#government #CuttingGovernment #GovernmentService #SocialSecurity #Medicare #Medicaid
It’s really easy to hate government.
It’s really easy to presume that government services are for “someone else,” perhaps someone undeserving of the favor.
It’s easy, until something gets taken away from you that you did not believe was a “government” program, or that you had “earned.”
Certainly, government is extremely in debt and that needs to be addressed.
Certainly, also, there are places and agencies in government that could run more efficiently.
But, think of government as a porcelain piggy bank. When it gets full, normally one would yank the stopper, take out some coins to buy what he or she had saved for and replace the stopper.
Generally, one does not take a hammer and break the bank to smithereens just to get some money out.
Also, believe it or not, bureaucrats are people, too. If you impulsively admire the sledgehammer or chain-saw approach to cutting government, you could be personally affected by it. Or, your spouse. Or, one or more of your children. Or, someone else you know and love.
If you are used to getting government help through, say, veteran’s benefits or Social Security, how would you feel if those benefits were taken away? Yes, you have earned them, through service or contribution, but that doesn’t mean someone won’t, or can’t, take them away.
Medicaid, which helps provide health care to those in financial distress, is used by more “everyday people” than you might think. It is not just for “welfare queens” and others you might dismiss as “undeserving.”
For example, do you receive health insurance through your employer, or through your own insurance policy? If you don’t, chances are you are using Medicaid.
Or, do you have a relative in a nursing home? Chances are, Medicaid is paying a good portion of that person’s care. Even if you are paying for the care yourself, most other patients in a nursing home rely on Medicaid because they simply cannot afford the daily fee for care.
If Medicaid goes away, the nursing home likely would close. Then what, for your relative?
The other danger from this meat-ax approach to cutting government is the access by unnamed, and certainly unapproved people to everyone’s personal data. Do you want your name, address, Social Security number and banking information in the hands of someone who should not have it?
Some may extrapolate this concept to ask who might BUY all that data, and who would get the proceeds?
In short, there is a right way and a wrong way to reform government. We all want government that is lean, but effective. The chain-saw approach might make great television, and some might say is long overdue.
But, government agencies need to work for everyone. Former U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, when he ran for president, said that 47 percent of the population is dependent on government for some funding in their lives.
In reality, we are ALL dependent on government for something. The best things politicians can do is to make sure it works well for everyone, that everyone pays for it according to their ability to pay and that it runs as efficiently and fairly as possible.
Peter
Tag Archives: piggy banks
ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE, OR THE PRESENT?
#future #present #PlanningForTheFuture #PlanForTheFuture
To paraphrase a Valero TV ad: Why do we focus so much on the future, and not enough on the present?
There are many ways to think about this. So, let’s start with the present, since there is no time like it.
There’s an adage that says, “Do today what others won’t, so you can do tomorrow what others can’t.”
In other words, use the present to plan for the future.
Another school of thought says, “I want it now.” Yet, sometimes forgoing immediate gratification bodes well for your future.
A third thought is, “Carpe Diem,” or “Seize the Day.” But if you seize today, will you have enough to seize tomorrow, or next week, next month, next year?
Certainly, what one does today can help, or hurt, him or her in the future. That one extra cookie, tasty as it is, may leave some extra weight tomorrow. It may be extra weight you will not want, but will have difficulty getting rid of.
At the same time, putting a penny in a piggy bank today, and every day, will get you started on saving for your future. Of course, you MUST have the discipline not to raid your piggy for an impulse buy. And, once you fill that piggy with a penny a day, you have to have the wherewithal eventually to take it to a bank and start to make your money work for your future.
Indeed, focusing on the present, with the right activities, will go a long way to ensuring a good future.
One difference between the present and the future is knowledge. We may not know what the future will look like, but we certainly know what the present looks like.
If your present, as you see it, is not looking good to you, it’s imperative to think about what YOU can do now to make your future better.
Yes, that thought process might involve enduring the present unpleasantness for a time, while you act on finding a good future.
Also, thinking about a good future can relieve some of the stress of a not-so-great present. But, thinking alone will not bring about that good future. You have to think it, certainly, but you also have to know what you have to do to get to it. Then, of course, you have to go about doing those things now.
In short, the present and the future are not necessarily discrete entities. But they can be if you want them to be.
The future, of course, means you will be older. There may be things that you can do now, that you won’t be able to do then. If those things you can do now will help you later on, do them while you are able.
There are also everyday habits in the present that can help, or hurt, your future. Keep the helpful habits and lose the hurtful ones if you can.
Though you may not know what the future will bring, prepare well for it. Be flexible enough to alter your plans as needed, while being steady enough to do the things you are certain will help you later.
Enjoying the present and leaving the future to chance is perilous. No, the future doesn’t take care of itself. But, there may be things, good and bad, that will come your way that you cannot anticipate. Then, it’s a matter of dealing with the future as the present when it comes.
So, enjoy your present, but have an idea what you will need to do to ensure a good future. You will thank yourself later.
Peter
To paraphrase a Valero TV ad: Why do we focus so much on the future, and not enough on the present?
There are many ways to think about this. So, let’s start with the present, since there is no time like it.
There’s an adage that says, “Do today what others won’t, so you can do tomorrow what others can’t.”
In other words, use the present to plan for the future.
Another school of thought says, “I want it now.” Yet, sometimes forgoing immediate gratification bodes well for your future.
A third thought is, “Carpe Diem,” or “Seize the Day.” But if you seize today, will you have enough to seize tomorrow, or next week, next month, next year?
Certainly, what one does today can help, or hurt, him or her in the future. That one extra cookie, tasty as it is, may leave some extra weight tomorrow. It may be extra weight you will not want, but will have difficulty getting rid of.
At the same time, putting a penny in a piggy bank today, and every day, will get you started on saving for your future. Of course, you MUST have the discipline not to raid your piggy for an impulse buy. And, once you fill that piggy with a penny a day, you have to have the wherewithal eventually to take it to a bank and start to make your money work for your future.
Indeed, focusing on the present, with the right activities, will go a long way to ensuring a good future.
One difference between the present and the future is knowledge. We may not know what the future will look like, but we certainly know what the present looks like.
If your present, as you see it, is not looking good to you, it’s imperative to think about what YOU can do now to make your future better.
Yes, that thought process might involve enduring the present unpleasantness for a time, while you act on finding a good future.
Also, thinking about a good future can relieve some of the stress of a not-so-great present. But, thinking alone will not bring about that good future. You have to think it, certainly, but you also have to know what you have to do to get to it. Then, of course, you have to go about doing those things now.
In short, the present and the future are not necessarily discrete entities. But they can be if you want them to be.
The future, of course, means you will be older. There may be things that you can do now, that you won’t be able to do then. If those things you can do now will help you later on, do them while you are able.
There are also everyday habits in the present that can help, or hurt, your future. Keep the helpful habits and lose the hurtful ones if you can.
Though you may not know what the future will bring, prepare well for it. Be flexible enough to alter your plans as needed, while being steady enough to do the things you are certain will help you later.
Enjoying the present and leaving the future to chance is perilous. No, the future doesn’t take care of itself. But, there may be things, good and bad, that will come your way that you cannot anticipate. Then, it’s a matter of dealing with the future as the present when it comes.
So, enjoy your present, but have an idea what you will need to do to ensure a good future. You will thank yourself later.
Peter