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Comment by g_z_m | Hacker News Reader

I'm just curious since I'd be on the total opposite side of this argument. What makes you so vehemently against family helping their sons/daughters along the way? I come from a culture where this is fairly standard practice in families. What is so evil or disgusting about it?

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Because in the US we have a market economy. Taking family assistance when others do not have it, distorts the market and also distorts the very concept of merit based rewards. Which is the fundamental device of the economic system in the US. I cannot speak for other economic systems.

How about all the non immediately monetary advantages? Neighbourhoods, schools, contacts, free time, travel, emotional support. All affect your market value as well. Did you feel safe while growing up? Did you live at home during college? That's not fair either and will have an effect on your earning. There's a ton of variables there, and you're trying to draw a hard line on a very fuzzy subject.

Because it's an easy line to draw. Don't take the money. Problem solved. The other things you listed do not have such a simple solution.

So if my much-suffering parents leave me some money upon their deaths I shouldn't take it, and that in some way makes me equal to the kid who went to the ivy league school and had a job with a major firm due to father's contacts but took no money? Problem clearly not solved. I can see zero reasons, moral or otherwise, to not take my parents money.

I feel like you don't have a really clear understanding of how our economic system works. If you want equality, capitalism is not exactly the best way to get it.

Maybe it is the US system that needs fixing, and not the culture.

Higher capital gains tax, gift tax and social welfare for things that loans are being taken out for (education, medical emergencies) might help.

A family can benefit from it's collective merit by having a parent take care of a child.

You not taking your family's money only hurt you and did absolutely nothing for anyone else. It didn't make anything more "fair".

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