Back in college, I once had a Political Science professor who said that welfare was a way of buying peace. Being a mushy-skulled liberal who felt more deeply than I thought, I really didn’t grok it at the time.
Sadly, the proverb about sorrow coming with wisdom is true. It isn’t just about buying peace, its been about buying votes. And while it has been wildly successful in empowering politicians, and making the recipients beholden to them, I’m afraid that the duration of peace has just about run its course.
There has been much made of Mitt Romney’s appearance at the NAACP convention yesterday, and the part where the audience booed him when he said he would make repealing ObamaCare a priority. Putting aside the predictable idiocy about him “disrespecting the President” and him not pandering to the audience by adjusting his cadence and going in to “Selma” mode, I found this moment telling for a reason no one is talking about, but one that makes sense in consideration of how he didn’t talk about ObamaCare.
He didn’t talk about the new taxes that are part and parcel of ObamaCare.
Now the taxes are just another in the litany of reasons why many Americans are against it, largely because those who still have to pay taxes understand that there really is no such thing as a free lunch. But in an economy where african-american unemployment is even higher than other ethnic groups in America, this audience bought into the President’s rhetoric, and sees ObamaCare as something that they and “their community” deserve as an entitlement.
This is the opinion being fostered as the Democrats rally to squelch even discussion of repeal, as they plan to put federal subsidies in place for “those who are unable to pay for the insurance coverage” that the rest of us will be forced to buy. And predictably, the anger is building…on both sides.
When I pondered this on the drive home today, I thought about the peace that these entitlements no longer buy, and Serenity came to mind. Our PAX has been the entitlements, but instead of recipients laying down and dying, the sense of entitlement is breeding restlessness…and if enough Americans still care about this country in this election, then I fear that we learn that our PAX has created our own reavers, eager to feast on the taxpayers.
The real revelation here is that you used to be a liberal. Damn that speaks volumes!
But to be more on point: this audience bought into the President’s rhetoric, and sees ObamaCare as something that they and “their community” deserve as an entitlement. You got this wrong. The rhetoric is that WE ALL DESERVE affordable health care, not just (poor) black people. You, dear attorney are one layoff away from needing it too. That’s what conservatives don’t seem to want to acknowledge.
Rutherford, this doesn’t give anyone “affordable health care”. Even with the subsidies that will guarantee that the people who really have no skin in the game will continue to not have any skin in the game, fewer doctors, more patients, fewer choices, less quality, and earlier death for thousands.
Oh, and a much bigger government, bloated on tax dollars and drunk with power.
You mean you demand affordable health care. Nobody owes you anything. And since you personally take way more than your fair share of the health care that the rest of pay for in a shared pool, you should do what you demand the rest of do.
Sacrifice – and do without for the sake of the poor.
P.S. – BIC is right. Anybody clear thinking, which immediately rules you out, knows government will make a mess of health care the same way it has public education. That is the complaint of Obamacare, besides the lousy service it will provide. $2.67 trillion over ten years and the estimates are now three times as high as initially forecast. How little you apparently remember of 2010.
That you continue to put great faith in a proven failure time and again, is a clear indication you’re not terribly perceptive or bright.
I’m posting this to the comments thread at my place also. This is from a friend on Facebook who is living the facts while you spread the fiction.
Socialized medicine in the UK. I call 111 (free phone call) and talk to a very helpful call-center expert at the National Health Service. They ask for my symptoms and go over details. They then ask if I can be at the hospital walk in clinic in 1 1/2 hours. I go to the hospital, check in, and am seen 20 minutes early. The doctor sees me in his office (no nurses and examining room hopping), already has reviewed all the info taken over the phone, does a thorough exam, discusses my concerns and treatment options and writes a prescription. He gives me his number in case I need to come back for a follow-up visit. I pay nothing for the doctor, take taxi to a pharmacy, which fills my prescription in 5 minutes and charges 1/5 of the charge for the same medicine in the USA. Total time for treatment 60 minutes (including taxi ride), total charge (including taxi) 1/5 of the COPAY with my health insurance in the USA. And people are AFRAID that US healthcare could become like that in England????
Rutherford, look up “Liverpool Care Pathway” and don’t get sick on the weekend. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9387023/Hundreds-die-from-strokes-at-weekends-because-of-poorer-NHS-care-study.html
As an aside, I have noticed that a family member who will go unnamed is spending a lot less time at the doctor now that she no longer has gold-plated health insurance. She used to have no deductible, no co-pay for visits, and only $5 for prescriptions. She sprained her ankle a few years ago. You or I would have put ice on it and taken it easy for a day or two. She had an X-ray, an MRI, and 6 weeks of physical therapy. Those glory days (and quite frankly, the hypochondria) are gone.
Sure, Rutherford. The NHS is just wonderful.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9397028/Dehydration-victim-let-down-by-NHS-that-has-lost-compassion.html
Coming soon to your town. I’m fully aware that at least one of my maintence meds is probably too expensive for the Independent Payment Advisory Board, as I am not part of the party faithful or our nuveau ruling class. But maybe if I’m good, they’ll give me a pill when I’m simply too sick to go on without therapy.
That’s the other thing I’m afraid of. The Independent Payment Advisory Board turns you down but allows it for the union worker who’s faithfully donated to the Democrat Party for the last 20 years. Some patients are more equal than others.
Rutherford is and always has been an uninformed propaganda artist and dupe. He’s nothing but fiction, still naive enough to believe in our post racial President turned racist. But Rutherford tells us he has the bona fides (his favorite new word) of a capitalist. (cough cough) – about as rank a lie as I’ve read; pure statist.
Three years ago, before the Obama Mandated Health Care Tax was foisted upon a stupid and gullible American public who put this unqualified farce and disaster in office.
I can assure you things have only grown worse as Britain heads toward bankruptcy.
http://reason.com/archives/2009/07/02/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-h
“Another reason for the Left-wing adoration of change may be that, according to just about every poll on happiness, people on the Left are generally less happy than conservatives. One consequence of this is that they will therefore look to change to bring them the happiness that has eluded them.”
“A good human being rarely acts on his feelings, but rather masters his feelings and acts in accord with values that transcend feelings. Since the 1960s, however, the opposite has been taught. One of the ideas ushered in by the baby boomer Left was that if you do not act in consonance with your feelings, you are inauthentic or, even worse, a hypocrite.
An example: I have devoted much of my life to studying, writing, and lecturing about the subject of happiness. In particular, I have advocated that people act as happy as possible even when they do not feel happy. This is, I believe, both a moral obligation to all those who are in our lives—it is unfair to others to inflict our bad moods on them—and a particularly effective way to increase our own happiness, since acting happy elevates one’s mood. This is hardly controversial—in just about every area of life, human beings deeply influence how they feel by how they act.
As a rule, those who object to this idea of acting contrary to how one feels are people on the Left—because on the Left, feelings are sacrosanct.”
“The second explanation has more truth to it but does not explain why liberals are less happy than conservatives. It is entirely true that the Left is more disturbed by inequality than is the Right. Indeed, the Left is more disturbed, as I have tried to show, by material inequality than by anything else, including evil. But this doesn’t explain the happiness difference, because the Right is more disturbed than the Left about other issues—evil, for example, and the expansion of the state and the degradation of the culture.
Furthermore, while the Left may be more disturbed by inequality, conservatives are the ones who do more to alleviate it in their personal lives. Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks, published these data in his book, ‘Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism’:
* Although liberal families’ incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).
* Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.
* Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George Bush.
* George W. Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.
* In the 10 most conservative states, i.e, those in which Bush got more than 60 percent majorities, the average percentage of personal income donated to charity was 3.5. Residents of the bluest states, which gave Bush less than 40 percent, donated 1.9 percent.
* People who reject the idea that ‘government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality’ give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.”
“Apparently, if one is to judge people by their behavior rather than by their political positions, the argument that liberals are less happy than conservatives because they care more about those poorer than themselves has no validity.
So, let’s consider some other explanations.
One is that perhaps we are posing the question backward when we ask why liberals are less happy than conservatives. The question implies that liberalism causes unhappiness. And while this is probably true, it may be equally or more true to say that unhappy people are more likely to adopt Leftist positions.
Take black Americans, for example. A black American who is essentially happy is going to be less attracted to the Left. People who see themselves as victims cannot be happy, and liberal blacks view themselves as victims of a racist America.
The unhappy of all races will gravitate toward the Left for a second reason. Life is hard—for liberals and for conservatives alike. But conservatives assume that life will always be hard. Liberals, on the other hand, have utopian dreams. And utopians will always be less happy than those who know that suffering is inherent to human existence.”
“One upshot of all this is that there is a simple way to produce fewer Leftists: Raise children who are grateful in general and grateful to be American in particular (or grateful to be the citizen of any decent country), who don’t complain much, who learn to handle losing, and who are guided by values, not feelings. In other words, teach them how to be happy adults. That, more than any one other thing, will produce fewer Leftists—and a better world. Because the happy make the world better and the unhappy make it worse.”
“Second, the more entitled one feels, the less grateful one feels. This is obvious: Why be grateful for getting what you are owed? This is of supreme importance because gratitude is the most important human quality. It is the root of both happiness and goodness. The ungrateful cannot be happy people, and the ungrateful cannot be good people. The ingratitude induced by Leftism is, therefore, another reason people Left of center are less likely to be happy than people Right of center. And that’s not all. The more entitled one feels, the angrier one is likely to be. People who do not get what they think they are entitled to become angry. Anger and ingratitude are a toxic brew that produces not only unhappy people, but destructive ones as well.”
“Therefore, while secular government is a good thing, secularism has been devastating for individuals and for societies. On the individual level, among these consequences have been increased unhappiness (all surveys report that religious Americans are happier than secular ones)”
Prager, Dennis (2012-04-24). Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph
I agree with Prager. Conservatives are dumb and happy.
Nowhere in the above quote is there anything about “dumb” or “intelligence”.
Proving once again that you must lie to try and make a point.
And above you provided an “opinion” from an anonymous person, while the rebuttals linked actual published articles which reference real studies. Facts vs. fiction, again.
Yeah Rutherford. I’ve seen those geniuses you cavort and most frequently agree with over at your Mendacity Blog: Flake, Sandi, Poolman, Yeller Dawg, Gypsy, anti-Newton – rocket scientists one and all.
If I add the collective IQ of your staff, I might get to room temperature – on par with your mathematical IQ.
Living the facts, you say?
What Death Panels? Oh, THOSE death panels. Never mind that committee behind the curtain….
I can’t wait for government run health care!
SQUEEEEEEE!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Drew_Hospital
Well, for what it is worth… I can’t remember all the times when I would take the ambulance out to the airport and pick someone up and take them to one of our hospitals. They would come from places like Canada, England, Sweden, and so on. That told me all that I would ever need to know about socialized medicine. Then to top it off, the care being provided was most often being paid for by a religious charity. Next most by a foundation, such as Coors, and never once by the patients government…
Enough said…