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It's funny listening to the latest Right wing talking point about how badly the War on Poverty has gone, and that's the reason we need to abandon it. At the end of the day, these are the same people that cut funding to public schools so they can afford to build a $1B prison complex (*Pennsylvania*).
Nothing epitomizes the chasm between our two major US political ideologies more than these two "failed" -- in the sense that you can't win a war against human behaviors -- wars.
If the War on Poverty is a failure, then so is the War on Drugs.
Conservatives complain about the billions spent, but poverty's still here. Well... we've spent billions to fight drugs, and drugs are still here. Outside of that small sect of Libertarians, where are the Conservatives suggesting we end the War on Drugs?
And that gets to the point about what motivates Conservatives: inflicting punishment. I don't know if there's a perverse joy they get from watching others get punished, or if they truly believe the only way to help someone is to break them first. Regardless of what guides that motivation, the end result is the same. If a solution doesn't involve hurting someone for their mistake, then it's not a solution they want to hear.
You can apply that mindset to practically every major position that Conservatives today hold.
You got pregnant by accident? No abortions! Carrying around that extra weight for 9 months will learn ya.
You've got a hungry family at home and not enough money to feed them? Cut food stamp benefits! That rumble in your belly will motivate you to get a second job.
Your kid broke their arm b/c no one was home to watch them? No insurance for you! That crook in their forearm will motivate you to somehow get a better job.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there is some sort of sympathy in the Conservative dogma that doesn't boil down to "I'm doing this for your own good." I doubt it, but then again, I'm not as fully immersed in that echo chamber.
What always gets me are those who claim to follow Jesus that go out of their way to do away with help for those most in need. Matthew 25:40 "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Being a boy from the hood, I've seen some of the ruinous effects of the "war on poverty." Housing projects had a disastrous effect on the neighborhoods surrounding them. So have section 8 housing vouchers. So that's my problem with it.
It's funny listening to the latest Right wing talking point about how badly the War on Poverty has gone, and that's the reason we need to abandon it. At the end of the day, these are the same people that cut funding to public schools so they can afford to build a $1B prison complex (*Pennsylvania*).
Nothing epitomizes the chasm between our two major US political ideologies more than these two "failed" -- in the sense that you can't win a war against human behaviors -- wars.
If the War on Poverty is a failure, then so is the War on Drugs.
Conservatives complain about the billions spent, but poverty's still here. Well... we've spent billions to fight drugs, and drugs are still here. Outside of that small sect of Libertarians, where are the Conservatives suggesting we end the War on Drugs?
And that gets to the point about what motivates Conservatives: inflicting punishment. I don't know if there's a perverse joy they get from watching others get punished, or if they truly believe the only way to help someone is to break them first. Regardless of what guides that motivation, the end result is the same. If a solution doesn't involve hurting someone for their mistake, then it's not a solution they want to hear.
You can apply that mindset to practically every major position that Conservatives today hold.
You got pregnant by accident? No abortions! Carrying around that extra weight for 9 months will learn ya.
You've got a hungry family at home and not enough money to feed them? Cut food stamp benefits! That rumble in your belly will motivate you to get a second job.
Your kid broke their arm b/c no one was home to watch them? No insurance for you! That crook in their forearm will motivate you to somehow get a better job.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there is some sort of sympathy in the Conservative dogma that doesn't boil down to "I'm doing this for your own good." I doubt it, but then again, I'm not as fully immersed in that echo chamber.
Democrats are enablers to keep poor people on the dole and keep them poor.
YOU'VE JUST NOTICED that our ivory-tower Big Government mouthpieces ALWAYS do exactly the same things when in power, no matter how enthusiastically they gave speeches that made you think they cared about you and other little guys.
Remember, the only difference between a superstar Hollywood movie actor and a Washington politician, is that the actor has a soul and CARES that hundreds of millions of Americans are being robbed of the their most basic freedoms, and even the ability to work and be productive.
But with this much money in power at stake, how could it be otherwise? Can you think of a better way to make sure the upper class continues to hold all the cards, ensuring that there is ZERO chance of anything getting better for anyone but our current Gods of Wealth and Privilege?
Neither the war on poverty nor the war on drugs has any demonstrable benefit to society.
Forcibly taking money from the productive in order to subsidize the non-productive is a failing strategy, as poverty is not something that can be beaten by wealth redistribution. It is, however, a wonderful way to ensure that we will always have a minimum percentage of people who live off the largesse of the government.
Similarly, the war on drugs is a wasted effort. It's easier to obtain illegal drugs now than it was 20 years ago, and it was easier 20 years ago than it was 20 years before that. The war on drugs merely artificially inflates drug prices, which encourages more people to enter the drug trade in order to make a profit. When a plant that can be grown by anyone who is capable of growing orchids or violets sells for $100 an ounce, merely due to the fact that it is illegal, there's a problem.
Nothing epitomizes the chasm between our two major US political ideologies more than these two "failed" -- in the sense that you can't win a war against human behaviors -- wars.
If the War on Poverty is a failure, then so is the War on Drugs.
Conservatives complain about the billions spent, but poverty's still here. Well... we've spent billions to fight drugs, and drugs are still here. Outside of that small sect of Libertarians, where are the Conservatives suggesting we end the War on Drugs?
Actually there is no chasm. Dems also support the war on drugs. Obama doesn't even agree with legalizing weed. Obama is a warondrugs monger.
We should end all wars including the war on drugs and the war on poverty. They are useless. Actually, less than useless.
What always gets me are those who claim to follow Jesus that go out of their way to do away with help for those most in need. Matthew 25:40 "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
You have it exactly backwards. Followers of Jesus give their OWN money to help the poor and needy. It's the atheists who want to give OTHER PEOPLE's MONEY to the poor. It requires no empathy at all to take money from one person and give it to another.
Now show me where the Bible says you should take your neighbor's money and give it to somebody else.
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