For the most part, I don't want to write about politics. I think it's because politics aren't eternal; it could also be because I serve a King, not a political ideology; I also think it's because, since it's a human institution (necessary, but human), it is doomed to be corrupt in some respects, regardless of your party. But since health care reform is the talk of the day, I just wanted to get my thoughts down and organized.
I think this all starts on how you view the rich. I am sure that there is a large segment of American society that feels that, if you are rich, you have taken advantage of someone, or you inherited your wealth, or you benefited from tax breaks, or you don't give, or something else like that. I think that is false, at least in the majority. If you pick up the book, "The Millionaire Next Door," or "The Millionaire Mind," you will find that the modern "rich" person is much different than one might think:
*Most millionaires only make $131,000 (50th percentile), while those making $500,000 a year or more (only about 13% of millionaires) skew the overall numbers upwards;
*Most live on less than 7% of their wealth;
*80% of millionaires are first-generation millionaires;
*About 2/3 work 45-55 hours a week;
*About half have wives who work at home, but are considered more conservative than their husbands;
*Less than 20% are not college graduates;
*Most regularly attend religious services;
*Most have never received any handout ever, and never believed they would.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/stanley-millionaire.html
My point is that millionaires are not born, but are made. In the words of Dave Ramsey, the radio show host I listen to, "people are rich because they do rich people stuff, people are poor because they do poor people stuff...poor is a state of mind, broke is a temporary existence." Until we become a thorough Communist country, the rich will keep getting richer, and the poor will keep getting poor.
Capitalism doesn't make people rich or poor. People do. Just because a few CEOs and companies took advantage doesn't mean there is something wrong with our economic system; it just means there is something wrong with those people. Should we outlaw prescription medicine or guns or cars just because people abuse them for their own personal gain?
There are a bunch of people without health insurance right now. I am one of them! A portion of them will work out of it, and be better off. And there will be a portion of them that won't try to work out of it, and just wait for the government to take care of them. It all depends on their mindset. And that leads me into why I am against this new government health reform stuff!
As a human, we are sinners. Me, you, big CEOs, Congress; we are all sinners. One common sin I am seeing more and more of is laziness. When given the choice, most people will choose the easy road. Why work hard when there is an easier way?? Millionaires don't think this way. Poor people do.
I am against the health care reform because it will further our national debt (show me a federal program that hasn't), which will eventually lead to higher taxes for everyone. I am against it because it will pay for abortions, regardless of the fancy talk coming out of Washington. I am against it because it does not protect doctors from working in accordance with their beliefs. I am against it because the federal government does not have a right to force anyone to buy anything.
And I am against it because it doesn't motivate people. It doesn't encourage people to rise up out of their circumstances. If I am just making ends meet, and I get to pay a fraction of the current premiums to cover my family, what incentive is their for me to seek out that full-time job, that promotion, that raise? How is this reform encouraging human flourish and personal responsibility?
Right now, if I want insurance, I have to work hard and get it. It's called personal responsibility. Paul says that if you don't work, than you shouldn't eat. (2 Thess 3:10) Does that apply to health insurance as well?
Are there temporary circumstances, or exceptions, that inhibit people from getting insurance? I'm sure there is, and we need to make room for that. But the exception isn't the rule, and the government shouldn't make us pay for it.
So I would like to keep my capitalism, thank you very much. I can get my own insurance. I am not going to sit around and wait for the government to force me to pay for something I should earn on my own.
God bless
"We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right." -2 Thess 3:11-13
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
If only it were as simple as lazy vs. hard-working people. It is a complicated issue that cannot simply be attributed to an individual's work-ethic and motivation. The person who lives in an employment desert (read: very few opportunities for employment or for employment that will allow him or her to obtain basic necessities) without a way to travel outside of their area is hindered less by their personal motivation than by a social structure and system that allows such situations to exist. We assume that everyone has the same opportunities for advancement and mobility but that is simply not true. Such an assumption does not take into account the sinfulness of our world. Corporate sins such as racism, classism, and sexism divide rather than unify people; they contribute more to maintaining the status quo than to helping people change their situations. Maybe we can help people become motivated by showing we care about their well-being instead of just telling them they aren’t working hard enough. Just a thought. (This is Annie, by the way)
ReplyDelete