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Health Care/Welfare:
Health care is another large issue in this election, and I don't believe anyone has hammered out a perfect fix yet. On one hand, I believe EVERYONE should have insurance. I don't think that someone with a "preexisting condition" should be forced to pay outrageous rates. Coming from a pharmacy background, I've seen that there is rampant abuse of the system on both sides. But I had to go on TennCare when I was pregnant because I was only working part time and going to school. I have been in the position of being unable to get treatment because I don't have insurance between jobs, or have been unable to afford the deductibles to get suitable treatment. I believe I wouldn't have quite the level of chronic pain in my left leg/knee if I had been able to seek appropriate treatment when I did have insurance. At the same time, I saw much abuse of the system by TennCare or Medicaid patients.
The money for health care has to come from somewhere, but perhaps a system of income-based levels would be helpful. I really don't know whether it would work better to make the health care system a government-run program. But it works in other countries, doesn't it? Any comments, furriners on my list? At any rate, I think this is a bigger issue that will take longer than a four-year term to resolve, or the simple solutions the electioneers are suggesting.
As far as people "living off the government," the Republicans are known for wanting to cut welfare programs. I hear frequent "get a job" commands in regards to the homeless, welfare moms, those on disability. Yes, there is abuse. But say you break your back and lose all mobility. Say you have cancer, recover, but no insurance company will accept you because you're high risk. Many homeless people have schizophrenia or other mental disorders. Should someone with Down's syndrome be expected to live alone, find a job, and work his way up? Fact is, some people are incapable of functioning. Some people aren't intelligent enough to provide for themselves or hold down a job. Some have uncontrollable mental disorders or disabilities. Despite capitalism, it is NOT a level playing ground. Hard work will not always get you anywhere you want to go, in part because some people are no longer capable of hard work.
Imagine you grew up in a household with alcoholic, low-income parents, and you were abused as a child. This is not necessarily an unsurmountable obstacle. I know plenty of people that have worked and used their brains and overcome these type of situations. But say in addition to that, you're not the sharpest crayon in the box. Perhaps, after struggling as long as you could through school, you gave up and dropped out of high school with failing grades. You got a job at McDonald's, get pregnant, get ditched by your boyfriend. You don't have a spouse to support you. Your parents may or may not be reliable. You don't have a high school degree, and you don't have the grades to get you in college even if you did, much less the money to pay for it. Add to that a baby on the way. What do you do? It's easy to say you would work and save up and go to school when you're reasonably intelligent. But really, not everyone is cut out to be a brain surgeon or even a CNA. I'm not saying it's impossible to succeed and turn your life around. There are the opportunities, but a lot of people don't have their eyes open to anything but despair. And face it, some people are just too stupid to get anywhere, politically incorrect as that is to say.
What should we do with the people in the situations above? Let them die? Just tell them to get a job and consider our consciences cleared? What if they don't know how? What if they're not capable of even flipping burgers or running a register? What if there are too many physical issues to cope with? For those that are stuck and do have the capability to rise above the situation, we need more publicly funded adult education - life skills, job-hunting skills, whatever it takes to teach people. For those with even greater problems, personalized assistance finding somewhere they could be useful. We need more job training programs, we need a greater, more centralized job listing database. Ok, if you're afraid someone is spending their welfare money on drugs or alchohol, don't give them as much money to spend. Give them a warm place to live, give them food. Give them a counselor to help them get back on their feet.
For those that are judgemental about the poor, keep in mind, it's not a fun lifestyle. Those living on government money aren't living it up at our expense. It's a scary, stressful way to scratch an existence, and I don't think anyone WANTS to be in that place. However, many have no idea how to get out of it. It's the community's responsibility to help them find a place in society and overcome their hardships.
And in my mind, who is taking more from society, the welfare mom getting $10,000 a year and barely staying afloat, or the CEO that is skimming the profits and making millions by denying his workers insurance and competitive wages, and never gives back to his greater community?
Democrats want to make sure no one goes hungry or homeless, and want to help them grow past needing assistance. Republicans want you to fend for yourself, no matter the circumstances. This is why I err on the side of compassion and am a liberal.
Taxes:
Much as everyone moans and groans about taxes, I think they are necessary. Think of some of things that our tax dollars pay for - roads, libraries, public education, etc. If they added health care to that list, I wouldn't be terribly upset. My problem is with where the tax dollars are going. Like, say, to the war in Iraq.
Under this category I would also list the deficit. Here are some numbers to think about. I can't say for certain the definite way to interpret the statistics, as evidenced by the comments below, but I don't believe Bush had nothing to do with our current situation, "The National Debt is $10.1 Trillion!" Economics is not my strong point, but that's a pretty big change in 8 years.
Here's the numbers on the tax plans that Obama and McCain put forth. I'm not really wanting get into the candidates' perspectives in my top 10 reasons, but I see the Republican stance to help out the rich more, and the Democrat stance to put the tax burden on those who can better afford it. I may not have all the right answers on economic issues, but I feel the Democrats have my interests more in mind. This is why I'm a liberal.
Health care is another large issue in this election, and I don't believe anyone has hammered out a perfect fix yet. On one hand, I believe EVERYONE should have insurance. I don't think that someone with a "preexisting condition" should be forced to pay outrageous rates. Coming from a pharmacy background, I've seen that there is rampant abuse of the system on both sides. But I had to go on TennCare when I was pregnant because I was only working part time and going to school. I have been in the position of being unable to get treatment because I don't have insurance between jobs, or have been unable to afford the deductibles to get suitable treatment. I believe I wouldn't have quite the level of chronic pain in my left leg/knee if I had been able to seek appropriate treatment when I did have insurance. At the same time, I saw much abuse of the system by TennCare or Medicaid patients.
The money for health care has to come from somewhere, but perhaps a system of income-based levels would be helpful. I really don't know whether it would work better to make the health care system a government-run program. But it works in other countries, doesn't it? Any comments, furriners on my list? At any rate, I think this is a bigger issue that will take longer than a four-year term to resolve, or the simple solutions the electioneers are suggesting.
As far as people "living off the government," the Republicans are known for wanting to cut welfare programs. I hear frequent "get a job" commands in regards to the homeless, welfare moms, those on disability. Yes, there is abuse. But say you break your back and lose all mobility. Say you have cancer, recover, but no insurance company will accept you because you're high risk. Many homeless people have schizophrenia or other mental disorders. Should someone with Down's syndrome be expected to live alone, find a job, and work his way up? Fact is, some people are incapable of functioning. Some people aren't intelligent enough to provide for themselves or hold down a job. Some have uncontrollable mental disorders or disabilities. Despite capitalism, it is NOT a level playing ground. Hard work will not always get you anywhere you want to go, in part because some people are no longer capable of hard work.
Imagine you grew up in a household with alcoholic, low-income parents, and you were abused as a child. This is not necessarily an unsurmountable obstacle. I know plenty of people that have worked and used their brains and overcome these type of situations. But say in addition to that, you're not the sharpest crayon in the box. Perhaps, after struggling as long as you could through school, you gave up and dropped out of high school with failing grades. You got a job at McDonald's, get pregnant, get ditched by your boyfriend. You don't have a spouse to support you. Your parents may or may not be reliable. You don't have a high school degree, and you don't have the grades to get you in college even if you did, much less the money to pay for it. Add to that a baby on the way. What do you do? It's easy to say you would work and save up and go to school when you're reasonably intelligent. But really, not everyone is cut out to be a brain surgeon or even a CNA. I'm not saying it's impossible to succeed and turn your life around. There are the opportunities, but a lot of people don't have their eyes open to anything but despair. And face it, some people are just too stupid to get anywhere, politically incorrect as that is to say.
What should we do with the people in the situations above? Let them die? Just tell them to get a job and consider our consciences cleared? What if they don't know how? What if they're not capable of even flipping burgers or running a register? What if there are too many physical issues to cope with? For those that are stuck and do have the capability to rise above the situation, we need more publicly funded adult education - life skills, job-hunting skills, whatever it takes to teach people. For those with even greater problems, personalized assistance finding somewhere they could be useful. We need more job training programs, we need a greater, more centralized job listing database. Ok, if you're afraid someone is spending their welfare money on drugs or alchohol, don't give them as much money to spend. Give them a warm place to live, give them food. Give them a counselor to help them get back on their feet.
For those that are judgemental about the poor, keep in mind, it's not a fun lifestyle. Those living on government money aren't living it up at our expense. It's a scary, stressful way to scratch an existence, and I don't think anyone WANTS to be in that place. However, many have no idea how to get out of it. It's the community's responsibility to help them find a place in society and overcome their hardships.
And in my mind, who is taking more from society, the welfare mom getting $10,000 a year and barely staying afloat, or the CEO that is skimming the profits and making millions by denying his workers insurance and competitive wages, and never gives back to his greater community?
Democrats want to make sure no one goes hungry or homeless, and want to help them grow past needing assistance. Republicans want you to fend for yourself, no matter the circumstances. This is why I err on the side of compassion and am a liberal.
Taxes:
Much as everyone moans and groans about taxes, I think they are necessary. Think of some of things that our tax dollars pay for - roads, libraries, public education, etc. If they added health care to that list, I wouldn't be terribly upset. My problem is with where the tax dollars are going. Like, say, to the war in Iraq.
Under this category I would also list the deficit. Here are some numbers to think about. I can't say for certain the definite way to interpret the statistics, as evidenced by the comments below, but I don't believe Bush had nothing to do with our current situation, "The National Debt is $10.1 Trillion!" Economics is not my strong point, but that's a pretty big change in 8 years.
Here's the numbers on the tax plans that Obama and McCain put forth. I'm not really wanting get into the candidates' perspectives in my top 10 reasons, but I see the Republican stance to help out the rich more, and the Democrat stance to put the tax burden on those who can better afford it. I may not have all the right answers on economic issues, but I feel the Democrats have my interests more in mind. This is why I'm a liberal.
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