Sigh.. What a world we're in now. I guess the new thing is to **** on the poor and unemployed for being lazy. This freaking cult-like reverence for the wealthy is just unbelievable. On this note actually, Noble Prize Winner Joe Stiglitz wrote a great piece on today's income inequality and the price we'll pay for it in the way of economic growth. (long read but very interesting) http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/05/joseph-stiglitz-the-price-on-inequality
Nope, I don't want them unless I absolutely need them. There are people who truly need assistance. I am not one of them. I intend to have a full time position in the coming months, until then I suffer so that in the future I know things aren't that bad. I have been blessed with a strong immune system as well as a tolerance to pain. I am proud to say I was the only 10 y.o. to be hit by a car and refuse pain medication.
My adviser always bragged how he lived on 5 dollars a day as a grad student when Ph.D. candidates asked him for a raise. I heard it at least twice a month and knew it was coming a few minutes before in the conversation.
