I often wonder what the turning point was. What event or milestone happened which started this country on this entitlement mentality? Rather than working our way to goals and successes on our own, so many people today believe they are owed something from someone. Whether it’s the government or an employer or parents, too many people today look for a handout. This mentality has made its way into the court system where a judge has just ruled that the divorced parents of a 21-year-old woman must pay the woman’s college tuition.
Can we break through this entitlement mentality? It seems to be a permanent part of today’s youth. Recall the case of Rachel Canning, a New Jersey high school student who moved out of her parents’ home, but then sued them for payment of your private schools fees. The judge denied the request calling it a “potentially slippery slope” of “claims by teenagers against their parents.”
[Judge] Bogaard sounded skeptical of some of the claims in the lawsuit, saying it could lead to teens “thumbing their noses” at their parents, leaving home and then asking for financial support.
“Are we going to open the gates for 12-year-olds to sue for an Xbox? For 13-year-olds to sue for an iPhone?” he asked. “We should be mindful of a potentially slippery slope.”
Now, we have another case, but this time, the outcome is very different. As reported in The Daily Mail, a judge “has ordered divorced parents to pay more than $16,000 toward their 21-year-old daughter’s college tuition – even though she hasn’t spoken to them for two years.”
Caitlyn Ricci from Cherry Hills, New Jersey, sued her estranged biological parents Maura McGarvey and Michael Ricci for her fees at Temple University in Philadelphia and won.
The decision handed down by a Camden County judge meant they had a deadline of midnight on Thursday to complete the payment.
However the pair insists they are not handing over any money and are planning to appeal.
This story has “reality show” written all over it. The “rebellious teen” left home two years ago to live with her grandparents. The grandparents are now paying her legal bills as Ricci sues their son!
Here’s a report from ABC 6 News in Philadelphia:
These reports raise a number of questions. First, if this is actually the law in New Jersey… that parents are legally bound to pay for college… then something is seriously wrong with that state. When do adults become adults! Are parents then supposed to pay for their “child’s” first apartment? First car? First house? Entitlement, entitlement, entitlement! It’s exactly laws like this and rulings from this judge that empower other kids and young adults to take this kind of action.
Just like Obamacare allows “children” up to 26 years old to stay on their parents insurance, now we have “children” who are suing for free college.
If legislators truly want to do something that will help society and help get this country going in the right direction, they can start by getting rid of laws that do nothing to make adults more self sufficient. The more we coddle and treat adults as children, the longer they will act like children… and the more they will demand… just like any child would, whether the child is 8 or 28.
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