Source: Obama: ‘America, our problems can be solved’ | The Ticket – Yahoo! News. “I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I never have. You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over a decade.”
It seems that many in this country think that all problems can be solved in a four-year presidential cycle. Of course life just doesn’t work that way. As noted above it took as decades to get into the troubles we are now digging out of. Years of Republican mantra of deregulation caused the near collapse of our financial sector. That mammoth problem can’t be corrected quickly.
“All they have to offer is the same prescriptions they’ve had for the last thirty years: Have a surplus? Try a tax cut. Deficit too high? Try another. Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!”
As usual President Obama’s acceptance speech was uplifting. He knows just the right words to use get his feelings across. But to me the most significant thing about the speech was the difference between the Republican reaction to these time and the Democratic. The Republican convention last week seemed focused on who to blame for all our current problems and they blamed almost everyone except themselves.
- It is the lazy welfare recipients who are gobbling up things they didn’t earn.
- It is those immigrants who are in our schools costing us a fortune.
- It is the liberal administration now in power
- It is the homosexuals who are causing the downfall of the traditional family
- It is this, it is that…..
The Republican response to our current problems is to blame everyone. Mr. Obama put forward a different approach. He cites the strength of our citizens as the answer and not the problem. He showed us that this is not the first problem that we have had as a country and it certainly won’t be the last one. Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan seem to think that the only citizens who can do anything about our problems are the super-rich. If only we give them another tax break then it will trickle down through the economy and create jobs. As Ayn Rand, their hero, points out if only we can keep “those” people away for our riches we will have more for ourselves.
Something happened in the 1980s that caused corporations to no longer think of their employees as assets but to think of them as liabilities. Employees are something to be downsized in order to create a bigger profit. That is the current business mode and that is the basic philosophy of the current Republican leadership. The Democrats showed us this week that it is our citizens who are the primary asset of this country and if we just give them a level playing field prosperity can come to all of us once again.
So to me this election comes down to one basic question. Are our citizens assets or liabilities? It seems as simple as that.
RJ's Corner 
You don’t think that welfare hurts us?
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Welcome David. I’m not sure what you mean by “hurts us”. If you mean that we don’t need to help a family who is battling cancer with no health insurance then the answer is no. Does it hurt us to give some temporary relief to our citizens who have fallen on hard times then the answer is no. If you mean welfare dollars are better spent elsewhere then the answer is no.
Yes, welfare is a significant part of our expenses as a nation but it is just the cost of being a nation of compassion for our fellow citizens. Yes, there are welfare abuses that need to be ruthlessly rung out of the system but welfare itself is a noble thing. It is about being your brother’s keeper as our Christian Bible teaches us.
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The Bible does NOT teach the government should have a welfare program. I am sorry but welfare is an unneccessary expense that far to often gets abused by lazy people who do not want to work for their money.
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No David the Bible does not teach it is the government’s job it teaches that it is the Christian’s job. But since we fail so miserable at it (we meet less than 3% of the need) it then falls back onto the government to provide for the general welfare. I guess since you say it is an unnecessary expense your solution to those who fall on hard times is for them to just go off somewhere to die. Where in the Bible does it teach that?
Tell me David does compassion for those less fortunate than you mean anything to you or is this just a “survival of the fittest” world in your mind?
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I agree that the church isn’t doing all it should. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean the government steps in to fill the void. It is not a constitutional function of the government. This is socialism. Not a direction we want to go.
President Obama is perhaps the most unqualified and poorly executed president in the history of the United States. Let’s get somebody in there who actually knows what they are doing because he has proven time and time again, he does not.
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Empathy and altruism is socialism to you. That is a very hard-hearted worldview you have there my friend.
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No, feeling sorry for them is not socialism. The welfare system is.
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So feeling some sorrow for them and then doing nothing is your worldview?
You are a very hard-hearted person my friend. I don’t know if you are a Christian but if you are I can give you scores of Jesus’ words that directly contradict your attitudes towards your fellow human beings. I pray that someday you might gain at least a small dose of empathy for those who have a harder life than you.
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No, you are misunderstanding me. I never said I do not give. In fact, I give a lot to charities, and donate food and other necessities, if I see someone on the side of the road I always offer to buy them a meal. Jesus commanded us to be giving. Government giving is not us giving, do not mistake that. That is being forced to give which is not a Christian principle at all. So before you get self-righteous let’s be clear that I am talking about government welfare. People should give out of desire, not because they are forced to.
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So what are the 97% of people who Christians don’t give to supposed to do? Please answer that question….
It would be absolutely great if we Christians totally met the needs for the least of these but that will not happen at least in my lifetime or probably anyone else living on this earth. If we Christians totally met the needs of the poor I’m absolutely sure government would gladly step out of the way.
I could also argue the “promote the general welfare” clause as making having a safety net constitutional. Obviously there are very very few constitutional scholars who would say welfare is unconstitutional. But I suspect that means little to you. I’m sure you, if you are a Tea Party guy as I think you are, believe “provide for the common defense” is constitutional so why not the part immediately after that?
But I would really like to have an answer to the first question here above all else.
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This is very interesting conversation. I’m curious RJ, if the church can’t solve the poverty problem since the beginning of time (Adam & Eve), and realistically, no government really has been able to wipe out hunger and the poor either, what makes you think this American government can? The bible said we will always have the poor and sick. It can not be irradicated.
Let’s look at the current city of Chicago….trillions of dollars have been poured in to that city and it is worse now than it ever was. Some days murder tallies up in the 20’s. People are still poor and hungry, strung out on drugs and crime. I am confused and I don’t understand why you think a government that can’t even run a simple Post Office should help the poor? Perhaps since people think the government is taking care of the poor they stop giving? Is it a Catch 22?
Why do Christians have to take care of the poor? What about the Jews and Muslims? What do they do? And define ‘giving to the poor’? Does it only have to be in money? What about a kind act? A prayer? A helping hand?
As for Obama’s speech last night, have you read any of the reviews? Apparently it didn’t go over quite as well as we had hoped. Plus the jobs numbers came out today and 368,000 people have given up.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-07/weak-jobs-report-shows-obamas-long-road-ahead
What about these people who have given up? Who’s at fault here? Obama is the president. He raised the debt limit by 6 trillion dollars to give out UI, Food stamps and social justice and people are still going hungry and entering into poverty levels. So, I am just so confused. How and why do you think this failing government is the only answer?
I’m not a Republican. I am not part of the Tea party and last I looked I wasn’t a terrorist. I’m just a regular gal, a quite confused one at that, looking for an answer.
What are the 97% of Christians (and I hope other religions) supposed to do to help the poor? Our duty is to help out those that we can. Marlo Thomas and her father Danny Thomas comes to mind (St. Jude’s Hospital) plus Bill & Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, Donald Trump and the Ronald McDonald House (a free home for cancer children and their families as they endure cancer treatments, sponsored by McDonalds) You know, rich people????? The ones who build hospitals, help cure cancer and help develop drugs, etc. etc. Or the rock stars? The endless concerts. The Farm Aid. Bangledesh. Bono has done some fine, fine work regarding World Hunger in Africa, thanks to George Bush AND private donations.
Thinking that a government can solely end world hunger has been a fantasy for decades. Think LBJ. Lynden Baines Johnson couldn’t change the poverty rates in America. And it destroyed him. Why not accept the fact that we will always have the poor and the clueless and stop calling your readers (who don’t agree with you) derogatory names?
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Welcome Alicia. I would be glad to enter into some discussions with you on this topic. You have made many assumptions in your comment that are grossly exaggerated so yes I would like to address them one-by-one. As is the case with most of these type discussions it seems that one person gives a litany of arguments for her position and then the other person answers with a litany of arguments supporting his position. The two comments simply fly by each other with nothing resolved and that is a waste of time for everyone.
If you are really interested in listening to an opposing viewpoint as I am (and I hope you are) then we must keep the discussion in a point/counterpoint type mode. That is you address one issue and I would answer that particular thing and then maybe bring up one issue to further the discussion. If the original question is not answered to the questioner’s satisfaction then the discussion is put on hold until it is.
I think for the discussion about whether the State should be in the welfare business hinges on the answer to this question:
QUESTION: “Is it acceptable for us to allow citizens of the U.S. to die before their time because they can’t get enough to eat, or a place to sleep, or adequate healthcare?”
If you would care to give me a direct answer to this question then I will gladly talk about other issues surrounding this particular topic.
I also welcome David or anyone else to join us. But if the words become too abusive or disrespect is shown that will cease that person’s privileges. Since I own the blog I will be the arbiter of that decision but I will only conservatively use it 🙂
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This quote from Obama was the one that stood out for me:
“No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. They should retire with the care and the dignity they have earned. Yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we’ll do it by reducing the cost of health care, not by asking seniors to pay thousands of dollars more. And we will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it, not by turning it over to Wall Street”.
I do feel at the mercy of insurance companies, don’t you? My husband could be called an insurance junky…we have plenty already! We have gone back and forth over the need for long term care insurance. I am not in favor of it yet. It seems like such a risky product for us and such a gravy boat for insurance companies. To pay all those thousands of dollars for 20 to 30 years on (top of regular health insurance payments) only to be dropped in the later years if we die without using it or couldn’t keep up payments towards the end. No refunds of course. All that money lost for nothing. It’s been a few years since we talked with agents about the plans and maybe they’ve improved the products they offer, I don’t know. I just remember the pressure of the sales pitch and cringe. I think that Obamacare originally included a national plan but it was lost in the battle.
Sorry, I diverged from the topic of the post a bit. But, I would be interested in your opinion on long term care insurance…maybe another post?
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Insurance just neesd to be re-worked alltogether.
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Jane, I am with you in that I wish President Obama had managed to get a single payer system much like the rest of the world has. That would have greatly reduced our out of control medical costs and eliminated the need for the vast insurance bureaucracy that controls who get care and who doesn’t.
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Question #1: “Is it acceptable for us to allow citizens of the U.S. to die before their time because they can’t get enough to eat, or a place to sleep, or adequate healthcare?”
Answer: My father came to America from fascist Italy in 1929, at the age of 16, in the middle of The Great Depression. He was later abandoned here in America, by his own parents (they returned to Italy and left him with an uncle). My father did not have an education, was an artist/tradesman, and did not speak English. He told me he learned to speak english from reading the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal. He lived in a NY City tenement that had no heat and he would urinate in a bowl he kept under his bed. He did not get any government assistance, health care or food stamps or hand outs of any kind. He worked in factories till eventually he became a manager of a manufacturing plant in New York. My dad also sent money back home to his parents in Italy, as well as his sister.
In the 1940’s, my father came up with an idea that if the steel parts he was manufacturing were redone in plastic, rather than steel (it was in the optical field) it would open up a new world for both him and the world. In the 1940’s because glass lenses had to follow a steel mold, by re-manufacturing the part in plastic, more styles of eyeglasses could be introduced. Remember, back in the 1940’s there were only 2 or 3 different types of eyeglass styles.
It was also around this time that my dad came up with this invention, he met and later married my mom, a business graduate from NYU. Between her business brains and my dads business brawn, they launched a business that after 17 years of hard work (my mom often slept on the factory floor because she wouldn’t leave my dad all alone) they finally made it big and became multi-millionaires AND revolutionized the optical industry.
My dad was very strict about debt. We couldn’t have student loans or car loans. All 3 of his children worked in his factory. There was no heat in the winter and air conditioning wasn’t even invented.
My brother went on to become an eye surgeon. He attended Georgetown. My sister and I became opticians. None of us took out student loans. We paid for our own educations. My dad said it was a disgrace to ever take out government assistance or ever ask for any help of any kind. We paid for our own fine medical insurances. I don’t remember ever a time we didn’t have enough to eat. Italians are very resourceful when it comes to a bowl of spaghetti. We always had a place to sleep, yet I know my dad didn’t always nor did he always have enough food growing up as a child. Yet, later on in his life, thanks in part to my brother, my dad had open heart surgery and lived till 92. My mom, however, died at a young age due to esophical cancer. We often thought it was due to the plastic fumes from the factory, yet dad and all of us are/were fine.
All my dad ever expected from America was the chance and the opportunity to make something of himself and his family. He knew living back in Fascist Italy he had no hope and no dreams. So, I really don’t know where you and all your ilk get the preposterous notions that America owes anything to any immigrant who comes to this country looking for a better life???? Where is it written anywhere that immigrants who come here die before their time because they starve to death or don’t get adequate healthcare????Here in New York, if you are sick ALL hospitals will properly treat you and cure you for free. So, WTF are you talking about????
As it stands under Obamacare for me, I am getting less health coverage and must now pay more. So, I go to the doctors less often now than I did 3 years ago. If anyone is going to die before their time, it is me! Under Obama my husband has gotten less work, less work means less money, less money means I can buy less food so yes, we are starting to eat poorly. If my father or mother were alive today and see how America has turned in to the Fascist country my dad escaped from, they would be turning over in their grave.
My husband has been out of work since 2011 and because we are self-employed can not claim unemployment insurance despite paying into the system for decades. We’ve had to draw money out of our savings in order to afford the basics which caused me to apply for food stamps. (our savings are dwindling) It took NY 3 months to get back to me and by then, I remembered my dad’s words and turned it down! No government assistance!
I am following in my mom’s footsteps because now I have been diagnosed with esophical problems but I am trying to delay the inevitable because with my new Obama HDHP, my out of pocket costs will be $6000 per year plus the $3258 health care insurance costs. 3 years ago I had excellent health care insurance and only had to pay the $3258 for coverage. Now, I have a deductible. Now, I have shi*. The Republicans warned us of the death squads, and here they are. Also, I have now been informed by my health care provider, because I am over the age of 60, I can only get my annual physicals every 3 years instead of every year. So, next time I can get a physical medical care exam, I’ll be under Medicare. My brother has told me that fewer and fewer doctors now accept Medicare because of Obama’s reduced reimbursements.
If this is the America you want under Obama, you can have it! It’s awful. Perhaps it’s a good thing I am over 60 because in all honesty, death is looking better and better to me. The America I grew up in, together with my wonderful parents is gone, gone, gone. I feel sorry for my kids and grandchildren (who oftentimes work 12 hour days in order to pay their bills). Facism, socialism, marxism, whatever it is you are rooting for, is horrific. I feel even sorrier for my parents. What was all their hard work for? If they were in business today, Obama would be destroying them. My brother had to give up his medical practice because he couldn’t make it on the insurance reimbursements. That’s one great doctor, who used to restore eyesight to those who were once blind, gone forever from America.
OK…….next question……..
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Alicia, thanks for the very extended history of your family but not so much for more rants against President Obama. Your extended biography does allow me to know you better and I thank you for that but it does not answer my simple question. Your answer should start with a simple “yes” or “no” followed by a short explanation of why we should or shouldn’t allow people to unnecessarily die in this country.
As I said in the previous comment if we hope to really communicate with each other we have to eliminate all the canned rhetoric that naturally flows from us. So I am calling a time out and will wait for your answer to the question…
PS.. While I am waiting for you answer I will let you know that while I have only been on Medicare for a year my wife has had numerous surgeries with Medicare for seven years now. During that time we have never been denied care by any doctor we have gone to. That is one of the advantages of a single-payer healthcare system that you will soon be enjoying.
I pray that God gives you some peace in your life.
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RJ, the answer is NO it’s not acceptable because it’s NOT happening! I thought that my answer would have been self-explanatory from my life story. I’m a Democrat from the John F. Kennedy era. The era where we asked not what our country can do for us, but what can we do for our country. The Democrats in power today are Progressive Liberals (which Hillary Clinton stated she is). So, sadly today, I am no longer a registered Democrat. Independent is what I am now. I vote for whomever I feel is right (or left) for the political position AND will do a good job.
My mom was president of an organization that helped in the immigration of Italians into this country. It is a private non-profit, still in existence today and based solely on private donations NOT the government. The organization arranges everything for the immigrant, including shelter, healthcare, employment etc. etc. So again, NO, I do not think the government should be responsible. It’s people helping other people. that works.
Did I now answer your question correctly?
Next question?
BTW, because NYC gives out free health care to mostly immigrants, two top-notch Hospitals (St. Vincent’s to name one) closed permanently due to claiming bankruptcy. They simply ran out of money. It’s now quite difficult to get any kind of health care in NYC, especially lower Manhattan where most immigrants congregate. FYI.
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Alicia, thanks for the answer. I am glad to hear that you think it is unacceptable to just let people die when they have needs they can not meet at a given time. No, I am not saying that this condition exists today to any degree (but it does happen even today). But if we eliminate welfare/medicaid and other government programs it will likely be the case in years ahead. Without these programs what are people to do when they fall on hard times? Are they supposed to make the rounds of local churches to see if anyone can help? You say that doctors are filing for bankruptcy because government payments are too low. What happens when there are no payments?
From your extended words here you seem to think that the government should just get out of the people caring business and leave it to others. But who are the others?
NEXT QUESTION” If we take the government out of welfare/medicaid/medicare business who will come in to fill those needs?
As I’m sure you know our government presently spends enormous amounts for these programs; who has the resources to take their place?
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RJ, your question was “Is it acceptable for us to allow citizens of the U.S. to die before their time because they can’t get enough to eat, or a place to sleep, or adequate healthcare?” Your answer, as well as mine is that this condition does NOT exist ” No, I am not saying that this condition exists today to any degree.” You are supposing that it will exists sometime in the near or future? You are pre-supposing that America is like Haiti is today? Or India or Bangledesh or some other impoverished nation?. America isn’t. So, the question is moot. Americans are not dying before their time, unless they are on government assistance. Ever look at those people who rely solely on help from the government? Most are overweight, have bad teeth, eat very poorly yet most of them have cell phones, drive cars and have big screen TV’s. Again, from my own experience, when I worked as a volunteer for my local church, one Thanksgiving I was part of the driving party that brought Thanksgiving dinners to our so-called poor folks. Every single one of them had a big screen TV, smoked cigarettes and lived in rent-controlled/subsidized government housing. Yet, I don’t have a big TV screen nor can I afford my own cell phone. I share my husbands. I see a system that isn’t working. Not a system that needs more money to make it work. Less money, for sure. Yes, I know how much our current admin is paying towards these programs and as I have said, just look at Chicago. Here’s a city that had thousands in government aid and I haven’t seen much improvement over the years. It’s worse now than it has ever been.
NEXT QUESTION” If we take the government out of welfare/medicaid/medicare business who will come in to fill those needs?
How about the people themselves will help fill their own needs? That’s why I described my father’s history. He did it for himself. And passed it down to his own children. Why do you think people are lame idiots? Why do you not give credit to the creativity and resourcefullness of human beings???? My answer is people will come to their own assistance (if they can still even remember how to survive, but then again one of the most successful reality shows on TV is ‘Survivor’. Duh.). Medicare is a system whereby working people have paid in to it through payroll taxes, same as businesses and corporations via taxes and thus those over the age of 65 receive, even if they never held a job. As far as welfare and medicaid, I can only come to a conclusion from what I have seen in this regard. I have not seen any improvements in the quality of someone’s life who is on welfare or medicaid. And I’m talking about from the late 1950’s to today. I have not known one single successful individual who has benefited from these programs. I was born and raised in New York City and have gone to school and community college in Manhattan so I grew up with many unfortunate people. I was hated because my parents were perceived as ‘rich’ yet I knew otherwise. I grew up seeing how hard work paid off. Taking a hand out from the government only brought on more misery. Why this country has taken the path onto more entitlements perplexes me. Perhaps you can answer a question for me now……..explain to me why you think more government assistance is the answer? I personally, just don’t get it? Why do you support social justice? Haven’t we learned anything from history that these systems of socialism, fascism don’t work? I remember taking SOC 101 in college in the late 1970’s and our professor spewing a new world economy. He lectured about a new ‘gray race’. Well, the liberals got their wish, because it’s here now. But, just the way I couldn’t understand it in the 1970’s I still can’t understand it now.
Enlighten me.
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Alicia, thanks again for your comments although they cover much more than the question at hand I will try to summarize what you seem to be saying and then respond to as many as I can. If I am wrong about anything then please correct me.
1 **people should not rely on others but should just take care of themselves. The ones that can’t are just too lazy to do it. **
2 **Everyone who is on welfare has big screen TVs and cell phones so they must be just gaming the system. They are all just lazy overweight smokers with smelly breaths. **
3 ** No one has ever been helped by welfare or medicaid. Not one single person **
4 **Medicare is a bad system because some people who are on it did not pay into it **
5 ** Why can RJ support social justice? It is fascist. **
6 ** People will just have to learn to survive without help from others **
7 ** I see a system that isn’t working. Just look at Chicago, they have thousands in government aid and no improvements over the years **
YOUR QUESTION: “Explain to me why more government assistance is the answer?”
My Comments:
You have quite a worldview there. I don’t know about NYC. I did live in NJ for some years and visited there frequently but was not involved in the day-to-day lives. But I do know the Midwest. I have been volunteering two days a week at a local soup kitchen for almost ten years now and the vast majority of those who come are not “lazy overweight smokers with smelly breaths”.
Observation 1 and 2 Response: Yes, I am sure that there are some people on welfare who are just too lazy but from my personal exposure to perhaps thousands of people who have received assistance from government I rarely find that to be the case. Most have been just people who have fallen on hard times and need a little help. I will give you specific examples in the next response.
Observation 3 Response: I find it hard to believe that even you truly think that not a single person has ever been helped by welfare. You made this statement as a general observation but I will give you a few of hundreds of specific examples I could cite.
Beth — Beth is about 70 years of age (I’m guessing as I have never asked her). She worked as a waitress in a local restaurant for about 30 years but her arthritis is now so bad that she just can’t stand for any length of time. Since she spent her working life in a minimum wage job she managed to save very little and what she did save went to some emergency care costs over the years due to not having health insurance. Her social security from a minimum wage lifetime is barely enough to pay for her one room apartment and utilities. She depends on food stamps to get her food but even that runs out about half way through the month so we see her often at the soup kitchen. She always brings us something to pay for the meal. Often it is a magazine article or a recipe. If the government quit giving her food stamps she would be in dire straits. She like my wife and I has no family for support.
MIke — Mike was a hard working guy in the lumber industry but an accident on the job caused him to lose an arm. Workmen’s compensation paid many of his expenses until they decided he was well. Then they were dropped. With limited mobility Mike worked at various part time jobs (I hired him several times to help with some yard work). He managed to survive in his country shack with drafty windows no air conditioning, no phone or TV. Mike managed to get some help from the goverment but now that he has been diagonsed with liver cancer he is struggling to survive. He thought he would have to just give it up but he finally managed to get on Medicaid to pay for some of his bills.
Mark – Mark’s father hooked him and his brother on meth when he was ten years old. To support his habit he started burglarizing homes and was caught and sent to jail. After he was released with $200 and put on the streets and ended up living there for several months. He was determined to stay off meth but it was always around him. He finally managed to find his way to the mission and soup kitchen. Since he now has a felony on his work resume he his not having any luck finding a job. With some help from the mission he has found subsidized housing and has managed to stay off meth. If he were still on the streets he would surely be hooked again and probably back to jail by now.
Jimmy – I’m not sure if this is his real name as it has been some time since I have seen him. Jimmy was an alcoholic and managed to totally estrange himself for everyone around him. He finally hit rock bottom and ended up at the mission. Every month that went by Jimmy proudly announced that he has been sober for one more month. Since no one is allow to stay at the mission for long durations (we just don’t have the room with the ever increasing need) the social services found him a subsized apartment to live in until he found employment. About six months later he got a pretty good job filing records with a large medical group about a mile from the mission. Jimmy has been working there for about four years now and has remained sober the whole time He gave up his small apartment and now proudly lives in a “regular” place
Carl: – I don’t know a lot about Carl other than he is homeless and mentally challenged. I think he lives in an abandoned build down the road from the shelter. Every time he comes in I always ask him if he is staying out of trouble and he asks the same of me (ha). Carl seems to constantly be beaten up and could use some help with his life but refuses to get it. Some day they will likely find him dead.
So here are four examples of people who are being or could be helped by welfare. None of them have big TVs or fancy cell phones although Carl does smell from time to time.
Observation 4 and 5 Responses: Yes some people are on social security that have probably never paid into the system. I know of one young man whose father died when he was six year old and social security is paying part of his college expenses. But to condemn a system simply because some people might get something they haven’t earn is like throwing the baby out with the bath water.
I don’t deem social justice as some how fascist. i can’t understand how you make between the two. You say you go to church so I assume you read the Bible. Surely you see all the examples where Jesus did things for the poor. Of course the “least of these” verses are the primary examples of that but there are thousands of others if you just look for them. Jesus was big on social justice and I don’t think he was a fascist.
Observation 6 Response: Yes surviving without the help of others is certainly a very noble goal. I try to live by it myself. But if we remove the safety net from our society and for whatever reason they just can’t survive on their own then what do we as a society do? You admitted that we can’t simply let them die but I see that at a possibility.
Observation 7 Response: This is the second or third time you have mentioned Chicago as an example of a poorly run social org. I would be interested in what specific info you have on that particular city. It seems that living in NYC you would have plenty of better sources. It is that President Obama is from there the reason you cite it so often?
Response to your Question: I do not say that “more” government assistance is the answer. I never have. I am saying that we just can’t drop the safety net from our society without severe consequences. From your own personal experiences you have discovered how rigid and inefficient the system is. I do believe that there are vast opportunities to improve the system to make sure our tax dollars are spent well. and also more friendly. But to just throw everything out because it has some problems is totally inhuman to me.
Some final thoughts: I hope some of these words will strike your heart and attitudes toward the safety net that is under each of us if we need it. I find it striking that my world seems bigger than yours. I know my worldview is. I come from a town of a few thousand and see so much need being met by by government programs. You live in a city of millions and can find none? I would humbly suggest that you get out and look at others in your community. Maybe volunteer as a local free clinic. I’m sure the people there are not just catering to fat smelly smoking lazy people. They see the need and are giving their time to human beings who are caught up with some troubles in their lives. Yes there are some gaming the system but to say it is all of them is totally wrong.
I will not ask you a question for now but will wait for your response. If you care to know more about anything above I will gladly expand my responses but this one is by far the longest response to a comment I have ever given. But I think you are worth it…..
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R.J,
the above alicia is not alicia – the above alicia is Morrison. Crazy Morrison, formerly of All Doors Considered, now of My Life In Focus. She just finished terrorizing Invisible Mikey over on his blog as well.
Here’s one of her recent blogs, where she cites the same costs she’s just used above: http://mylifeinfocusblog.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/am-i-better-off-now-than-4-years-ago/
My point being that you can’t argue with crazy.
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Thanks William for the info. I know there are people who go around trowling the blogs with their spite. Since she ignores whatever is said and continues her rants and then calls me and idiot and phoney I was ready to kick her off anyway.
Thanks for letting me know just how hardened her heart is. It is sad to see people in this state. Her life seems consumed by her hatred for others.
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Your quotes of mine are all wrong. All you had to do was a simple ‘copy and paste’. This is the main reason why I have not liked liberals in the 70’s and still to this day do not like them. Please show me where I wrote that people who can’t or won’t take care of themselves are lazy, first of all? I can’t even find the word ‘lazy’ in any of my comments. Second, where did I say that people were gaming the system? Third, where did I say those on welfare are fat, overweight smokers with smelly breaths?
I can’t continue this nonsensical nonverbal communication with you, RJ. You’re just a liar and phony and yet I was hopeful that I had met someone who could explain the current Democratic mindset to me. I thought it was you but I was wrong.
I know that the Republicans will not be taking away any of our current safety nets. I know instead they will be making them better. Medicare & Social Security, if not fixed, will run out of money soon and then NO ONE will be getting those benefits. I’d love to have a voucher with Medicare rather than face the dwindling choices I have now! With a Ryan voucher, I could choose my own doctor and medical treatment.
Your sad stories are just that. Stories. In my working life I never earned more than $28K a year. As an optician, computers replaced me and my license is no longer an asset. When I do officially retire, I will collect less than $900 a month in Social Security. Try living on that? But I saved my money over the years. I live debt free thanks to my dad. I never became a drunk when my life got bad. I never smoked a cigarette. I never did hard drugs in college or now and I am a child of the 60’s. I have always lived below my means. I have always saved my money. I arranged my life to be able to exist comfortably on my social security and my savings, when the day comes. I’m still watching TV on a set I saved up for in 1994.
New York City is one of the toughest cities to grow up in. You learn to think quickly on your feet at a very early age in your life. I used to ride the subways every day to school and then to work. I saw the working class folks faces each and every day. It’s a tough place indeed. Going to an inner city community college, I had a lot of friends who lived in the projects. But New York is different. Different because one thing people do in New York which is very different than Chicago (NYC is always being compared to Chicago and that is why I speak about it often. It’s always in the news here) people here in New York hustle. We get a lot of immigrants who come here and the first thing they do is W O R K!. Whether it’s driving a cab, working at a theater, a hotel or restaurant……we work. New York is also a large welfare state with very generous medicare and medicaid benefits. AND New York has a very tough police force and investigators. If you are caught cheating the system, plan on being instantly arrested and put in jail.
I think because NYC is a tourist attraction, jobs are more available. But once you leave the city and head up into the country, poverty is rampant. Hundreds of upstaters were promised by the likes of Hillary Clinton that she would secure at least 250,000 jobs but she never came through on her promises. NY was just a stepping stone for her. How could I support a Democrat who shows how uncaring she is about the little people?
If NY weren’t so strict, we’d look like Chicago. Our police captain and Mayor does the comparison. They’re often quoting the murder rates in other American cities and how much safer NYC is.
Well, too bad I didn’t get my answers. Too bad you misquoted me. I don’t think I will ever see eye to eye with bleeding heart liberals. You made me out to be someone who I am not and that was unfortunate. I was honest and direct. I do not like to be misquoted or have misconstrued, slanted thoughts put forth out of my mouth. Your readers can simply go back to my comments and see that I never said the word lazy or smelly breath. You did that. You must dislike those less fortunate. All my talking points were misconstrued. Typical.
I still volunteer at my church. I also volunteer in an Assisted Living home in association with our local hospital. I guess you figured out that I like to talk and have the gift of gab. I go into the senior center and talk to people. I have quite a few interesting relationships. One lady is 102 years old and we talk about Fanny Brice! I talk with people who are disabled and on welfare. Some are in wheelchairs. I see what they do. I understand how they got here. I don’t judge. I just talk. I talk about happy things. I won’t talk about their problems. I will not talk about depressing things. I tell them that their life is still precious and worthwhile. We talk about our childhoods. I try to get them to talk about happy times. Not all of our lives were miserable. I try to be positive and upbeat.
Tuesday is 9/11 and I’ll be back in NYC. My two daughters were in Manhattan that day when the planes hit the twin towers. One of my daughters had to walk through the wreckage in order for the police to evacuate her out to New Jersey. My husband and I had to drive around all that madness to get to them and get them out of the city.
You have no idea what it is like to say you are a New Yorker and what challenges we must meet. Whenever I travel abroad I do not tell people I am an American. I say I am a New Yorker and they know what that means. I have a very large view of the world. And that is that socialism, marxism, communism doesn’t work. Never did and never will. The only thing that did work was America. We used to be the envy of the world. And now, we want to be like the ones who once envied us? Doesn’t make logical thinking. I hope Americans wake up to their senses, votes appropriately on November 6th and get us out of the mess we mistakenly got ourselves into.
I won’t be coming back here. What for? No decent communication here and that is most unfortunate. Bye.
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Oh, and this just came in over the news wire:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57509202/chicago-teachers-to-go-on-strike/
Apparently the teachers in Chicago demanded a 30% pay raise over 2 years with another 25% over the next two years despite Chicago school budget having a $700 million shortfall. They didn’t get it and will now go on strike Monday morning, stranding 400,000 children. I guess all the media must be targeting Chicago because Obama lived there or something. Or maybe the city s just so out of control, it’s just plain newsworthy. Duh?
And one last thing: when I made my observation over the Thanksgiving holiday as I delivered turkey dinners to our ‘supposed poverty’ neighbors, as I noticed their big screen TV’s, subsidized housing, cigarette smoking I was taken aback by their CHOICES they had made in life. I didn’t think, state nor did I imply they were gaming the system. I just felt they made improper choices and perhaps education was a key.
The recognition of their bad choices is so profound in NYC that our mayor passed laws banning trans fat in all restaurants and fast food joints, calories must be posted for all to see and soon sugary drinks over 16 oz will be banned for sale also. Life is all about choices. We all make choices. Since the mayor thinks most don’t or can’t make proper choices, he has made them for them. Mayor Bloomberg has publically stated that he thinks there are too many fat New Yorkers roaming the streets. Thus, he changed the laws. I guess now you must think Bloomberg thinks they’re gaming the system too? Or he must be biased or something.
Go figure?
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Morrison, alias Alicia, I have now been warned about you and now after all my heartfelt communications with you you call me a liar and a phony. You say my words about you are wrong since all I do is cut and paste what you said? That logic makes no sense to me whatsoever but neither does much of what you write make sense.
It is obvious that you have one very large chip on your shoulder. You need help my friend and it is obvious I can not reach through your hardened heart. Good luck in finding some peace in your life and dispelling your huge hatred load. Yes, this will be your last comment. Move your rants on to the next blog as I hear is your common practice. But thanks for putting attention to my site. I can always use the extra readers….
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R.J., even tho Morrison’s rants were obnoxious your replies were gracious and kind. If nothing else, your rebuttals were very informative and good reading. Thanks for that!
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Thanks Jane. I spent quite a lot of time on the long response hoping to “nudge” Alicia before I found she is a person who goes from site to site spreading her spite. It seems that much of what she says is pure fabrication. I pray that someday she sees the futility of her hatred and turns the corner.
I am glad to hear that some good came from these comments. They were from my heart even thought her’s weren’t.
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RJ, It’s interesting to note that this morning on her My Life In Focus blog, Morrison actually references her “alicia” exchanges with you here, but of course, does so with her usual abusive style. She may likely be back here again under another name, but you can almost always tell it’s her because she rehashes the same old stories. She simply can’t seem to help herself.
I appreciate the effort it took for you to counter her long posts. I hope the rest of your day goes better.
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