Somebody Pinch Me.... Am I Just Dreaming This??
First... Brown Wins Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat (why Ted kept getting re-elected is BEYOND me, but this is truly an awesome event & the timing couldn't be better).
THEN Jim Webb states this:
In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our ( Read more... )
I dislike highly the "ugly American" and the way we have portrayed ourselves to the world. I grieve over our "better than thou" attitudes and implying (or sometimes outright saying) that American lives are more important than other people's in other countries. That view, honestly, is abhorable to me... as a Christian & as a human being.
Now... down the nitty-gritty. I think you and i want the same things, but in drastically different ways. I have always (and always will) given to the poor and to causes that support others. I have always (and will always) been supportive of private charity and the way that works. I am not (and probably never will be) okay with the GOVERNMENT being a "charity" (b/c in reality that is much of what the social programs have become). It goes outside of everything our country was founded upon for the Government to "redistribute wealth" and to be involved in so much of our everyday lives.
I do think there are problems in the health-care system. The problem I see is WAY TOO MUCH regulation. The regulations are there to "keep people safe", but what they end up doing is limiting medical care. Many people die of simple infections because they do not have access to penicillin. Why in the WORLD is penicillin not available more readily? Because you have to see a doctor to determine what YOU put in YOUR body. So, if you're too poor to see a doctor? You die from an infection that could have been completely cured by penicillin.
The reasons why some of these regulations are in place comes directly from the Doctor's special interest groups. They support regulation b/c it causes less competition. I don't know about you, but being seen by SOMEONE who has knowledge of SOME practice of medicine is better than seeing no one and having no medical care. Plus, i think that we should take more responsibility over our own care. Do more research regarding our own issues. It should be more about personal responsibility and less about being "taken care of". Yes, there will ALWAYS be those in society (for whatever reason) that are actually unable to care for themselves. But that number should be MUCH smaller than it currently is.
This is a long and labored topic... one that both I and my husband have discussed at length. But i truly believe that most of the things you advocating here are better suited to the private industry. And that they would be better handled and managed there. The federal government has the biggest overhead for a charity that i have ever seen... and when push comes to shove private and local charities know better what the people NEED and which people have needs. They are selective and do not give hand-outs to those who just 'don't want to work' or 'find ways around the system'. I have personally seen SO MANY people abusing the system... SO MANY who I pay for with my own tax dollars that are absolutely able to work, but choose not to. I'm quite fed up with it, actually. It's just pure laziness (in at least some cases) and it's completely ridiculous that I am forced to help support these people.
And here's the complete and honest truth: If I were taxed less? I would give more of my $$ to relief funds and charities. I already do contribute a large amount (and actually conservatives are much more likely than liberals to give to charities, btw)and would love to be able to do so more openly. Traditionally the less taxes there are the more giving people are in general. So, taxing more to promote "social programs" doesn't really fix the problem, it just changes it from a people choosing to give to forcing people to contribute. I would much rather have a choice and the ability to research the charities i give to. I feel this is a much more responsible way to help those in need. Unfortunately the government is preventing much of that "choice" by taking so much of my/our income for their own "projects" with huge overheads and (at times) things that i completely do not agree with or want to be part of... (continued below)
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