Gulo,
You said it all: "I don't mind paying, say, 10% of my income to support the less fortunate. I do mind paying more than half, especially since 95% of my life was spent in the 'less fortunate' category and I sure didn't get my share of government spending!"
See, that's the problem. The "entitlement system" is geared towards those who know how to "play the system" for all it's worth--the "career entitlement crowd," if you will. It's also designed to attract the leeches, not the people who experienced a temporary setback and are just looking to get back on their feet.
I'm sure I'm like most Americans who, at one point in my life, had some financial setbacks. My solution was to take 2 extra jobs until I got back on my feet. Sure, working 90-100 hours per week wasn't the glamorous solution (I came from an upper-middle class family), but it got the job done. When I was back on my feet, I felt like I was a better, tougher person because of it. Unfortunately, many people in that same situation feel it is the government's job to bail them out.
While I dealt with my setbacks by taking it upon myself to bail myself out, I'd have no problem with the government temporarily helping those who are trying to get back on their feet. The problem is, 99% of all entitlement programs are designed to get and keep the entitlees on the government's tit, in perpetuum. People on the government's tit are likely to vote Democrat, because the Democrats cater to them by campaigning with, "those nasty Republicans want to take your tit away...WE, on the other hand, want to keep your tit alive and well forever...so who are you going to vote for?" The Democrats worst nightmare is for these entitlees to get off the tit and make something of themselves without government assistance, because as soon as that happens, these former entitlees begin to think independently and figure, "ya know, things weren't so hot living off of entitlements, I feel much better about myself because I rely on myself now--I don't need the government to make something of myself." So the Demos preach the mantra of "you CAN'T, so don't bother trying..." and "it's YOU vs. the rich guys, and YOU can't win..." "You can't"...certainly not the mantra America was built on. Because if the entitlees ever got off the tit and realized how much better they felt about themselves for making their own future, the Demos couldn't count on their vote.
Case in point on the "career entitlees" mastering the system...today I went to the grocery store. Here in Louisiana, they replaced traditional food stamps with a credit card-like "Louisiana Purchase" card. It was designed to curb the entitlees from selling their food stamps for drugs or cash...my understanding was that the only thing you could do with this card was to buy food at the grocery store. Well, today I'm in line at the store, and the woman in front of me whips out a Louisiana Purchase card (a.k.a. food stamps), the cashier runs it through the scanner, and hands her what must've been at least $200 in cash. Obviously, the entitlee had figured out how the system works and how to convert her "food subsidy" aimed at feeding her kids into cash that was probably going for drugs or alcohol. Her Louisiana Purchase food stamps card had effectively been turned into an ATM card. And heaven forbid this woman was getting a job in the near future or voting anything but Democrat in the next election. My blood was boiling.
That is also why Clinton is banging so hard on this prescription drug for seniors deal. The one hard-and-clean fact about entitlements is that you can NEVER take them away from senior citizens. It is political suicide to even suggest it. With the Social Security system so overburdened as it is (at the expense of younger workers), it amazes me that seniors would even push for this...even more surprising is that their generation was known for self-sacrifices (growing up during the Depression, WWII, etc.) it amazes me more that they'd expect it...then again, after 8 years of Bubba preaching to them, they probably figure "screw this self-independence sh*t, if it benefits me at the expense of my grandchildren, who cares--it's all about the bottom line, right?" Pretty sad ending for the greatest generation of Americans.
Again, I am all for the gov't giving a helping hand to those who are trying to better themselves. If someone wants to get back on their feet, I would be all for the gov't giving them free health care for (say) 6 months (until their job benefits kicked in), free temporary child care, transportation to and from work, etc. But that's not the way most entitlements are set up. Most entitlement programs are set up to aid low-lifes who are perennial government tit-suckers and penalize you if you should ever (heaven forbid) want to get off of Uncle Sam's tit. Such as the woman who figured out how to transform her food stamps into an ATM card today...I see stuff like that and I just want to spit on the bleeding hearts.
Gary |
