Your story presents the clear dichotomy: there is one group that thinks of the human capital that is the American people as a CAPEX (an investment that feeds and fuels our future), and there's another group that thinks of the American people as OPEX (every dollar spent is a waste, they should be slashed as much as possible).
I too am a product of such investment: my mother grew up on government subsidies (it was the reason she had food to eat for much of her youth). I got two degrees from UT for free (paid for by scholarships courtesy of the people of Texas). I now pay a metric shit ton in taxes, I help fuel our economic engine in quite a few different ways, I give my time and money to others in pretty copious amounts, etc. The State of Texas has gotten a massive return on its investment. Data shows that the investment almost always yields significant benefit within a generation of said investment.
It's not just decent and compassionate. IT'S GOOD AND SMART BUSINESS. PEOPLE WHO TREAT THEIR FELLOW AMERICANS AS A COST CENTER, NOT AN ASSET TO BE INVESTED IN, ARE VERY, VERY BAD, NO GOOD, AND STUPID AT BUSINESS.
Desert dweller: I don't know why people need umbrellas. I've never needed one even once in my life.
London resident: