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I now understand why people supported McCain.
I have a pullout from the NY Daily News from yesterday about the hostory that Obama's win is making. I'm saving it for posterity, btw. It's awesome.
Anyway, they added some comments from people with their reaction to Obama's win. One man wrote how it's not the goverment's responsibility to take care of people (I am paraphrasing) and quoted, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country".
I understand. A lot of conservatives/Republicans may feel like the government is not there to carry people. HOWEVER, witht he way the economy is going, fewer and fewer people are going to have the opportunities availble to them to afford school AND maintaining their necessities financially. I've been talking about this for some time - the fact is, cost of living is rising faster than salaries and something needed to be done.
I had this in my head a lot clearer and with more detail, but the knot's wonkiness has made me fall into stupid a little.
Re: I now understand why people supported McCain.
My father would be one good example of a conservative Republican now ready to hand over everything he has-albeit without a smile-because those "damned democrats" are gonna take it all from him and give it to some welfare junky.
Yes. He REALLY thinks this.
right - it really took me a while to understand that there are people that just think you should just work hard and you'll get rich, but that's not the case for everyone. it's easy to say "just work hard for what you want" but it's easier said than done.
I do agree that it's not the government's job to take care of people.
To a point.
1) Millions of Americans w/out health insurance, costing those of of WITH health insurance more money and keeping our ER rooms/docs overly busy taking care of things that should be done with a regular doc. Private health insurance has NO interest in fixing this. Hospitals probably do, but they're busy being, y'know, hospitals. If no one has an interest in fixing it, but the populace does, the government is our unique instrument to fix it.
2) Social safety net. It's all fine and dandy for there to be churches, but when they were the sole source of safety nets, there was a lot of, "You wanna eat? You'd better pray." The not-for-profits are able to exist through a lot of private generosity, but the government is able to funnel money to them as well. And why not? And the idea of a social safety net was started b/c of the Great Depression when EVERYONE was hit so badly that the private organizations to help failed as well. Again, the unique position of the federal government to be able to step in and help.
The thing I respect the most about Obama is that I truly believe he has changed the way we talk about politics. Stop talking about the procedure of abortion and let's talk about reducing the need for abortions. Well, stop talking about how the government shouldn't be taking care of people and let's talk about getting the majority of people into positions where they don't NEED government to take care of them.
I'm saving it for prosperity
posterity
I agree that in a perfect world the goverment should be small and have little involvement in people's lives. But, depending on what else is going on, goverment is going to half to step in to keep everything running for the good of all, and now is one of those times.
In a perfect world, we wouldn't need universal health care because if all employers bucked up to pay for it, rates would go down for everyone.
And also in a perfect world we wouldn't need specific laws against murder of theft because people would just understand that for the good of all, we shouldn't engage in those things.
I know that doesn't make as much sense here as it does in my head, maybe I'll write something more clear when I have more time.
I just a friendly gal looking for options.
DH and I both work our asses off at, what I consider to be, good jobs. Yet we cant afford to buy a home and can barley afford to live in the area we do. Working hard doesnt get you very far if what your working towards just gets more and more expensive. I cant imagine how much harder it is for people who cant even find work.
Hand up-not hand out?
Sustainability on their own. I like that idea in theory, now I'd LOVE to see it in practice. THAT will be the hard part.
What people forgot, O-face, is that it HAS been done successfully. And usually under Democratic presidents. There was recently a book published by an independing author (I can find it for you if you want) the showed how the economy performed better under all Democrat presidents in the last century than Republican.
Also, Bill Cilnton shrunk the welfare rolls to the smallest they'd ever been, by attaching welfare monies to schooling and jobs and limitations. I do believe that the majority of people on welfare (like Joe the Plumber's childhood family and my own) DON'T want to be there. They want to be self-sustaining. Generations of welfare are what breaks families. Most people don't like sitting there.
GAH. I would LOOOOVEEE that book.
I wish my father would really stop listening to right wing schit. For real. It gets pretty frustrating and disgusting.
I feel like I'm pounding my head on the floor on a daily basis.
I think we'd all love to see it in practice. As much as I don't agree with a lot of Obama's policies, I really hope that he does an amazing job turning the economy around.
I also think a fresh perspective is sometimes what you need in a time like this.
O-face, it's Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age.
http://www.amazon.com/Unequal-Democracy-Political-Economy-Gilded/dp/0691136637/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1EHJLLKWBKUQF&colid=3E8F4CTIDS1IM
The reviews are interesting and seem to center mainly along the divide between political scientists, economists, and Republicans. Though the economists reviews I read, really didn't slam his work all that much, the Republican reviews do. 'Course if he had found the opposite, Democrat reviews would've as well.