kernels of truth throughout. kernals of truth. it's too easy for you to avoid the broader issue and parce words brother. do not engage in hyposcrisy here in california brother...
The tone of the article reflects many of my feelings.
When you are trying to pay a mortgage, allow your wife to spend her efforts and energy at home raising children (as she desires and believes is best), not to mention pay off student loans and swallow inflating energy, gas and food prices, etc., etc.... you get a little tired of local and federal government deciding what your money is supposed to be used for.
I guarantee I could put it to better use for the future of our society than they do, but I know that will never happen. I have no illusions about that.
It is not so bad, though. We just have to learn to save and budget. Like Amy said, that is the price we pay for democracy.
Still, so many people "vote their conscience", which is often poorly informed. We all can see the symptoms of a sick society, and most people reach for the best looking brand of pain-killer instead of searching for a physician.
Perhaps most people are simply scared to take responsibility. They don't want to have anyone tell them that they have to change the way they live to improve. They don't want to know where things will really be 10 years down the road if they don't change. They think that picking the right pill will do the trick... for now.
An important graduate class in my social work training took the guidelines/requirements/standards of many of the main governmental programs (Medicaid/Medicare, WIC, CHIP, Food Stamps, etc. etc. etc.) as the "text" for the class. We studied programs and their histories, did interviews with participants and those who administered the programs in Utah, and analyzed their effectiveness and success.
I came away pretty disgruntled about the divide between the purposes of the programs and how they were actually playing out in practice. The purposes are good... but all the red tape, tools for measurement, or just plain complication of it all gets in the way of successful delivery to those who truly need it.
And there are so many ways to take advantage with such little follow-up and assessment of the success of the programs. It is as though there is an idea that gets passed through legislation, and they just throw it out there with money to use, and forget about it unless something goes really wrong or enough people lobby to change it.
Sadly, I became a forever-skeptic of the government's ability to handle "humanitarian" work and relief of the poor/under served.
Val and I sometimes deliver "Meals on Wheels." Try it sometime. It will break your heart. It is true that many health problems are a result of poor lifestyle choices. It is easy to judge, but not very productive. I think that unfortunately, the harder we try to accomplish certain goals, that more red tape will be involved; ironically, often in an attempt to try to make sure that these efforts are not being taken advantage of. I am proud to live in a country that at least tries-as flawed as these efforts may be. If the government isn't going to try, who do you propose will help those with real needs? Don't count on the altruism of your ordinary citizen.
9 comments:
First
this dude obviously paints a too black and white picture, mischaracterizing both sides in broad, sweeping terms.
kernels of truth throughout. kernals of truth. it's too easy for you to avoid the broader issue and parce words brother. do not engage in hyposcrisy here in california brother...
paul, come to new york and we'll go eat here.
mmmm...i'd love to come.
I guess it is kind of a rip-off that we're paying for loads of things we don't agree with.
But I guess that's why we live in a democracy.
And I guess that's why we are supposedly given a "voice" when we vote for elected officials, propositions, and the like.
The whole "majority rules" can be infuriating at times... but such is the price of democracy.
I'll probably just go on paying my taxes (uh, I mean watch PAUL pay OUR taxes) and vote my conscience...
...oh, and pay an honest tithe.
The tone of the article reflects many of my feelings.
When you are trying to pay a mortgage, allow your wife to spend her efforts and energy at home raising children (as she desires and believes is best), not to mention pay off student loans and swallow inflating energy, gas and food prices, etc., etc.... you get a little tired of local and federal government deciding what your money is supposed to be used for.
I guarantee I could put it to better use for the future of our society than they do, but I know that will never happen. I have no illusions about that.
It is not so bad, though. We just have to learn to save and budget. Like Amy said, that is the price we pay for democracy.
Still, so many people "vote their conscience", which is often poorly informed. We all can see the symptoms of a sick society, and most people reach for the best looking brand of pain-killer instead of searching for a physician.
Perhaps most people are simply scared to take responsibility. They don't want to have anyone tell them that they have to change the way they live to improve. They don't want to know where things will really be 10 years down the road if they don't change. They think that picking the right pill will do the trick... for now.
An important graduate class in my social work training took the guidelines/requirements/standards of many of the main governmental programs (Medicaid/Medicare, WIC, CHIP, Food Stamps, etc. etc. etc.) as the "text" for the class. We studied programs and their histories, did interviews with participants and those who administered the programs in Utah, and analyzed their effectiveness and success.
I came away pretty disgruntled about the divide between the purposes of the programs and how they were actually playing out in practice. The purposes are good... but all the red tape, tools for measurement, or just plain complication of it all gets in the way of successful delivery to those who truly need it.
And there are so many ways to take advantage with such little follow-up and assessment of the success of the programs. It is as though there is an idea that gets passed through legislation, and they just throw it out there with money to use, and forget about it unless something goes really wrong or enough people lobby to change it.
Sadly, I became a forever-skeptic of the government's ability to handle "humanitarian" work and relief of the poor/under served.
Val and I sometimes deliver "Meals on Wheels." Try it sometime. It will break your heart. It is true that many health problems are a result of poor lifestyle choices. It is easy to judge, but not very productive.
I think that unfortunately, the harder we try to accomplish certain goals, that more red tape will be involved; ironically, often in an attempt to try to make sure that these efforts are not being taken advantage of.
I am proud to live in a country that at least tries-as flawed as these efforts may be. If the government isn't going to try, who do you propose will help those with real needs? Don't count on the altruism of your ordinary citizen.
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