on Obamacare, justice, and the public good

[marta_bee]

I've been following the debate over health care mandates, freedom of conscience, and religious exemptions pretty closely. It's really very interesting and (for me at least) very personal.

For those of you who aren't American or, you know, have lives to live that don't involve watching the news, the new health care bill basically requires everyone to

Comments

[roh_wyn]

I think that middle- and upper-class people are generally overpaid, meaning that we should give up our money to fill the actual needs of the poor. I see this as a moral duty, and I don't think I should get to say how that money is actually used. I agree with you in principle (i.e. that public assistance should not have provisos attached to it), but I'm hankering for a debate, so I'll throw this out there just for argument's sake

[marta_bee]

Excellent question, Roh. (And thanks for reading!) You're right about the upper/middle/lower class distinctions, btw; I mainly used them to try to get across the fact that I wasn't going after just the "one percent" here

[dreamflower02]

I definitely agree with you on this.

Strangely enough, there are a lot of vocal people in the highest strata of financial status who also agree. Warren Buffet comes to mind (though he's not the only one), when he flat out states that he is not taxed enough-- he is WILLING to pay more in taxes.

And there are those who say "Well, fine for him, but *I* don't want to pay more, let him donate to charity!"

He does, a lot. But as you say, charities almost always have strings, and they don't have the same obligations as the gov't does. And they do not have the same scope, either.

The inequities are staggering, really. And yet certain groups can't see the writing on the wall. Heaven help us if we get a conservative president next fall.