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I WAS a single mother many years ago. Working full time, going to school in the evenings and volunteering as a Cub Scout leader on top of that. Don't tell me how tough it is now. Back in the day, if you were working, you were ineligible for any type of assistance, except free school lunches for the kids.
I do no disservice to anyone. You can't alter facts, and what I see on a daily basis M-F. And what difference does it make who I voted for? Gee, did I touch a nerve??
As another poster said, when someone points out their personal observations with abuse of the welfare system, people make all kinds of assumptions about them. "You're not a single mother, what would you know?" "Your assertions about welfare abuse are wrong". And people wonder why Trump got elected.
Well said. I am absolutely convinced that Americans are really no different than people in other developed countries. When we look at the resistance against taking away cherished social programs, it is abundantly clear. The only reason we still dont have universal healthcare and tuition free public colleges is the enormous power of the ruling donor class, their control of the media and the political system. Big money in politics is destroying the will of the people.
It seems to me most of the media are always pushing socialized medicine and free college, so I really don't know what you're talking about.
Because we are a Republic, not a Socialist State. We value Liberty and Freedom. And don't give me, "but Jesus ..." Jesus taught charity, not socialism. Charity is voluntary. Social programs are by force.
Jesus said......Render unto Ceaser what is Ceaser's when he was asked about taxes.
The "I got mine" attitude is prevalent up and down the socioeconomic ladder. Do you think the people having multiple kids out of wedlock and living off welfare, subsidized housing, and free medical care think about the actual people who are paying for it? Most do not.
If we’re going to have a war, let’s do it right....A virtuous war would be one that rewards society’s honest earners and productive contributors, while punishing society’s predators, pirates, and parasites—all without regard to anyone’s income level. It is a target-rich environment that includes anyone (of any income level) who is cheating to win, any business or union (of any size) with its snout in the public trough, any politician filling that trough and feeding those snouts for reciprocal gain, and any group using the political system (at any level) to maintain its monopoly, or its winning “edge” against less-well-connected competitors.
I have a lot of family living in Norway. It is pretty socialized. They are guaranteed healthcare, education up to and beyond college, there are no homeless, there are not people living in substandard housing, etc. There is a wide social net and taxation is high. My family members all have or are retired from regular jobs - office workers, one is a medical social worker, one managed a gym, a few engineers, carpenter, etc. But they all have nice homes, good cars, they travel regularly, and many have second homes (cottages out on a lake.) Of course, Norway is a smaller country than the US, so there are differences, but when I look at the comfortable, secure lifestyles of my family there, I wonder about people who think that a degree of socialism is so bad. I think it can be taken too far (I understand that Greece is an example) but it doesn't seem reasonable that many in the US are so afraid of even a whiff of social community.
The thing is, Norway was, until recently (and in many ways still is) a small, homogenous country with widely shared social norms and values. The U.S. has never been anything like that from its inception.
As far as corruption goes, isn't it obvious that the U.S. is more like Greece than Norway? I mean, how much more blatant does it have to get before we start admitting it? The problem we have in America is the people are complacent and they won't believe we could end up like Greece until after it happens. Then they'll be rioting in the streets.
Actually, with the amount we spend, we shouldn't have to pay a dime more than we're already paying. We spend 2X as much on health care as a percent of GDP as many other developed countries. The real solution has very little to do with spending more money. It turns out the world's healthiest and longest lived populations don't actually use that much health care!
I've argued that many times. There is a reason we do not do that. Wall Street. It is not the poor driving this but rather Wall Street.
The vote to allow people to buy less expensive drugs out of Canada was not defeated by the poor but rather by Wall Street. The wars are only benefiting Wall Street.
If we stopped the welfare programs for Wall Street far fewer would be needed for the poor.
You're one of those "taxes are theft" "Force me at gunpoint" type of people. You guys are a tiny minority in America. You basically are calling for a communist revolution in America. Because the type of policies you are advocating for are so brutal for the sick, the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the poor children, the jobless and the destitute that it will lead to mass revolts and a police state. Only unhinged people fail to see this.
I don't agree with you, but it's ironic that you say the "taxes are theft" folks advocate policies that would turn us into a police state. We are already headed in that direction. Yet people like you don't see it--or blame it all on the conservatives.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 05-21-2017 at 04:19 AM..
This whole pay for social programs vs. pay for wars comment is a false choice. I don't want to pay for either one of them!!!
You are going to one way or the other anyway. You live in a society. There are ramifications to that which are there whether you like it or not. We are not simply going to die in the streets because a lack of health care. If you don't want to help feed people then they are simply going to take it.
You live on less than you make, preferably a lot less. That may mean riding a bike instead of having a car. It may mean renting a room instead of having your own apartment. Skipping the expensive cell phone for the good enough one. Working a 2nd job or side gig in addition to the one you have. Using birth control religiously if one is sexually active but isn't able to support a child, etc., etc.
Real life bub. I live 20 miles from where I work. Move? We live three blocks from where my wife works. No, riding a bike is not a solution. Living on a lot less than you make? No, for someone just starting out, even a room today may take a large portion of what they make.
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