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Should the Department of Education Be Abolished?
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." -- Margaret Thatcher
Not a day has gone by in the past two years that I have not heard, spoken, or at least thought these words. I have been frustrated over and over again by well-meaning friends that believe that the government should take care of us from the moment we enter the world until the moment we leave it.
The government should pay for our mother's prenatal health care, our childhood vaccinations, our educations, our food and housing, medical care when we need it, and our retirements.
It's the right thing to do. Everyone deserves a good life, and it's just so unfair that some people are born as Paris Hilton while others are born in slums. (Although it's probably a toss-up as to which of those two fates is worse than the other.)
President Obama cares about the little people, and he's going to spread the wealth around in order to help them. Nancy Pelosi wants young people to pursue their dreams of becoming artists, rather than work in a job they don't like in order to support themselves.
It sounds lovely. Who wants to worry about money, when there's a whole world out there waiting to be discovered? The government can support us, take care of us, and provide for our every need.
So what's the problem? Why can't we be like France, where the retirement age is 60 and they only work 35 hours a week?
The problem is that there's no such thing as a government bank account. The government gets its funds from us. It's not a gift when the government hands us back the very money that we turned over to it out of our paychecks. Only now, it comes with all sorts of strings, like what school we can go to or what doctor we can see. Call me crazy, but I'm thinking that it would be nice to keep that money in the first place, and spend it as I see fit, including giving to charity.
Interesting side note: If President Obama cares so much about poor people, why does he donate such a small percentage of his income to charity?
Things aren't working out so well with socialism in Europe anyway. The French are outraged that the retirement age is being raised to 62.
"Today is a day of sadness and anger," agreed Jean-Luc Melanchon, who heads the tiny Left Party. "The end of retirement at 60 is the end of a world."
Greece has lost its credit and had to be bailed out by Germany. Spain, Portugal, and Italy aren't far behind.
The problem with socialism is that a government cannot provide anything for anyone. It doesn't produce any goods or services. People produce those. And eventually, they get pretty tired of giving it away for free. You don't have a right to someone else's money, which is the basic tenant of socialism itself.
"The problem with socialism," as Margaret Thatcher so astutely pointed out, "is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
Comments (27)
Yep. I happen to enjoy waiting on tables, but I'm one in a million :). If everyone pursues their dreams to "have a better life." who's going to collect your garbage and fix your cheeseburgers and wash the toilets where you work?
maybe you're not religious, but i have to ask, what would jesus (or any other deity) do? i was always taught to help my neighbor and share what i had, especially with those less fortunate. i'm not sure if being worried about your "own" $ instead of other human beings is the way to live a spiritual life. it's kindness and generosity and all those other great qualities that will get you into heaven, not the size of your bank account. it's odd that so many republicans especially are christians yet they don't grasp this single simple fact. we all end up where we are largely because of luck not because we are deserving. another roll of the dice and we could have been born in the congo. this has nothing to do with countries or politics, it's all part of the bigger picture. you can argue away why the government shouldn't take care of other people or use "your" money to do it, but everyone knows in their heart "what jesus would do." and some day maybe he'll explain to us all personally how disappointed he is in the selfish way we CHOSE to live our lives. even children are taught to share. isn't it time we all learned that lesson?
Leigh, Charity should be a choice, not a law. And the concept "what would Jesus do" clearly violates the separation of church and state. You don't have the right to force an Atheist to do what Jesus would.
"Feel Good" politics are nice, but they don't work.
Uff, pretty hard and -sorry- pretty polemic stuff. First of all, whatever you may call the European system, its not socialism - as I gues you very well know. Second, coming from Germany myself I could try to reasonate about which country is higher indebted, where the health system works better (and ist still less expensive) - but I guess that wouldn't meet the central point.
Most Europeans are quite okay with our system - because its based on solidarity and equality. Yes, I pay part of my hard earned money for other people's health care, no I can't decide what they use it for and if I approve of that. But I know, when I or my family need that service I will get it, too.
For me, yes, nutrition, health care and everything else that's considered basic needs is something that the state should make sure every one is getting. Those are basic human rights (even in the Charta of human rights) and who else but the state should provide it for those who are - temporarily or not- not able to do it for themselves?
Socialism is about a decent standard of living for all human beings. Why wouldn't we aspire to that?
Oh, I know it's the whole "me me me" attitude of so many people. So many are so worried about themselves, their stuff, their money. That's not what life is all about and if you think it is you are just another one of the ignorant masses and a part of the problem - BIG TIME. Give your head a shake. You should be ashamed of yourself.
The basic tenant of socialism is NOT about having the right someone else's money. Go school, read a book and learn before you start spreading more false, ignorant rhetoric in your country.
And capitalism has been working so well for the USA in the past few years, right?
Honestly, money is better spent on the greater good than hanging on to every last penny as individuals. You enjoy the benefits of many socialists ideas. Public schools, roads being paved, medicare/medicaid and policemen are just one example of our tax dollars being used for the greater good.
Leigh has an excellent point. It does seem the Republican boot-strappers are also Christians a large part of the time. Yet, they never do live by the golden rule. What would Jesus do, indeed.
Taking care of our fellow man pays off in larger ways through less crime, less expenses in drug treatment and prisons and the courts. And extra tax dollars will be generated when that kid raised in poverty is allowed to go into a head start program, maybe even some federally funded arts or science programs then grows into a productive adult instead of a drain on our nation's resources. Try and have some perspective.
Conservatives donate more to charity, on average, than liberals. In addition, we pay more taxes. Not wanting to pay still more taxes doesn't mean we don't care about others.
The "beneficiaries" of the welfare state very rarely benefit in the long run. Those who have to work to get what they need are the ones who eventually can afford what they need, some of what they want, and a share of what others need.
Among other problems, the welfare state causes Americans to confuse "need" and "want." Much of what people say they "need" the government to provide wasn't available to me when I was growing up - and my parents both worked.
In our country, nobody has to starve. Even today, there is sufficient opportunity for everyone to get enough food and other truly basic requirements of life. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. I would love to know how many of my tax dollars have gone toward purchases of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, lottery, expensive shoes, electronics, and various other things that welfare recipients think they "need," and then they complain that they can't afford to feed their kids right. So they need more of my money. Meanwhile, their kids are growing up illiterate despite the free education that I pay for. I am fed up. True compassion is to teach these people how to succeed, and that begins with accountability.
Actually, April, I'm wondering if you have any personal experience with the welfare system. I'm guessing you don't. This system enables more drunks and drug addicts to abuse their children- I know, I grew up in it. We ran out of food almost a week before the month ended every month because my mother would trade our food stamps for drug money. (or actual drugs, depending on the day).
This system, this piece of crap, poorly run, political bullshit is a fake safety net that for some reason people thing is enabling the poor to maintain some standard of living. It's not. It's enough to barely get by, if you try to get out of it you face months of near starvation, If you try to make a better life for yourself and move on, you suffer, by losing benefits. If you are on welfare and working, and get a couple extra hours offered to you to work, you lose MORE MONEY than the extra hours offered.
Stop standing up for a broken system and really look into the damage it causes. It's very difficult to move out of being on welfare/state support once you are on it.
Why don't we put our money into education instead?
Oh yeah, and pubs give more to charity than dems any day. Google it.
Education is also a socialist notion, as long as it's being paid for by our tax dollars. I believe I mentioned head start and other programs as a solution, not the intricacies of welfare.
And actually, I grew up in a very rural, not wealthy, part of Oklahoma. When my own mother was a single mom on a teacher's salary we used services provided by the government. And my grandmother survived on government subsidies, aka, welfare. The system helped her have food on the table. But I don't have to have lived it (even though I did) to understand that helping people should be a goal of all Americans.
Again, it's for the greater good even if there are people who use it as a crutch. It's wildly unfair of you to categorize anyone on welfare as drunks or drug addicts who abuse their children. I would agree the system needs to be fixed, but by scaling back instead of taking an interest in children while they're young enough to be helped, you're only contributing to the negative cycle.
I'm not an analyst, so I don't know what the ultimate answer is in fixing welfare. But I do know being generous rather than withholding to the people in our country who need our help the most, is the right thing to do. Not saying 'oh no! I don't want to share my income with my fellow man!' That's not the kind of spirit we, as a people, should have.
I "share my income" with my fellow man by using CHARITIES. I have personally seen and lived a life of hell, subsidized by the welfare system, and grew up along side of many children that had it worse- birds of a feather, you know!
The biggest problem I have with the current system is that it really forces families to work LESS. Here, you can only work 25 hours a week if you are to receive benefits. If you work 26, money gone. I would encourage you to look into the nuances of the laws behind the welfare system before you stand up for it.
Believe me, I want all the babies to be fed. Our system is a mess, and really doesn't ensure that kids get to eat.