Life in America: Personal or Government Responsibility
Is the government really responsible for our healthcare or for purchasing our insurance? Are we where we are in life because of the decisions we make? I made a decision many years ago to have a career that provided me with certain benefits that I could carry forward in my life, including a very good insurance plan. This was the right decision for me, is it right for everyone? No, not in America, we have choices and we make them based on what we feel is right for us.
Things have changed in the past forty years, personal responsibility is no longer part of our national view. We now look to others to provide for us. The list of government programs, is endless, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, unemployment insurance, welfare, and many others. All of these programs come with a cost to others, nothing is free!
These are truly noble causes, they do help many in need, however the danger is that people do not use them as a short term helping hand but become dependent on them. Our welfare system has created a generational problem where family after family continue to live off of the state. Yes, we had reform but the problem continues. Social Security was supposed to be a safety net, but has become a primary retirement plan for many seniors. I don’t know how some of them live on what little they get. Medicare and medicaid are in such financial trouble they may not exist in a few years.
I realize that we are dealing with a very complex issue and I certainly do not have the answers. I also realize that many people are working very low paying jobs and cannot afford the high premiums. This is America, opportunity is endless, education is available, creating a comfortable life is possible. Yes, the economy is terrible right now and many are losing their jobs, however this is where the helping hand should come into play, but only for as long as it takes to return to a time of prosperity.
People with the money decided to buy the new cars, the big screen TV’s, the big house. They decided to over extend their credit and not to worry about using their money to buy health insurance. People with the money decided that the new boat or jet ski was a lot more fun than health insurance.
People made choices to not improve their education or skills and remain in low paying jobs. I mean no disrespect to these folks, I am sure they are hard working people. My point is that they have a “I can’t mentality” They feel hopeless and have no hope. I look at where these people are in life and wonder why. Young folks coming from nothing can join the service and will have an education paid for. It will be part of their benefits, in fact they can get a degree while in the service, fully paid for. Of course many join but never take advantage of this opportunity. Just another personal choice that dictates where they will be in life.
I know that our educational system seems to be failing our youth, again personal responsibility, where is it? Many parents do not seem to be involved in their children’s education and the kids are not doing well in school. We tend to blame the educational system and the teachers for this problem, but where is the personal responsibility of the parents? Yes, some teachers are not up to standards and many districts are poor, the facilities terrible. These problems can and should be fixed. There is a larger problem. Parents can’t or won’t help their kids learn. They may go to the football game, but cannot or won’t help with the math or reading. There are many reasons for this including, many parents are non english speaking. The kids are having to learn english and stay up with the class work on their own.
I wonder about personal responsibility, where did it go? This is America, opportunity is available, anything is possible. If we continue to look to government for our needs this America will disappear. I am not sure if we will like the new America but it will be that way because of the decisions we are making now.
Like you I have people I know and loved ones who are victums of circumstances beyond their control. Perhaps these are the people the government should help with support programs.
These are tough times and we are facing very complex issues, but until we all become responsible for the consequences of our decisions and assume personal responsibility things will continue to get worse.
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The Common Man: I am just that, someone who spent 30 plus years working for the government as a mid-level manager and program manager. This forum allows me to have a voice and share my concerns. I have been a voting member of the silent majority my entire adult life, now however it seems voting is not enough and being silent is a bad idea. This forum is an attempt to move the conversation from the kitchen table, friends and families to people who would also like to voice opinions and Participate in a civil debate.
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I’ll tell you where personal responsibility is, it’s in the immigrant population who come to this country to take RESPONSIBILITY for thier children. Work crappy jobs, work long hours and take care of thier own! So glad you wrote this article about personal responsibility becuase it gave me a chance to remind you of who in FACT is doing that…..
Hey Rod;
It’s really interesting how you lay the blame on people for making bad decisions then try to mitigate the finger pointing by talking about how hard they work. Perhaps, my friend, you do not realize what a privileged life you have had.
Not everybody grows up on a military base where they live in tax-payer subsidized housing, attend some of the best schools in the whole county (again, subsidized by the tax-payers because of the base residents who did not pay property taxes), grow up with the same kids from first grade to high school, get a job on the same base where they are provided regular cost-of-living raises, paid sick leave, paid vacation, the finest health insurance, and a great retirement plan. I’m sorry Rod, but your blog smacks of an attitude best described as “I got mine, now you get yours”. Some people make good decisions and some people are just plain lucky.
We are in this together! If just one American is denied health care by an insurance company bureaucrat, we are all diminished by it. No one is served by a hard heart.
You mischaracterize the health care debate. It is not about free medical care. Although we are all better off by providing that free health care so we don’t have as much disease and pestilence, that program exists and has greatly reduced America’s morbidity and mortality rates. We’re not, however, talking about poor peoples’ health care or why they choose to be poor. We’re talking about people who work, pay their insurance premiums, and then are denied health care when they get menningitis, or cancer, or lupus, or…and the list goes on.
Let’s face it Rod. You’ve got the same health plan as Congress and your needs will always be met. The rest of the world, however, must face a different reality. And you make a mistake when you suggest it’s their own fault. Not everybody can grow up on a military base.
Duane you make my point for me. I made the choice to have those benefits. My parents choose to live in a remote isolated area for many years to get those same benefits. I chose to continue to live in a remote isolated area to gain the same benefits. I could have had many different careers paying a hell of a lot more money but I choose my path in life. I resent you thinking you know what is in my heart when you accuse me having a I got mine now you get yours attitude. The simple fact is I earned mine and I don’t want to pay for yours. You have no idea what my experiences with my insurance company has been. You have no idea what I faced in my life. Let me tell you that I have been almost bankrupt by medical expenses in the past. That experience taught me that I needed to assure by MY choices in life that I never faced that again.
I do not mischaracterize the healthcare debate, again you make my point, someone has to pay for it. I resent that you consider that I was just plain lucky, luck had nothing to do with it, I choose to get good healthcare coverage, it was the result of long term planning and execution.
As for laying the blame on hard working people, you mischaracterize my statement. If you were not so blinded by your radical views you would have read that I was saying that opportunity exists in this country that would allow folks to improve their life and for those that, for whatever reason can’t, then the government should step in and help.
I don’t know what you did with your life, I don’t know what decisions you made, I don’t know if you have health insurance or a pension, I do know I will not assume to know your circumstances or judge you. I do know you are where you are because of the choices you made. I am sorry if you disagree but it is simply a fact of life. Duane you were in the military, you’re a combat veteran, did you take advantage of your educational benefits?
I find it interesting that you had the same opportunity that I did, I seem to recall you grew up there too, what were your choices?
Rod;
I never tried to speculate about what is in your heart. I didn’t judge you, I responded to your words. Your words paint a picture and I told you what that picture looked like to me. If you say you sat down, compared the pros and cons about living and working in a remote location, and decided to stay in the area in which you grew up – I believe you. My brother still lives there and won’t leave for any reason. Your decision to stay where you grew up has, apparently, been a good decision. You have a good retirement and good insurance. But what would have happened if, in spite of your decisions, you lost your job and your health insurance? Were you never worried about getting caught in a RIF? Isn’t the fact that you did not just a matter of good luck? Many competent, hard-working federal employees were forced to uproot their families and move to the other side of the country in order to keep their job and benefits. They did nothing wrong. Shit happens.
I am glad that, at a young age, you were mature enough to weigh the pros and cons, factor in your life’s goals, and make a decision that served you well. When I was 21, I never thought about my health insurance or what I wanted to do with my life. While it may not have been wise, it was and is, I think, a common attitude among young people. I’ve read reports from reputable sources that as many as 70% of college seniors change their college major. I’ve worked with young people my whole adult life and can tell you that very few 18 year olds know exactly what they want to do with their lives. But they should be paying for health insurance because, like auto insurance, they never know when they’ll need it. Health care reform would require everybody to pay for health insurance-just like car insurance. You won’t have to pay for that. In fact, it will slow the rise in insurance premiums for those who are already paying for insurance, which would include you.
I did not suggest that you did not earn your benefits. The whole point of the health care debate is about those people who earned their benefits, paid for them, expected to be safe, and then were denied those promised services. You paid for yours and I paid for mine. You are right-I had the same opportunities as you. And had I thought first about job security and benefits, I too would have chosen to stay on the base where I grew up, but I did not. I quit a good job working for the State, started my own business and, as a single parent of two girls, paid for health care out of pocket. That does not mean I am asking the taxpayers to pay for my health care. I have good insurance. I am just tired of my insurance rates rising at two or three times the rate of inflation. If we don’t have reform we will spend more on health care than on national defense. And we aren’t in the top ten among industrialized nations in quality of care, infant morbidity/mortality rates, pre-natal care, cancer survival rates, obesity, waiting time to see a primary-care physician, etc., etc.. This inspite of the fact we pay three times as much for health care in America.
While there are things in this country I want to see changed, America has been good to me. I have had, and have, a very good life. I have no idea which things have gone well because I was smart and which were just dumb luck but my concern is for my fellow Americans who haven’t had, but should have, the same opportunities to succeed. Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for those who choose to not take advantage of those opportunities. Everybody should be required to have health insurance.
While I won’t quibble with your characterization of my views as “radical”, almost 60% of Americans share my radical views. I was called a radical when I fought for equal rights for all Americans. I was called a radical when I fought for the right of farmworkers to form a union. I was called a radical when I fought for diversity at Bakersfield College. Our founding fathers were called radicals – so I guess I’m in good company.
You know Duane it is interesting on how much we agree on. After reading your response I am surprised by this fact. I can tell you have compassion for others, I do respect that you fought for things that you believed in. I didn’t call you a radical for those things. I too believe they were necessary. I say good job, I am glad you did what you did.
I agree most young people do not have a clue about what they want to be when they grow up. They don’t think about the future. My circumstances in life forced me to look at the future, I had no choice.
I went through 3 or 4 RIFS over the years I survived them. It is true in the private sector and the government that our jobs are always at risk. I can tell you that I would have adjusted and continued my plans for a secure future.
I get your point on healthcare, I don’t like my premiums going up every year. I am paying over $400 dollars a month now and my share of cost is through the roof. I do believe healthcare reform is required, but I don’t think the insurance companies carry all the blame. Why do medical services cost so much? Why does a service provider
charge the insurance company $10,000 for a white cell bolstering drug and then settle for $1200 to cover the bill? I don’t know but these are actual facts and I have the statements to prove it.
I agree that if everyone paid for their insurance it would be doable, but you and I both know this isn’t going to happen. There are those that just cannot afford it, giving them a tax credit is just not the same thing as paying for it themselves. The taxpayer is going to foot the bill. In addition 50 some percent of the public pay little or no
taxes so where does that leave us?