On Feb 5, 12:07=A0pm, David Oberman wrote:
> On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 09:48:34 -0800 (PST), moviePig
>
> wrote:
> >Sure, we all *feel* the difference when the king's retainers ride to
> >your hut and force you to throw money over your neighbor's fence. =A0But
> >that emotion registers less strongly when the government merely
> >dispenses our taxes in furtherance of 'principle' (which we're all
> >presumed "obviously" to support). =A0E.g., consider how you feel about
> >your tax dollars flowing into Haiti. =A0Then, consider that (equally
> >"obviously" to many) we want *all* our citizens to be healthy.
> >(That's included under 'life'... which precedes 'liberty' and 'the
> >pursuit of happiness'.)
>
> I know a guy who lives in Minneapolis -- he's about 40 years old, I
> guess, & works clerical -- who used his credit cards in 2009 to follow
> Fleetwood Mac around the country to see them perform at dozens of
> shows. He got into financial hot water after that & he applied for aid
> of various sorts. Ordinarily, I'm all for safety nets for citizens:
> people lose their jobs, people go bankrupt paying for emergency
> surgeries, etc.
>
> But Judge Judy would look at this guy & say, "You're an IDIOT. An
> IDIOT." Why should the rest of us throw him a net?
Well, I suppose it depends upon of what aid he availed himself. If he
applied for food stamps and Medicaid, then I, too, would have some
concerns. If he used an agency such as Consumer Credit Counseling
Service to manage his debt, then I'm OK with that.
The bottom line, tho, is he is an IDIOT. He's the guy President Obama
was speaking to the other day when he said something to effect that
just because the economy is turning around doesn't mean we should all
run to Vegas and blow our wad.
Tom |