Lorelei and shave, the problem is that it simply isn't true that the majority of people who get gov't support are "freeloaders" who refuse to work. You have people working 2 or 3 jobs, but they're bad jobs and it doesn't provide enough money. That's much more common than lazy bums who just sit around all day (not to say that there aren't plenty of them, too). The lazy people are infuriating, but it's almost impossible to distinguish the two on an institutional scale. People seem to forget why we have these federal programs - it's because the communities, the capitalists, the markets were NOT doing a good job of helping each other out.
I agree that it's a slippery slope - it does build up a feeling of entitlement that is incredibly destructive. I would also agree that each person's success or failure should be down solely to his or her personal abilities and efforts, except for one crucial element that is missing: people don't start out on anywhere close to equal footing. I believe in unequal outcomes as long as there are equal starts. We're miles away from equal opportunities. I'm lucky - lower middle class, well-educated family, where it was always assumed that I'd go to college and get a decent job and debate politics on online forums. So many people don't have that culture, that support, those opportunities. So it seems entirely unfair to leave them to their lots. Some will pull themselves out of the hole in spite of the challenge, but they are exceptional. I think even average folks deserve a security net. Do you think JK Rowling would have written Harry Potter if she'd been homeless and on the streets - ie, if the UK hadn't given her support? There are many examples like that.
I tell you what does make me angry, though: the idea that I'm going to have to pay the healthcare costs of people who don't take care of their bodies - the huge proportion of people who are eat terribly, and avoid exercise like the plague, smoke, overdrink, etc. It's a wave a-coming, and it doesn't matter what system is in place - either I'll pay through the nose to support Obamacare, or I'll pay through the nose to cover healthcare costs when uninsured people can't pay their bills. Guess who picks up the tab. Yep, the public.
Two final points:
- Lorelei: While I agree that Obama has increased the deficit far too much, it's entirely unfair to blame him for an economic bubble burst that was building for more than a decade. Most economists agree that the worst time to cut spending is when the economy is weak. Clinton and Dubya should have been the ones cutting spending, but until Obama, Bush had the highest-deficits in the country's history. If you're looking for who to blame, look no further than the moronic banks who saw nothing but short-term $$$ and the gluttonous Americans who insisted on buying houses they couldn't afford. Ah, the glories of capitalism - boom/bust is the way it works, so we shouldn't complain when that's what happens!
I say again, "pull them all."
- shave: Obama isn't pushing for socialism. Period. The problem that Obama sees isn't that some people have more than others, it's that the disparity is huge, it's increasing, and it is leading indisputably to greater inequality of opportunity and democracy. It's a positive feedback loop: more influence = more money = more influence = ...etc . Again, I point to Citizens United and big corporation lobbies. We have to break that cycle, for the well-being of the entire nation. Otherwise you can kiss the middle class goodbye, along with the power of the people to influence our governments. Again, it's not about equality of result - it's about balance of power and opportunity.