jopperm2 wrote:Some of those things may be nice, but they are all achievable without being forced into it by the government.
Can I ask how? I think the issue of "charities" and such has already been addressed elsewhere, in a different thread. I know I offered one example of a major health care provider here in Texas who suddenly abandoned the 40 facilities they operated, and filed for bankruptcy while they were at it. The consequence: hundreds of elderly, disabled, and mentally retarded persons were left in the wind, with no place to stay. Every one of those persons were relocated, thanks to the trustee program in place that existed for just that contingency. However, whom do you think paid the bill for this? Who housed them in the meantime, provided for their care, and saw that they were relocated appropriately? No "charitable" organizations paid one cent of the bill, nor provided any assistance. The state of Texas had to pay over 6 million dollars to handle this emergency.
That just about depleted the trust fund set aside for these emergencies. The trust fund now has approximately 6.2 million dollars....and there are over 30 other providers, each of whom operate 40 + nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Texas, all teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. The agency I work for keeps track of their court cases...I know, since I keep files on every one of them for my boss (I swim in legal papers daily). At any time, another could go belly up. Or two. Or even three of them in a row. What then? And by the way, this isn't a problem that only Texas faces...it's nationwide. Oklahoma, New York, Ohio, Kansas, Massachusetts, California...those are just some of the other states who, like us here in Texas, are racing to figure out what to do before it's too late.
The bottom line is they want to tell you how to spend your money. As it stands now, I have no retirement. I get little vacation, I've been broke before, homeless even, but those are my options. Well, the broke part was not something I chose, but it was my fault. Also, I wouldn't trust a federal employee to watch my daughter if I had to. No disrespect to feds out there, but I don't leave her with my own mother.
I think business in America would love to tell you how to spend your money. They do already. Everyone has ideas on how you should spend your money. That's what this country has become...money. Making money measures one's worth. Basically, as it stands now, only the well-off can afford decent healthcare. If anyone cares to disagree, how about going into a hospital emergency room for something and try paying for it out of pocket. Or...so you have a job, huh? Make too much to qualify for medical assistance (as in, you make money at all), but not enough to afford insurance privately (the rates are outrageous, despite the $99 a month they advertise...look at the fine print)? You're out there, bud. I know, because I was out there for many years. An emergency root canal at a dentist can run you an easy $2000. They want it all in full, too.
providing for everybody what's best for all.
This is not true. More like taking money from people with it to give to people like me without it.
The economic striations in this country have been widening since the 80s. There are a growing class of people who can barely stay afloat, and it has nothing to do with abilities, opportunities, or lack of desire to work. It has everything to do with the fact that jobs are hard to come by, and even when you land one, keeping it is even harder. Layoffs are the watchword these days. Downsizing. Outsourcing. Lower paying jobs once offered health insurance to employees who made it through their probationary period. Now, you won't find that...or if you do, the premiums are so ungodly, they are unaffordable. Oh, but it all works out when you work two or three jobs, right?
If you can find another job to work on the side, that is. And if you have kids, you stick 'em in daycare, and so both parents work just to afford to pay the bills, and have insurance for their kids (forget themselves, many parents can only afford state-assisted insurance for their children, and go without any). You mention not trusting the feds to watch your kids...so, you're going to trust someone who is paid minimum wage to watch them instead? Someone who quite often doesn't even have a high school education? Have you actually looked into the child care business closely, my friend? They usually don't run background checks on employees...and the stories I have heard, and stats I have looked at, are frightening.
So the way things are going, then, is the way it ought to be. Pretty soon, you won't even be able to afford to pay attention in a doctor's office, much less pay for the physical you'll need at least once a year after you pass 40. That is, unless you don't care about being eaten up by prostate cancer.
I agree with fable: the "me" attitude is just fine when it's not
you, or someone very close to your heart. When one finds themselves suddenly wearing the shoes, it all changes. Here's the way I look at it: there are millions of people out there wearing the shoes right now. I might not be wearing them right now myself, but all it takes is a heartbeat, and less than one second of time, and I could be wearing them.
@fable: Well said.
But the quote is telling.
