# Being gay is costing us about $340/month **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 7, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325 "2010-04-07T20:44:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/21 "2010-04-08T00:49:16Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Being gay is costing you $340 a month, yes. > > But have you ever thought about the _cost_? > > Have you heard the good news? > > Heaven’s real. Meh. We’d probably have a surcharge for that too. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/22 "2010-04-08T01:06:01Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > I understand your pain and frustration. Look on the bright side though. Do you have any idea how much being straight is costing me? > > Wives are not cheap. I’ll bet they are expensive than domestic partners. Plus, I started off with one women, and now I have three! > > Your safe, being gay. Did you know that if you have sex with a women she will multiply? They’re like bacteria. Have sex with a women and suddenly your house is full of all these new people that you are responsible for. > > I had a roommate who was a bit of a slacker and I ended up supporting him for a while. I guess on the cost side of things that’s probably equivalent to being gay. He just kind of leeched off my pizza and beer, and didn’t help with the rent. > > I thought that sucked until my wife had a baby. Jesus Christ are they expensive! Then later they want toys, and then clothes, and then schooling. > > I could support a legion of gay guys, have my own private army for the cost of just one of my daughters. > > So, yes. What you are going through is unfair. I understand that, and there is no excuse for it. But I think I spent more on diapers per month than you’re bitching about. I was willing to skip merrily along your path of stereotypes for the sake of humor till the last line, when I walked away feeling like you really don’t realize or appreciate the accumulative effect of the injustice. It is happening to me. It his happening to your neighbor. It is happening to your plumber. I am but a drop in the bucket, and the drops add up to a lot of injustice thanks to DOMA. Which is the point of bitching about it in the first place. Be sure to tell your wife that I’m going to back to my considerable enjoyment of my heterosexual-anxiety-free periods. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/23 "2010-04-08T01:17:54Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > I understand your pain and frustration. Look on the bright side though. Do you have any idea how much being straight is costing me? > > So, yes. What you are going through is unfair. I understand that, and there is no excuse for it. But I think I spent more on diapers per month than you’re bitching about. I was with you on the hyperbole until the end. So if you were really kidding all the way thru forgive me. However, your last statement about the bitching seems out kind of at odds with the rest of your post. Kids are optional for everyone including gays. It just seems a bit unseemly to compare your cost for diapers vs someone’s health care insurance costs. One is an optional purchase, you could use cloth. The other could be life or death. ETA: and ninja’d while answering the phone. Preview should be my friend. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/24 "2010-04-08T01:20:10Z")
> [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](#): > > I was willing to skip merrily along your path of stereotypes for the sake of humor till the last line, when I walked away feeling like you really don’t realize or appreciate the accumulative effect of the injustice. > > It is happening to me. It his happening to your neighbor. It is happening to your plumber. I am but a drop in the bucket, and the drops add up to a lot of injustice thanks to DOMA. Which is the point of bitching about it in the first place. > > Be sure to tell your wife that I’m going to back to my considerable enjoyment of my heterosexual-anxiety-free periods. That may actually have been **Scylla** ’s attempt at congeniality. Difficult to tell, needless to say—makes the Voight-Kampff look like the _TV Guide_ crossword puzzle—but to experts, there’s a telltale glint off the fangs that gives it away. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/25 "2010-04-08T01:59:02Z")
> [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](#): > > I was willing to skip merrily along your path of stereotypes for the sake of humor till the last line, when I walked away feeling like you really don’t realize or appreciate the accumulative effect of the injustice. Oh, shut the hell up about your “injustice”. The vast majority of people, gay or straight, don’t get _any_ money from the government for health care. I sure don’t. Neither does **Scylla**. That was his point. Who’s going to cry for us? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/26 "2010-04-08T02:04:19Z")
Wait. I don’t understand. There are actually people in _favor_ of people paying more because they’re gay? I think I might be misinterpreting the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/27 "2010-04-08T02:12:58Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Oh, shut the hell up about your “injustice”. The vast majority of people, gay or straight, don’t get _any_ money from the government for health care. I sure don’t. Neither does **Scylla**. That was his point. > > Who’s going to cry for us? In the World, maybe. But the vast majority of people in the US do. Something like 60% still get it through an employer and thus get a tax break, 15% are on Medicare, and then who knows how many use Medicaid/COBRA/VA/whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/28 "2010-04-08T02:36:16Z")
Sorry to shit on your warm fuzzy parade, but “failing to receive a subsidy” is not the same thing as “having a cost imposed upon.” Maybe (actually, probably) the failure to include same-sex couples in the subsidy was the political cost of getting it passed for everyone else. So, you are in the position of paying more so that others may pay less. As a guy that makes substantially more than $250k per year while almost half of all Americans don’t pay any U.S. federal income tax whatsoever, I know how you feel. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/29 "2010-04-08T02:40:31Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Sorry to shit on your warm fuzzy parade, but “failing to receive a subsidy” is not the same thing as “having a cost imposed upon.” Maybe (actually, probably) the failure to include same-sex couples in the subsidy was the political cost of getting it passed for everyone else. Well clearly it’s alright then. Would you support such a policy if it, say, only affected white people? Or black people? Or Asian-Americans? > [@Rand Rover](#): > > So, you are in the position of paying more so that others may pay less. As a guy that makes substantially more than $250k per year while almost half of all Americans don’t pay any U.S. federal income tax whatsoever, I know how you feel. You don’t have to be making that much. People can’t help being gay. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/30 "2010-04-08T02:50:06Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Well clearly it’s alright then. Would you support such a policy if it, say, only affected white people? Or black people? Or Asian-Americans? You aren’t very smart, are you? Why do you think I support any policy? My post says nothing about which policies I support or don’t. > [@](#): > > You don’t have to be making that much. People can’t help being gay. More stupidity. The OP pays more so that others can pay less, which is exactly what I do, whether it’s a choice or not. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/31 "2010-04-08T02:51:55Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > As a guy that makes substantially more than $250k per year while almost half of all Americans don’t pay any U.S. federal income tax whatsoever, I know how you feel. Not yet, you don’t. We still let you keep most of it. We plan to correct that after the 2012 election. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/32 "2010-04-08T02:51:58Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Oh, shut the hell up about your “injustice”. The vast majority of people, gay or straight, don’t get _any_ money from the government for health care. I sure don’t. Neither does **Scylla**. That was his point. And the deciding factor between two virtually identical people between getting and not getting this tax break should be whose genitals they like to touch? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/33 "2010-04-08T02:58:09Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > You aren’t very smart, are you? Why do you think I support any policy? My post says nothing about which policies I support or don’t. No, you’re just telling the OP to quit bitching. The gays pay more so the others don’t have to. It’s all OK then. > [@](#): > > More stupidity. The OP pays more so that others can pay less, which is exactly what I do, whether it’s a choice or not. Paying more based on your income is a hell of a lot more fair than paying more based on your sexual orientation. Jesus Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/34 "2010-04-08T02:58:27Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Not yet, you don’t. We still let you keep most of it. We plan to correct that after the 2012 election. I actually like how you don’t attempt to claim the moral high ground. You, alone among dopers as far as I can tell, are fine acknowledging that you are happy to use thuggery to take money from some people and give it to others. Lots of other dopers dress up their use of the government as agents of thuggery in glossy terms–but not you. Enjoy it while it lasts, bro. With any luck, sanity on fiscal matters will be returning to DC soon, putting an end your soak-the-rich circle jerk. With even better luck, people who think like you will be starving in the streets, so watch your neck because I may not be so careful where I step on my daily commute to work. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/35 "2010-04-08T03:02:09Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Sorry to shit on your warm fuzzy parade, but “failing to receive a subsidy” is not the same thing as “having a cost imposed upon.” Maybe (actually, probably) the failure to include same-sex couples in the subsidy was the political cost of getting it passed for everyone else. > > So, you are in the position of paying more so that others may pay less. As a guy that makes substantially more than $250k per year while almost half of all Americans don’t pay any U.S. federal income tax whatsoever, I know how you feel. Rand, hon, you are one of those who gets more and pays less through your wife’s tax-free government insurance subsidy of employee health care insurance plans. If she should lose her job you would be eligible for COBRA insurance at the discounted price. You know this. What exactly is your beef? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/36 "2010-04-08T03:05:34Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I actually like how you don’t attempt to claim the moral high ground. You, alone among dopers as far as I can tell, are fine acknowledging that you are happy to use thuggery to take money from some people and give it to others. Lots of other dopers dress up their use of the government as agents of thuggery in glossy terms–but not you. And don’t you forget it. > [@](#): > > With even better luck, people who think like you will be starving in the streets, so watch your neck because I may not be so careful where I step on my daily commute to work. Starving people have a nasty habit of dragging the boastful rich out of their Beemers and burning tires around their necks. Word to the wise. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/37 "2010-04-08T03:07:09Z")
Bring it, FI. We’re ready. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/38 "2010-04-08T03:20:15Z")
I will say that COBRA is fucking expensive and overpriced… ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/39 "2010-04-08T03:25:43Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Sorry to shit on your warm fuzzy parade, but “failing to receive a subsidy” is not the same thing as “having a cost imposed upon.” Maybe (actually, probably) the failure to include same-sex couples in the subsidy was the political cost of getting it passed for everyone else. Oh Jesus Christ. I have a bad habit of not noticing user names, but I should have known it was this dumb ass without even having to look at the name when reading something this stupid. Who gives two shits about the distinction between not receiving a benefit, and being burdened with an extra cost? The point here is there is this thing --whether it’s a right, a bonus, a gift, two pieces of candy, a quaint perk, or something she neither needs nor deserves-- that she does not receive, specifically because she is gay. That is fucked up. Get it? Or do you just like whining about taxes so much, that you’re incapable of seeing the point? ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325/40 "2010-04-08T03:27:28Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Bring it, FI. We’re ready. No thoughts on why you should be eligible for the COBRA subsidy and the Cookies family should not aside from the fact that you make $250,000/year and are straight? Why do you keep bringing that up the $$$ anyway? It’s not really that hard for two family earners to make that much without even trying if they are in fields that are in demand. Woe be unto them if one of them loses a job through no fault of their own though. But luckily for you that will never happen to the Rands. For the love of OG get over yourself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-gay-is-costing-us-about-340-month/535325.md?page=3)