A willingness to assist others less fortunate than ourselves is a foundation of civilization, and a key differentiator between mankind and the animal kingdom. Oops, sorry. That was political.
Well, people are always worried sick about those helmetless riders costing them money, while they ignore all the drug addicts, teen pregos, welfare queens, etc. I'm sick of THOSE people. All the Gubment does is figure out ways to give them more money. I just heard the Gubment wants to set up a fund to bail all the people that are getting forclosed because they (of course) bought houses they couldn't afford. I think I need ot quit working and get on the gravy train.
The ONLY socialize system I am in favor of is SCHIP. BUT- there needs to be a standard to live by. The Family must make NO more than $40k combined to qualify for Childrens Health Assistance and the system should not be FREE. You should have to pay a minimum premium and Co-pays. When I was poorer (than now) my daughter was in the PeachCare system in GA. I paid $99 a year and $10 Co-pays. I got the service until my income raise back up to a level where I could afford private coverage again and cancelled the State policy. They help long enough for my family to find more income and better (than the state) coverage. No abuse of the system. I asked for nothing free. I paid in, they supplied a service and I dropped out as soon as I could (2 yrs). You don't pay taxes to be taken care of by the Gov't. You pay them to run the Gov't. Do I think food stamps, SCHIP and other welfare programs work? Yes and No- It could work better if we didn't live in a society that abuses the very system. Umemployment, Food Stamps and other programs should have a six month window. After that you should have to re-apply for the aide. If you make it make it harder to stay in the system less people will abuse it.
I need a few bucks for this month's mortgage for the house I couldn't afford, and a few more for the kids I had out of wedlock. Oh yeah, maybe throw in a few more for some drug treatments I need. One other thing. I will need the same from you every month. I'm sure you will be happy to assist. Sometimes even the animals are correct. ;-)
No one? Surely you don't mean that not a single person has been put into positions of need by forces outside of there control. What about the people who lost everything in disasters like Katrina? Hard working homeowners who all of a sudden had no home, no job, and a family to take care of. What about the middle class family where mom stays home to take care of the kids (only 2) so has no "career" and her husband all of a sudden dies? Now she has no income and a family to take of, all by herself. I won't even suggest that he died of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident because he wasn't wearing a helmet...
Natural Disater is not an excuse for "sponging" tax payer money. More waist happend with that (Katrina) than any other disaster (9-11 included) in US history. As for the family referrence: If Dad (or Mom) is a dumb ass, uneducated or will only work a part time job- it is all still no excuse for abuse. You always have a fall-back plan. The system should only be there for temporary help. That's it. It's not my job or anyone elses to make sure tax payer money helps people for extended amounts of time. Katrina victims should have bucked up and started over. They whined instead. If this same Hurricane happened in the '30s people would have picked up and moved on. We (compassionate people) decided to let our gov't throw millions of tax-payer monies at this situation and it was abused. Do Floridians do this- not on that scale (ask Kenneth Moore, he's from there). Step-up, help yourself or loose out. That cut and dry. Sorry this all sounds so mean but after 10yrs (before my insurance career) of being a bail bondsman and bounty hunter (no- it's not like DOG) you take no on compassion for the truly inept. I had to deal with ignorance for too long in that job. We're surrounded by the un/under-educated (thank gov't schools) and they think we owe them- SCREW THEM. Make your own way or get out of the way.
...the next thing we know you'll be recommending that people who actually work for a living actually deserve a better life than people who won't. Then where would we be? How would that army of otherwise unemployable bureaucrats survive without large masses of losers?
I already do, every time I pay taxes. And I don't have a problem with that, because I'd prefer not to live in a nation filled with poverty, disease, and dispair.
You are right. You'd rather live in a nation filled with the lazy, inept, and wasteful. One will surely lead to the other. More takers every day and no amount of money thrown at the problem will fix that.
I agree that people shouldn't be on the taxpayers' teet for long periods of time. But why shouldn't the government and citizenry help those who have fallen become contributing members of society again? This isn't the 30's, and why should we have to live like it is? Just because our ancestors were able to live in caves, hunt, forage and live without On Demand doesn't mean we should now.
So as long as a small percentage of your taxes go to the undeserving, you can sleep well at night. How about I opt out and you pay my share too. You seem like a really nice guy, and I think you are up to the task. Since I worked in a Gov organization for 17 years, I know exactly how much of your tax money is wasted. I guess since you don't know, it doesn't bother you. I suppose until the tax bill gets high enough, or the undeserving come in ever greater numbers (and they are) only then will it bother you. Of course, by then, it will be waaaaay to late to stop the train. Lets keep the handouts rolling along until we all go broke. Third World is alot closer then you think.
I worked for two government organizations, NASA at KSC/Cape Canaveral. (contractor) and the local School Board. Yes, there's a lot of waste, especially in the DOD sector. Does that mean government is useless? I think not.
Why Should We! Marx said "From each according to their abilities to each according to their needs" para-phrased, of course. In the 30's the Feds created dependency when they created the welfare state. It's decades later and it's worse now than then. Social programs hurt people because many (not all) are too lazy or unmotivated to take care of themselves. Our Imperial Federal Gov't WILL become the Socialist United States when the Dems take control of the Presidency. Our (Union run) Educational systems DEPEND on ignorance and they keep our kids "dull" to keep them from asking questions. Welfare scum vote for those that sign the checks because they don't want to "Live Free" and Dems want Illegal Aliens (no pc intended) to vote because they- Dems- figure that's just more votes for them. Our system of gov't is broken and no one has the balls to fix it. Patch here, patch there- nevermind the ship is still sinking....
And therein lies the difference. I think the vast majority of people are better off today than at any time in America's history. You said it yourself: you got motivated and you were able to build a terrific life for yourself! Did you know people were starving to death in the 30's when Roosevelt started the New Deal?
I have a feeling if you play it right, it works just fine. I know at least 3 people I grew up with that never had a job in their life, but somehow always had plenty of food, housing, and money to smoke cigs and get drunk every night. I'm seriously thinking of trying it. When I look at my TOTAL tax bill, I'd say I'm not keeping all that much that I'm working for anyway. Africa would do just fine if tightwads like you would pay more money so we could subsidize their living standards. All they need is more money, right? :wink:
That is the whole point of Capitalism. There are winners and losers. Today, we all have to pay for the losers. It won't work forever. The losers are going to outnumber the payers by the thousands. So when the well runs dry, what then?
Yes- are there more or less people starving now? The New Deal was born from the depression but that's not what got us out of the Depression. It was WWII that got us out. Our ability to manufacture war items helped make people make money. My Grandfather was an auto industry executive with FORD back in the late 20's early 30's. When the war came to America he started his own supply company for the US Gov't to supply them with tank and airplane cast parts. He became very rich in a period that was not. He did not rely on the NEW DEAL to bail him out. He got educated and learned from Henry Ford how to make a busniess work. It's our own fault we are in this situation. Those that think our elective system is rigged don't vote (which consist of nearly half the country). Those that do vote keep the same slags in office no matter the performance. If they were heads of Industry they'd be fired for their performance. Just something to chew on.
