tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497678546248195850.post1210102715957801527..comments2023-08-15T07:15:18.480-07:00Comments on Two Guys Making That Money: Welfare, Social Security - Thoughts on Government ProgramsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497678546248195850.post-36710477129842658962008-02-10T21:10:00.000-08:002008-02-10T21:10:00.000-08:00Lawyer mama, I again feel the need to post my repl...Lawyer mama, I again feel the need to post my reply as a general post instead of just a reply to you. I appreciate your advice on citing sources, and when I have more time to spend on this blog (not sure when that will be) I may seek out such sources to post here. For now, I prefer to voice my thoughts and observations as my own with only some homage being paid to other sources. If I can get more noticed by the media in the future, though, I just might like to work on improving that style.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04826309601023733396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497678546248195850.post-53526250910503857952008-02-10T19:51:00.000-08:002008-02-10T19:51:00.000-08:00Well, thanks for the long reply! I'll have to rea...Well, thanks for the long reply! I'll have to read up more on your blog about your proposal to eliminate corporate taxes.<BR/><BR/>One suggestion for your blog - cite your sources whenever you can. People will take you more seriously and it makes it more likely your blog might get noticed by the mainstream media. It's all well and good to say that crime increased and private charitable assistance decreased after welfare was implemented, but that's not necessarily the cause. The U.S. welfare system was first created in 1935, during the Great Depression. It's not a stretch to say that crime would have dramatically increased anyway, or that private charitable assistance would have decreased considering the limits to which it was stretched in the first half of the 30's.<BR/><BR/>Your suggestions about reforming welfare are interesting because, in some states, that is what welfare looked like prior to "welfare reform." Now, I can't blame that solely on Republicans now can I? LOL. Some states found it actually cost less that way and resulted in more people being trained and educated. Welfare to work programs actually limited people's training and educational options in many cases.<BR/><BR/>In fact, I'm very good friends with a woman who managed to go to college with two small children prior to welfare reform. She's now a lawyer. (If you've never read her blog before, it's http://notexactlyaprincess.blogspot.com. She's on kind of a hiatus because her husband has cancer, but she'll be back.) She's very blunt in admitting there's no way in h*ll she could have done it without welfare.<BR/><BR/>I agree that when some people don't pay their own way, everyone else's costs increase. However, there will always be some people in this country who simply can't pay their own way. Children and the disabled come first to mind, and then those who struggle for other reasons. Personal responsibility is a wonderful thing, but not everyone has the same opportunities in this country. In theory we all do, but not in actuality.<BR/><BR/>I realize that I have been blessed with a wonderful brain, good health, and great parents who emphasized what should be important to me. But I am sympathetic to those who don't have what I do and I don't mind paying a bit more in taxes to help even the playing field a bit.<BR/><BR/>Wow, so much to address, I'm not sure I can hit it all!<BR/><BR/>As for quality of health deteriorating with universal coverage. It is possible that rationing will occur, yes. It is already occurring, in effect. Some people have plenty of access, and those who can't afford it have none. The fact is that health care has advanced to such a degree that paying for everything that *can* help people will be cost prohibitive and perhaps not a wise use of limited resources. But that's an entire other ethical can of worms!<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't be surprised to see a two tier health care system develop here, similar to that in the U.K. Those who can afford private insurance and private care do so. Those who can't use NHS.<BR/><BR/>Now if Blogger eats this comment I will scream.Lawyer Mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06819273107327846943noreply@blogger.com