[Tasaio]

Originally Posted by Gabo

There are still 5 candidates running:

Clinton
Obama
McCain
Huckabee
Paul

Untrue. There are a total of 7 candidates still running.

From United States presidential election, 2008 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Democrats
Hillary Clinton
Mike Gravel
Barack Obama

Republicans
Mike Huckabee
Alan Keyes
John McCain
Ron Paul

Of the 5, four of them do vote the exact same way.
Paul is the exception, which is why he gets my vote.

You are honestly awesome. Way to keep focus on the things that matter.

I don't think this comment is "honestly awesome" and I don't think it focuses on the things that matter. The non-Paul candidates don't all vote the same way.

- Obama voted against telecom immunity (illegal wiretapping). McCain voted for it. Hillary abstained.

- McCain voted against a bill banning "harsh interrogation techniques", waterboarding among them. Hillary and Obama abstained.

- Back in 2003: Hillary and McCain voted for the Iraq war, Obama voted against it.

- McCain opposes abortion rights except when the mother's life is in danger; Hillary and Obama both support full abortion rights.

Please don't use sweeping generalizations to attack other candidates. Don't say Hillary, Obama, and McCain always vote the same way, or at least regarding "things that matter". Which things matter, is subject to personal opinion.

Don't turn this into another thread about "Why Ron Paul is so great".

I hate what the modern "community service" movement has done to volunteering. It used to be that people volunteered because they wanted to help others, especially those at a disadvantage.

Many people are still willing to do this. You'll often find people with this mindset to the political left--those who champion universal health care, fairer education systems, and reasonable taxes.

I'm not sure what you mean by the modern community service movement...if you're in college now, you can't be that old. Perhaps you're comparing your own generation to your parents'? Be careful--people often see there childhood through rose-tinted spectacles.

Nowadays people seem to think that we have to give rewards, perks, and benefits in order to seduce people into volunteering. It undermines the whole point of volunteering in the first place, which used to be giving help to others and asking nothing in return.

You're forgetting, that young people today have more responsability.

They have to pay (in some cases exhorbant) fees for university.

They have to know numerous computer skills.

They have to worry about issues like terrorism, a huge national debt, a coming recession, and the rise of the religious right.

People often quote "With great power comes great responsability", but a better phrase would perhaps be:

"With great responsability comes a need for great power and control."

I'm talking about power and control in each person's own life--if you have to work harder to secure a living, then you need to be able to put in the time to develop the skills.

This means that people have less time to volunteer for (what they will see as) pointless, trivial activities. Why work at a carwash, when you could spend that time preparing for your biology exam?

That said...I think most young people are still willing to help. I see kids today holding open doors for adults, escorting old people down stairways, and giving money to poor people.

I am a college student myself, and I pay for it by working as I go to school.
Anyone with a determined mindset that is willing to put in the time can pay for their school by working, and doing so does not put further strain on the massive federal budget.

This isn't true for everyone.

Back when I attended university (several years ago), the Ontario government deregulated the fees for computer science. This meant that institutions were free to raise fees as high as they liked.

A response to the Dot-com crash, this gave the CS departments the funds they needed. Unfortunately, it meant students entering those fields were saddled with fees twice as high as the average student--over $10 000 dollars per school year.

Student loans were a must, in this case. I myself worked every summer in university (at a very well paying job), and still couldn't make enough to cover my tuition.

Also, I benefitted from having a friend working at that company. I probably wouldn't have gotten such a well-paying job, otherwise.

As for working during the school year...

That would have been impossible. I couldn't find enough time to do everything without a job--let alone with one. Imagine the workloads people in pre-Med School degrees had to put up with!

Others on this forum have said that, if they could do it all again, they would choose to not work during school. It's not worth the time it takes away from your studies, in my opinion.