I didn't respond to his post, because, well, our relationship is strained already for various reasons (as you can guess, I'm suspicious that my view on certain things are part of it). My first reaction to seeing him post this was anger. Why?
1) I'm paying on a parent-student loan of over $30k for 1 year of college which he goofed off and then quit after. He has not offered to help pay this at all.
2) Right after my divorce from my ex-husband (my son's legal father), my son moved friends into my home. At this time my son was 20/21 years old! Neither he nor his friends paid me a single cent in rent or toward utilities. The whole while, he was bringing home nearly $1000/month. At the time, between mortgage, utilities (which were high for that house), and my bills, I was struggling. Instead of helping, he and his friends would complain when I had to make cut backs like turning the thermostat up in the summer. During this time, he and his friends also would keep my home a total mess, and would not help with yard work. I sold the house and got an apartment on my own...forcing my son to get his own place. This didn't help on the strain of our relationship.
You can see why I didn't respond to him! Once my anger subsided a bit, and I read this again, I started to develop a new reaction, which I will go into details here.
1. Free Tuition - No, people are not asking for FREE tuition...they want affordable tuition! People want a level playing field so that someone coming from a low income family can also have the opportunity at an education to better themselves...thus, allowing them to break the cycle of poverty and have a chance at a good job, without being buckled down by thousands upon thousands of dollars in student loan debt (or their parents).
2. Free Healthcare - Again, people want AFFORDABLE healthcare!! We live in a time where pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and healthcare providers are allowed to arbitrarily set their prices without justification. Many cannot afford the medications they need. Insurance companies continue to raise rates leaving folks to take lesser coverage just to afford insurance (in many cases, people are paying for policies they cannot use, because their deductibles are so high). Medical costs are rising out of control. What the people want is for government to start putting some regulations in place so that these providers and such are required to justify their pricing!
3. Free Abortions - People do not want free abortions. What people want is their CHOICE protected!
4. Free Housing - This is another one of those that all the people are asking for is affordability...NOT free! Housing costs continue to rise, while incomes are not. Where I live, the average rent on a 2-bedroom place is $1400/month. When you consider a family still needs to pay for utilities, food, INSURANCE, etc., it is easy to see that your average low to lower middle income family cannot afford this price! Instead of affordable housing, more and more expensive condos and luxury apartments are built. To be able to afford a $1400/month place, the first $5.83 of the households' hourly income goes to rent. Current minimum wage is $7.25! In order to be able to afford all the other necessities, minimum wage needs to be at least twice what it is...and that is simply to afford the BARE necessities!
So, no...people do not want free this and that. And to correct...
Life (to be healthy enough to work and take care of your family)
Liberty (to have to right to make your own choices)
Pursuit of Happiness (have the opportunities to reach your goals, rather than everyone wanting to put up walls to stop you)