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I really can't believe there are people out there who actually have this mentality. Basically, he believes people shouldn't pay taxes for things they don't use. A bit of background, I grew up in a very working class Catholic family where we had no healthcare. I had none as a child and it was difficult. This post is basically what I said to him in response to his reply that we shouldn't have child healthcare and that people who want that should fund it themselves, while those that shouldn't, well, shouldn't.
If we're going to only fund things we, as individuals use, let's do that for education, too. If you have no kids, no sense in you paying to educate others, right? Hell, if I decide to walk instead of drive, might as well make road taxes voluntarily done as well. How about the public library? How many people do not actually have a library card or use the library? Let's make it so that only people who use the library can pay those types of taxes. Same with public parks (I know people that haven't been to the park in years...). Sounds like a plan! And yes, let's do the same with police and fire. I know a few people that have never needed to use the police or the fire, yet still fund those programs.
But maybe you're onto something, Garth. Screw the kids out there that don't have healthcare. I mean, who cares if they get sick and die? It's not your problem, right? Fuck the parents that can't afford to pay for healthcare because they don't have the means. It's their fault, no? I mean, it's not like anyone would choose to work a poor job and if they did, they should accept the limits that job brings. If they die, or get really ill, oh well, that's the price to pay, right? I mean, fuck a civil society where we actually look out for our fellow man. Who needs that? It's about me, me and me! Oh, except when I need the $$$ and I need to suck the tit of tax paying America.
Oh sure, it's easy to say "let people who use it, pay for it," but I doubt you'd be singing that tune if tomorrow the government decided to stop spending on public education. How much money do you think would be lost if our public schools were only financed by people who actually used them? I'm guessing quite a bit. And yeah, you have no problem probably using the police if some shady person is walking up and down the street. But how under funded do you think our police force would be if people had the option to not pay the taxes needed to fund them? I've called the police once in my life and haven't in years. Should I pay for the police force on the off chance I might need them in the future? If we're going to do this with healthcare, let's take it a step further and do it with the police force. Why should I pay for something I may never use? I might not have kids, why should I help pay for your kids to get through public school, or use public libraries and play in public parks? Surely we can create a system where you swipe a credit card when you dial 911, that will work just as well as denying people healthcare because they might not have money. I say we do that and do it with fire, too -- I mean, my house has never burned down...
Wait, I won't accept that. Maybe it's because I realize a society is only as strong as its weakest link and if our society continues to under fund programs for the poor, they will become a far bigger issue than they currently are. But I think that's what some want in this country. They want a world where the elite are elite and the poor can go fuck themselves. Why? Because they're poor and who gives a shit about the poor? The poor are dirty and trashy and don't invest as much into the economy as the rich. They're worthless, right? They're uneducated and live in the ghettos. Often they're black or Mexican, or some other ugly ethnicity. They might work two jobs and come home dead ass tired, but they're still poor and still a pox on society. They have poor kids, who want to play with my kids and they grow up to be poor parents -- or not. Damn the poor for wanting a quality of life that is touted by our government as the sole reason the terrorists hate America. Yeah, they hate America because we're a country that sticks it to the poor and then bitches when the poor fight back.
That's the problem with society. It's about me, me and me. Well that mentality will take us right back to the Gilded Age, a country that is run by the corporate elitists. Where the poor are seen as mindless work drones and nothing more. Their issues are just collateral damage to the achievement of greed. But that's ok, right, because it's all a choice. My dad chose to work a low paying job and so did my mom. Probably because they didn't love me, right? Probably because they were just losers that couldn't afford healthcare and because of that, they should be wrought with the overwhelming belief that they failed me. Trust me, now that I'm an adult, I hear that from my mom a lot. She tears up, saying how many times she wished she could have given me a better childhood. It eats her up inside knowing that we weren't even close to being considered middle class. But that isn't your problem and I'm guessing you're the type that can't ever be burdened by others' problems. Luckily, even though my parents couldn't afford much, they taught me how to listen to my conscience and it's always told me that it's far better to help someone in need than to watch them suffer because you don't feel it's your problem.
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