The Democrat policies you say you care about are: “Most are in the area of social issues: common-sense gun control, affordable health care for all (can't wrap my head around the fact that gun ownership is a right, but healthcare is a privilege), increase in federal minimum wage so it at least matches the poverty level minimum, pro-choice.”
They all sound rather vague, but that’s not what the Democrat party means with those words.
1. We all know the issue isn’t “gun control,” because some of the worst disasters have happened in cities that have that. The goal is confiscation for all except the government and private security guards to protect entertainers and politicians. It’s never been anything else. Democrats are almost as patient as terrorists—and it is always incremental.
2. Healthcare—we already had 5 federal/state medical plans before Obama decided to make NOT having it a crime punishable with a fine or jail time. Native Americans have had cradle to grave health care for many years, and they are the least healthy and poorest of American minorities—at least if they live on the reservation. My brother-in-law was a full blood Indian who grew up in Huntington Beach, CA, and used all the rights and privileges the rest of us have, plus a few from his tribe. He had a public employee pension, but died at 73, not for lack of health care, but lack of agreeing to a colonoscopy. I think it was the take over of one of the largest industries that Republicans objected to. If he had begun without the mandate, or not forcing religious groups to buy contraception/abortion, he would have had no problem growing it to single payer. But it was never about healthcare, it was always about power. Also, the government no matter who is in the White House is eyeing the deductions or credits for medical care by employers and employees—they (it) believe that is rightfully their money.
3. We already have 123 federal wealth transfer programs, and many started out to help the sick, poor, elderly, etc., (those who tug at our heart strings), but as time goes on more people are added as they expand, until now we’re at the point that 62% of the people who receive entitlements or assistance are well above the poverty line. Nonpoor households received 48% of the $2.4 TRILLION distributed in 2015. And about 31% were in the upper half. There’s just something about a government entitlement plan that is like our waist sizes (at least mine) and expands as we age. These programs don’t necessarily reduce poverty, but they certainly employ a lot of middle class bureaucrats in state and federal government. If poverty were to disappear tomorrow, on Thursday we’d have a new class of poor—all those folks who work upstream from the poor. (figures from “The high cost of good intentions” by John F. Cogan, 2017)
4. As far as minimum wage goes, that’s another feel-good, guilt trip. A tiny fraction of wage earners are at minimum—I think it’s 2.9% of all workers. And even at the old $7.50/hr figure, if a 2 adult earner household was working 40 hours a week at $7.50, that household has gone beyond the level for qualifying for most important benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, Section 8, WIC, etc. Low income doesn’t mean stupid, so if it were me at that job, I’d cut my hours or refuse a promotion so I could continue qualifying for about $22,000 a year in benefits. It’s quite possible for EITC for a man with a family to have a stay at home wife and 3-4 kids who is better off than the man earning $60,000/year because the government pays him to earn below $50,000 and it’s non-taxable. The average family income of a minimum wage earner is $53,113 and they are more likely to have some college than the average American worker. Why? They are not the primary earner of the family!
5. And pro-choice.? Well, there goes your concern for the weakest and most vulnerable in society. Again this is incremental. All the talk these days from the left is that abortion is OK right through the full 9 months—it’s legal to poke a hole in the skull to make sure the baby’s dead on arrival, and the more radical Democrats have moved that to 2 years out from birth. It will come. Soon the Democrats’ drive for euthanasia of the elderly and severely ill will meet up in the middle with their desire to end the lives of children who are not perfect or who come at an inconvenient time. At the age of my readers and family, it might be wise to have your EOL documents stated clearly, because the Democrat party is coming for you.
https://www.cathmed.org/assets/files/LNQ59%20FINAL.pdf
A response:
Norma;
I really like the point that you are making about the slow incremental loss of freedoms, rights and government intrusion in every facet of our lives.
And I share your concerns that will be happening to the old folks and agree that you need to work on a plan.
There is always this argument about being reasonable and accepting of progress and small changes but when you look at it over time the impact on the American Way of Life is significant.
While not directly germane to the border security discussion, it is relevant to the issue of slowly stripping law abiding citizens of their rights and putting government in control over every aspect of our lives, whether it is healthcare, education, physical movement, gun ownership, property ownership, etc. etc.
I see this with my two youngest kids in elementary school. We live in Maryland. The school supplies that we buy become community property – property ownership is one of the hallmarks of capitalism and freedom (and communism the opposite). The result is that the kids go through 100 pencils, 10 erasers, … a head per year and the teachers beg for more before the school year is over because they have run out. Sounds like the Kolkhoz (State owned Farm) in the Sowjet Union that could never succeed of making a fraction of their crop plan and had to import most their grain from the USA.
The kids and parents are highly discouraged to pay for lunch with cash out of their wallet – learning the use of money is fundamental to a capitalistic society. Result, the kids have a lunch account and have no concept of what stuff costs and how to make choices. Sounds like Obamacare for the low income people.
A month ago, I learned that the children are no longer taught cursive writing. I was told that WE ONLY TEACH PRINTED LETTERS for the last 5 years now. When I raised the issue that they would never be able to attain a decent speed of writing, I was told, that the direction is that at some point the kids would only be typing.
DOES ANYBODY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS SETS UP A TOTAL SURVEILLANCE STATE?
The children are undergoing mandatory behavioral testing annually which was part of common core legislation under Obama. What does this look like. It’s frightening. It reminds of how the Communists identified those who were potential dangers for the dictatorship regime.
The kids read a story about some animal pet that will be put to death UNLESS a child is willing to say some lies. Only with these lies could the pet animal be saved. The testing involves asking the children various questions about their opinions on this story.
I wrote a letter to the school that I am opting my kids out and they don’t have permission to be testing. They told me there is no ‘opt out’ allowed. I met with the principal and was redirected to the assistant principal who is in charge of testing. To my surprise, he confided to me that he as 4 children that will be tested soon and he has been thinking about how he gets around this because knowing what he knows he thinks it’s very dangerous too. After he explained all of the rules to me we found a loophole around it and it has worked now for the last 3 years. Although I would not be surprised if the authorities will show up at my door step one day. If you look at the parent group websites in protest of this testing, they have been largely unsuccessful protecting their children.
We had hoped that with a Republican governor this nonsense would stop, but it hasn’t.
So while I don’t own guns, don’t shoot, I have to completely sympathize with the people who want to uphold their constitutional gun rights.
But those rights have been slowly eroding piece by piece and have been converted to hunting rights and gun ownership. The Constitution was not about guns for hunting. It was about safeguards against an oppressive regime.
So it is important to recognize that there are consequences when you allow the forfeiture of citizens rights and you are not paying attention.
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