Quote:
Originally Posted by
Adaline'sMama
The United States Government spends over $22,000 a year per inmate that we hold in incarceration. We spend 44.1 BILLION dollars paying for the War on Drugs enforcement, and over 200,000,000 rebuilding roads each year.
I hope no one begrudges me my measly six grand a year in food stamps so that I can SAH and be with my baby.
THIS. EXACTLY.
For a nation so hell bent on "family values" ( read: patriarchal, christain ones only) we are extremely family unfriendly. No paid maternity leave, forget about leave for the dad, next to nothing as far as a social net goes, no universal healthcare, and on and on. We CAN afford to end poverty, strengthen education and preserve families, we CHOOSE not too.
I have NO PROBLEM AT ALL with welfare, or assistance of any kind to families, not that it even exists anymore. People get all up in arms over how illegals get healthcare (CHIP only, in TX), how mamas have more babies to make more welfare (ridiculous and racist), and how all these people "work the system". COME ON, what nonsense.
The system is broken, you have to learn to work it just to make it to e bottom rung of poverty! And most people dont even know how to do that, its a full time job you know. seriously, do these people that complain even have a clue how little you get in assistance? While the US govt is bailing out banks, paying for a drug war, not to mention the war in the middle east, the citizens are suffering. Imagine what could be done with even part of that money?
I don't know why Americans are so afraid to ask these things of their government. Independence is nice, but we are all in this together. what good is being rich if the city crumbles around you, KWIM? after all, it is OUR government, and we DO pay taxes. I wouldn't mind paying more (and I paid over 40k in taxes JUST LAST YEAR) if it meant an end to poverty, and end to sending single moms off to minimum wage jobs while their kids went to govt paid daycare. Why not cut out the middle man and just give the Mom that money, and keep families intact?
There is a strong current of "I don't want anyone to get anything they didn't bust their ass for, if you are in a bad situation it's because you are a lazy POS, Because I got MINE Jack" in this country, and it's both sick and sad.It does nothing to advance our society, our build community. I encounter this attitude all the time- people think teachers shouldn't get pensions, that minimum wage shouldn't exist, that food stamps are for leeches, that they have no obligation to anyone else. It needs to change. We are the wealthiest nation on earth, we CAN afford it, we CAN do better.
Sorry for the rant, this is near and dear to me.