My wife and I visited a good friend in the hospital yesterday. She had just undergone an operation on the vertebrae in her neck and was under the influence of pharmaceuticals during the time we were present. As things go, there is seldom a place I go where a “spontaneous” political discussion fails to pop up. Even in the midst of her delirium, our victim of this “horrible health care system” (Please take that as sarcastically as was meant) made one statement which prompted this writing.
When discussing the renegotiating of contracts by judges so that those who cannot afford the homes they could NEVER afford as well as other general responsibility issues, we agreed the statement often heard has been “I didn’t have a chance to succeed.” Our sleepy host said “If I made made all the poor financial decisions they made I wouldn’t have a chance either.” Paraphrased, but very clear were her words. Even drugged, SHE knew the essential problem we face.
What she was mainly talking about was that people she had helped in the past who had screwed up their financial situation pretty bad, yet didn’t recognize the seemingly minor things which brought them to the point of bankruptcy, missed opportunities and lack of health care. The very folks who even to her face would suggest “they are owed” something by those of us who have made better decisions or lived our lives in a more responsible fashion. That WE OWE them. Because perhaps they couldn’t afford their 60″ Plasma TV, AND their house at the same time, ignoring the fact at some point we decided we could not afford such things then and even now.
We discussed that very collection of folks who are mistakenly thinking that government should equalize the outcome of our lives even though we have lived it with a disproportionate amount of effort. The very same type of thinking which now is pervasive in State legislatures across the country and as the “stimulus” money from the federal government is planned, it causes them to put off until another day the necessary expenditure cuts required by a responsible government. Perhaps even, the very same folks who apparently believe that the government has its own money:
Where does the government get its money anyway? While 65 percent understand the government’s money is their taxpayer dollars at work, some 24 percent think the federal government has “plenty of its own money without using taxpayer dollars.”
Amazing..
The complete disconnect of a large enough segment of the voting block to reality, has now truly put this country at risk of its own “bankruptcy,” and quite possibly a collapsed financial system in the near future. The 24% margin of financially unschooled citizens with an expanded “get out the vote” campaign adds to the 20% hard core liberals who could care less about reality as long as their “progressive” guys win. It leaves needed, a paltry 9-10% of undecideds which apparently might be easily fooled by slick talking points and bald faced lies of the left’s media machine.
And while national politics are determined by such small shifts, Michigan has its own (often much larger) share of those who don’t understand the consequence of action, and keep [political] dues flowing to the corrupt enterprises known as labor unions. The decisions made, are not always affecting them in a way that is beneficial financially.
So will we continue to make the same poor decisions? Will we allow the uninformed to stay unaware of the consequence of their actions, and pretend its still John Engler’s or George Bush’s fault for the next 20 years?