The Maelstrom of Violence

[Eric the Green]

(09-29-2017, 10:54 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(09-29-2017, 10:21 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: I would have thought you did some research and found out already how much they cost before you judged them as idiots and voted Republican because of people like them. The fact is that AFDC welfare recipients don't get enough to live on.

And you don't seem to know what an entitlement program is. Entitlement programs are those which the recipient has paid for, and thus is entitled to. Like social security. Welfare is not an entitlement program. Public education is something provided to all children, and is necessary if we are to continue living in a democratic society-- such as it is.

Your post illustrates the fact that Republican voters often vote on the basis of prejudice and resentment, rather than facts.

I vote against the welfare system/state and those who represent it. Just so we understand one another, if I were a welfare recipient, I wouldn't (want) to give up my free healthcare, free dental and eye coverage, free housing or housing subsidies, free energy or subsidized energy/utilities, free daycare or subsidized daycare, free furnaces and water heaters, free higher education or subsidized higher education, etc. because that would be down right stupid of me. Hmm, none of them are small ticket item based of my knowledge of all the costs associated with them. See, I don't think blues are that stupid. As far as the welfare recipients, I have to many relationships with to many of them for me to believe what you other blues always say that I believe is true. As I said, I don't do stereotypes. You're right, I am entitled to receive my social security and medicare. How many years of receiving freebies or substantially reduced costs before they are viewed by welfare recipients as entitlements? You're the resident expert on welfare recipients. You tell me. I know one who has been receiving freebies for at least 20 years which seems to be long enough based on her attitude and her views she's expressed to me directly. She pretty open with me. She should because she has known me for almost her entire life and she knows that I have contributed plenty to her well being. You're an idiot for sticking with stereotypes in today's world. But, then again that's what idiots do.

It's just the facts, not stereotypes, as far as I know. Welfare was restricted to 5 years during the Clinton/Gingrich years, so the person you know receiving freebees for 20 years, isn't getting federal welfare. Maybe something from the state. No, I don't think many people are out there who receive all the expensive freebees you mention. It doesn't matter if welfare recipients feel entitled to it; welfare is still not an entitlement program.

I did claim a reduced energy bill, but it's a small deduction, and I feel entitled to take it considering the inflated prices which big companies charge the people. If others have to pay more than I do with my small discount, then that's on the companies that charge too much, not on people like me. Our big corporations are extremely greedy, and most of what we pay goes for inflated salaries and stock market speculation by the rich owners and investors. In California, we have a non-profit activist group called TURN (Toward Utility Rate Normalization) which tries to keep the inflated energy prices down to reasonable rates. It's a constant battle, and the Public Utility Commission only sometimes listens to the people, and only when we have a Democratic governor are PUC members appointed who might sometimes represent the peoples' interests. That has long been one of Gov. Brown's promises. Even so, they often do the bidding of the company. I got some free energy-saving devices too, but as far as I know, that was a program of the energy company, not something received from taxpayers. The energy companies are not entirely wrong about everything; they do some things right once in a while

You vote against the welfare state, I understand that. That's your right and your point of view. What you don't understand, though, is that you are voting against your own interests when you do that. Government spending has never gone down because of Republican or anti-welfare politicians. There's just not enough in welfare to cut that would benefit you in your tax bill. What they give you instead, is debt that is passed on to future generations. Meanwhile, if you pay taxes for things like higher education, then you are merely paying for what benefits you. It is merely a libertarian philosophy that counts against it, not any actual cost or benefit you may receive or endure. Opposition to the public sphere is merely an ideology that has no relationship to anything in reality. It is just a dog whistle to appeal to your dislike of welfare and your resentment against people who receive it.