however very soon we will be required to prove our entitlement to anything but emergency care... which I for one agree with. So all those health tourists who come here to abuse the system and deprive those of us who pay for it can sod off back to their own countries or pay for care here. We are not a world health service.

When I was in GOSH the other week with Katie at least 60% of the patients waiting didn't speak english. I know that is not the only criteria for if someone is resident here, but I resent having to wait for treatment because some bloody foreigner is abusing the system.

 

[Luis G]

So all those health tourists who come here to abuse the system and deprive those of us who pay for it can sod off back to their own countries or pay for care here. We are not a world health service.

Woah, i didn't know that anyone could have the right to free health service there

 

[Nixy]

Yes, the government pays for the health care and parents can not access the records after a person is 16.

If the parents paid for it that would be different. My mom woudl refuse to pay til she knew what it was for. "Oh, this is a doctor's bill for when you went to get the morning after pill?" first she'd refuse to pay and then she'd kick my arse

 

[Aunty Em]

Unfortunately doctors are reluctant to check up on patients entitlement, because they are fearful of being accused of racism, so the government is changing the rules to require id such as a passport. If we go to another european state and require treatment we have to produce id and a special form which proves our entitlement and our local nhs trust pays for the treatment.

 

[Raven]

And those nice compulsory ID cards we keep hearing about. I think they're a good idea but how long till they start getting abused?

 

[Professur]

Thanks you guys. I needed the laugh.


Lemme just pull a few of the stupider logs outta the blaze.

1: Kids are able to get preggers at 11-12. And not 100 years ago, that was common place. With a infant fatality rate near 25%, and maternal fatalities of 15%. But besides that, kids in a rural setting (farmers) could afford to become parents that young. At 16, a boy was a man with his own life and responsabilities. And he'd been dealing with his own responsabilities since he was 5. Up before daybreak, milking, feeding, watering, etc. He knew what the price of failure was.
Can you even consider you of today's sissybreed in that light? I didn't think so.


Gonz, you say you don't want sheep in your life. Get real. People are sheep. At least 85% requalify on a daily basis just by going to their jobs. Look at the kids with their piercings. Baaaa baaaa baaaa

 

[PT]

21 is the legal age at which you are an adult in the states. Because we all know that the states is the capital of the world

Here after the age of 16 your parents can not access yoru medical records without your permisson, at the age of 18 you ar elegally an adult and can buy lotteyr ticekts and make porn, at the age of 19 you can buy booze, and smokes.

I find it interesting that you keep track of when you can start making porn.

 

[Rose]

I find it interesting that you keep track of when you can start making porn.

She does happen to be said age of being able to do such things.

 

[Aunty Em]

How else do we stop the widespread abuse of our immigration and health services? Personally I'm all for them, they won't have any more information on them than is already in the public domain anyway, so if they make life easier for those of us who are entitled to benefits etc. then so be it... so long as it is not an offence not to carry it... now that would be an infringement of my personal freedom.

 

[Raven]

Yeah I know I like the idea of them but offence not to carry it is a bit too nineteen eighty four for me

 

[Nixy]

Offense not to carry your ID for health care? That is WEIRD. Around here you just don;t get health care wihtout it.

We have health cards here, they didn't used to but now when you need a new one cause you lost it or the strip stops scanning it has a picture and is a valid form of government ID for getting into bars etc (although they are not allowed to ASK specifically for your health card or suggest it as an alternative if you say something like "I don't have a license")

 

[Raven]

Not just for healthcare Nix for ANYTHING... passports, licenses, benefits, probably even getting married. I'm not sure of everything that it encompasses but everything before the 'probably' is definite

 

[Luis G]

Offense not to carry your ID for health care? That is WEIRD. Around here you just don;t get health care wihtout it.

Same here, thou the health service is only available to those who actually pay for it.