Some see the Affordable Care Act as the panacea for the disaster our health care system has become.
Others see it as one more violation against the Constitution, one more tax added to the list of taxes Obama promised to NOT implement.
I don't like state-managed anything.. state assistance/state welfare, public education, and yes- healthcare.... Not because I think everyone shouldn't support themselves.. although I do. There are people whose situations simply don't allow that. Some disabilities simply make it impossible for a person to support themselves.
My objections to state assistance are with the "state" part, not the "assistance" part.
See, there are basically two kinds of people who are on government support/assistance.
1- Those who truly need it. Those whose disabilities are prohibitive to supporting themselves. These people really do need it. Without outside help, these people would most likely be dead, unable to work to feed, clothe, and house themselves... let alone be able to afford their own health care for said disability.
Their disability isn't something they chose, or something they caused to come upon themselves. They don't want to be on welfare, but they have no other options. I don't begrudge these people the support they desperately need.
2- Those who see state benefits and support as the ideal to which they aspire. Women who bring in their pregnant daughters, celebrating that Little Miss can now qualify for benefits- Yay! Career and generational welfare recipients who really could support themselves. These people rub me wrong in so many ways, there are words to describe how I feel, but they're not used in polite society.
Anyway, back to the original topic-
My problem with state assistance programs is with the idea that the government should be doing it.
See, there are 3 basic kinds of spending:
First-party spending is when I spend my own money on something I will use. I'm interested in value because it's my money. I'm interested in quality because I will be using it.
Second-party spending is when I spend my money on something someone else will use. I'm interested in value because it's my money.. but I'm not so worried about quality b/c I won't be using it.
Third-party spending is when I spend someone else's money on something I won't be using. I'm not too worried about value because it's not my money... and I'm not too worried about quality because I won't be using it.
By definition, all government spending is third-party. Legislators are using tax money (not money from their own pockets) on things they may or may not be using.. like infrastructure, education, health care. They're not too worried about value because it's not money from legislators' pockets. And they aren't as bothered by quality because they aren't home as much to use the infrastructure, they can afford to put their kids in private schools, and they're exempted from ObamaCare.
Do you see where I'm coming from? I, as a tax payer would like my taxes to go to those who actually need it.. not the girls who have been slutting it up so they could get pregnant and can finally join the family business of living on the dole.
I've never had a problem with those receiving help who truly need need it. I don't like those who abuse the system. I don't like other people deciding where and how my hard-earned money is spent.
