Entitlement Society?? Really?

Lately there has been a lot of talk about how we have become an entitlement society. The statistics would suggest that out of all the working age adults, over half, somewhere around 51 or 52%, are receiving some sort of government help or entitlement. Most of the time when I have heard any discussion on the subject it has come from those on the right side of the aisle suggesting that the source of all our ills and problems in this country come from those who receive so called entitlements because most of them do not pay any income taxes.

I am taking this somewhat personal because I am one of those people who don’t pay any income taxes. I receive VA benefits which are non-taxable and get my health care through the VA system. Does that make me a leech on society? Yesterday I had a good day; I was able to do some painting, the day before I could hardly move. Today I am dealing with muscle spasms, making this writing difficult. This is my reality, some days are good, and many days are not. But because I am not paying any income tax some famous people, who make millions of dollars spouting their opinions, have the right to judge me or anyone else?

I have written emails to various news anchors, mostly leaning to the right, about what they consider to be an entitlement and apparently, while they can “bloviate” well, they can’t really give an answer. In all fairness they probably receive many emails in the course of a day and to answer them all would be impossible. Only one responded after I had explained my own position, with a simple “God bless you.” That was someone from Glen Becks show. Otherwise there hasn’t been nary a boo from them.

I don’t want anyone to take this the wrong way ,because it’s true that there are many who have taken advantage of the system to get money that they don’t really deserve, but who are these people to make judgment calls on those of us who receive some sort of so called entitlements? In fact my question to you and to them is what exactly determines what is an entitlement? And is taking many of us off the solution to balancing the budget?

I am generally a conservative libertarian when it comes to my own political views. I believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Live and let live is my philosophy, but I guess I can’t just sit around and be quiet when it seems that the poor are the ones under attack by those who pay 40K for a dinner with a politician.

Here is where I think that the real problem lies. The federal government. It is the biggest entitlement society ever created by modern man. They have the best of insurance coverage; you won’t see any of them switching to Obama care, for them and their families, all paid for by your taxes. The have more paid vacation days than anyone that I have ever heard of in the private sector, again all paid by your taxes, and even after they leave office they are paid and still receive medical coverage all on your dime. I’m not even talking about the staffs and their families or all the various government departments and all their benefits. If you were to cut back their pay to a stipend and shut down all the useless departments as well as all the redundant offices. If you were to stop all the federal funding for all the pork barrel projects out there and if you were to end the wars and stop the funding for them, then you would be able to balance the budget.

You are never going to be able to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, and increasing the taxes on the middle class and even the rich isn’t going to help any. The tax brackets they are talking about raising will only pay for about 8 days’ worth of government that’s it. The problem isn’t the rich; the problem isn’t the poor or the middle class. It’s not those of us who receive benefits. It’s a federal government that refuses to acknowledge that the problem is with them. They won’t stop the wars, they won’t stop the pork barrel spending and they certainly aren’t going to give up their perks or entitlements. So the solution is that they be forced to cut all their “entitlements” and benefits then perhaps we can discuss the rest. That’s just my Simple Minded solution.

Affordable Care Act, My Humble Opinion

Last Thursday ,as most of you know by now, The supreme court ,led by Chief Justice Roberts, ruled that the” Affordable Care Act” otherwise known as Obama care, was not in violation of the Constitution because it was considered a tax and that there was no restriction on the Federal government to raise  taxes as they see fit. These are not my words these are the words of Judge Roberts. Since that time the Obama administration has being trying to suggest that it is not a tax but rather a penalty if you don’t have it. Those on the left have rejoiced over it and have suggested it is now the time of making the rich pay their fair share and it’s the end of corporate welfare. The right is saying that this indeed does violate the constitution in that it gives to the Federal government powers that it was never intended to have and that not only is a tax on the people but that there are numerous taxes in amongst all this as well. Many people are under the impression that somehow this is going to be free to them and that they are finally going to get quality care, while still others predict rationing and low quality run by a bunch of political hacks that will care more for your money than your health. I have read about and talked to some who own small businesses and they don’t see any way that they are going to hire anyone because it’s going to cost them too much with the mandates and then I have heard that anyone with less than 50 employees will be exempt. I have heard that large corporations are finally going to be pushed into paying for quality insurance at the same time hearing that many of those big corporations have already been approved to be exempt.

What a mess. The real problem that I see, for the moment, is that most people have not read any of it , never mind all of it, and they , for the most part, go with whatever sound bite fits the description that suits them the most and then declare that these talking points is what it’s all about.

I am personally against any government mandate that tells me that I have to by a product or a service that I don’t need or want or be taxed for it because I don’t want it. I want less government in my personal life, not more. I also take issue that the federal government can now tax me, according to Roberts, in  any way  that they want or force me to buy a product or service that I don’t want as long as the penalty for not having it is considered a tax, this idea being based  again on Judge Roberts having asserted that there is nothing restricting the government from taxing us on any grounds. Having expressed that opinion I have been informed that I must not care about poor and sick people that have no insurance. I have also been informed that this is where the rich start to pay their fair share and therefore, by definition, I am for the rich not paying their fair share. If that’s what you’re thinking then you are missing the point.

Let’s speak of the last part first. What do you consider to be “rich”? What is the bench mark amount of money that you can make to be considered rich? It seems to me that it’s a matter of a point of view. I know that I don’t fit into that category and frankly I don’t know anyone personally that does. If then you are talking about people who are billionaires or millionaires, this bill is not designed to affect them. They are not going to be hit with fines and taxes because they likely already have good quality insurance and, I might add, congress is exempt from this law and many of the larger corporations have already received exemptions. Do you really think that some of the richest people in America, those in congress, backed by big corporations, are going to pass a bill that will negatively affect them and their bottom line? This will do little to them. Some of the smaller corporations, if they are forced into it, which there are still many companies that will be, will simply either pay the fine, lay people off or not hire to make up for the extra costs and if they don’t do any of that you can still bet on the price of their products to go up as a result. This is simple economic math, if it costs more to produce, it will cost more to the customer. So in the end it will not be the rich who pay for it, it will be their employees and you and I in higher costs of everything.

To the first point, that somehow I don’t care about the poor and sick that do not have any health care, I have several friends who are in tough shape, physically speaking, and I haven’t been well either for the past 10 years, so it’s a little strange for anyone to suggest that I don’t care. My family and I use the VA system, my wife and children uses Champ VA and I use the VA its self for medical. Do you know why we use this? Not because it’s a good program but because I can’t afford to buy regular insurance. So I get it. I really do. Someone recently suggested to me that this law would put in place a restriction on how much premiums would cost yet I read this morning that insurance premiums have gone up over 7% during the past year and the prediction is that it is going to go higher. Where is that restriction? What is really going to stop them for continuously raising the prices? If I can’t afford it now, how am I or anyone else in our position going to pay for it later? Forcing me to buy it isn’t going to make the money magically appear. I am not at the poverty level anymore, though I am well below that 400% limit, and so it can be argued that at least I qualify for a discounted rate ,if not free, but is it right for you to be taxed higher to cover my care? It would be one thing if you voluntarily did it but to force people to pay for it is morally and ethically wrong.

One of the things that I have continuously heard in this debate is how the poor don’t have access to health care. This is a bit of a puzzle for me. As many of you know, I have lived in many different places in the country and one of the things that I noticed was that in most communities there are health clinics and hospitals that offer reduced rates for low income families. Probably the best example I can remember is when my family and I live in Pascoag RI. Their unemployment rate was so high, and still is as far as I know, that local businesses started a fund for a clinic, both medical and dental, so that those who were unemployed or had no insurance could get the care that they need. It worked well. We used it. This should be the model for the country, not adding taxes or more financial burdens to people.

You see my biggest problem with this is the idea that once again we have opted out of taking care of one another for another government intrusion program. It used to be that communities took care of each other. Communities used to come together to help those in need in their own towns and neighborhoods and doctors still made house calls thus negating hospitals unless it was beyond their ability to heal. In my humble opinion, sometimes the old ways are the better ways.

The bottom line is simply this: First the rich aren’t going to be the ones truly hurt by the economics of funding this, we are. Second this is little more than a overreaching of the federal government into areas of our lives that the founders of the Constitution never intended. They understood tyranny; they understood that it was proper and right to limit the federal government, which is why they wrote the Declaration of Independence with such precise wording, as well as the Constitution, to make it very clear that the federal government has severe limits on what it does. They perhaps could not have envisioned what we are today as a nation, but they understood clearly, and history bears them out, that when a central government  takes control of everything you end with either tyranny or bloodshed and most times both.

Disagree with me if you like; call me a fool if you wish.  Truly I hope I can look back at this 10 years from now and laugh at my own ignorance and concern but I don’t think that’s going to be the case but then again that’s just me being Simple Minded.