Fun debate. Long story short: When have we EVER seen the government do anything on time, under budget, and efficiently? They could screw up a one-car funeral!
A government healthcare option? HA! It'll be a disaster from out of the gate! And I predict it'll be less than a year after it starts when we start hearing form Washington how, erm, uhhh, yeah, it looks like this whole thing may cost up to four times what we originally estimated (and it's completely unaffordable for the government right now!).
By the way, does anyone know how many entitlement programs are in existence for the poor now? Anyone? You know, social security, medicare, medicade, food stamps, education assistance (government loans for college), housing assistance, disability, etc, etc, etc............Feel free to add to the list. And once you've finished the list, can anyone tell me if we have fewer poor folks today than at any time in the past? So, putting two and two together, do entitlement programs actually lift people out of the poor caste? Or does it just create more government dependence? And who, exactly, is paying for these entitlement programs? By the way, once an entitlement program gets started, can anyone point to a program that finally stopped when its goal was achieved?
What's my point? Simple. Governement programs don't actually improve ANYTHING in society. They cost lots and lots of money. They NEVER go away once started. And ALL the working schloms out there, from poor to rich, are asked (well, told really) that they will be funding all of this garbage!
400pilot, I agree with much of what you said. Except you claim that we relly haven't seen taxes on the middle class increase. On this point, I beg to differ. Sure, my INCOME taxes haven't changed in a long while. True. But I pay oh so much more than income taxes in this world. Where do I begin? I own a home, so my property taxes increase from time to time (if I rented and my landlord's property taxes went up, I'd see a corresponding increase in my rent when renewing). When taxes on corporate profits rise, they simply pass the increase along to the consumer, so I pay more for everything. I pay energy taxes on my gas and electricity for my home. Taxes on the trash collection at my house. Taxes on my methods of communication (internet, phone, etc....). Taxes (MANY) on the gas for my car. Taxes on any service I purchase. Every toll road I drive is nothing more than another tax on my transportation.My home town recently instituted a pour tax on alcohol (I don't drink, but it's just another excuse to pick the pockets of everyone out there). And many many many MANY more taxes on EVERYTHING you can possibly think of!! Every new tax on some little thing that seems inconsequential at first, every tax increase on something you think won't affect you, is just chipping away, bit by bit, at YOUR hard-earned money. ABSOLUTELY the middle class is being targeted!!! Just because it's not a straight forward income tax doesn't mean the government doesn't understand who the biggest consumers (and therefore drivers) of the economy are. It's the middle class, and they're hitting us hard!!
As a result of all this, I'm completely AGAINST the governemt providing anymore entitlement programs to anyone. That includes healthcare for everyone. They can't afford it (and by extension, WE can't afford it). I'm sorry for those who don't have health insurance. I went without it for a long time myself. But that's life. I'm working for MY family. I'm working to provide them with a roof over their heads (not a Mcmansion either). I'm working to feed them. I'm working to clothe them. I'm working to save for our retirement and my kids' college education. I'm working to provide them with a little bit of fun now and then (a new bike, a vacation to the Outer Banks, etc.....). And the best part is, if the government would just levae me alone (keep taxation at the level it's currently at), I should be pretty successful at provising most, or all, of thise things WITHOUT help from anyone.
I can tell you what I'm NOT working for: I'm not working to pay my neighbor's mortgage (no matter how nice they may be). I'm not working to provide illegal aliens with social security. I'm not working to pay for everyone else's college education. And I'm certainly NOT working to make sure every single person in this country has health insurance.
I'm sorry if that sounds hard-hearted. but if the government forces me to pay for all this crap, then I won't be able to provide all the other stuff for my family. And If, for example, I'm not successful in saving for my kids' college education, then we simply end up with more folks in debt in the future. And if it gets so bad that i can't afford my mortgage, there'll be one more family looking to live off the government teet. And if I can't save enough for retirement, there'll be one more couple living in poverty AND living off the government teet.
Time to shrink the government and make people fend a little more for themselves. Damn straight that NONE OF US can afford to keep "helping" all the unfortunates out there the way the government thinks we should.
And just for the record, I give regularly to a number of charities. If my disposable income starts shrinking due to numerous tax increases to pay for this and that within the government, guess where I'm going to cut spending first?