The major defect in that idea has already been pointed out, and the quote marks around the word “help” is about as subtle as a heart attack.
The federal government should not be involved in personal welfare. This includes food, medical, etc.
Are you aware we have states? Each with a government?
And, if you don’t like your state, you’re free to move to another. There are 49 to choose from.
Well, I’m persuaded!
If you don’t like the federal government being involved in personal welfare, this includes food, medical, etc., you’re free to move to another country.
Yeah, I’m done. Honestly, I’d rather not even have that argument with someone who’s so dogmatic. It’ll just be a massive hijack. Might be worth a thread on its own.
I am trying to imagine what condition the red states would be in if it weren’t for all the aid the blue states gave them.
This is only slightly less disingenuous than saying “If you don’t like the US, you can move somewhere else.” It’s not at all easy to do - I’ve been doing the research.
Also, it’s just incredibly stupid from the point of administrative efficiency and cost-saving to have basic healthcare access tied to your current state of residence. That means that either you’ve got to set up quasi-national border security measures on state lines to prevent people crossing them unauthorized, or else every healthcare provider has to screen patients for their state of residence and deny care to nonresidents.
Say @Crafter_Man has a heart attack while off visiting his grandkids or whatever in a different state, well, he’s just shit out of luck, isn’t he? Either hustle back to your own state of residence for care, or cope with the emergency on your own with no help from local care providers.
Huh. Even though the Preamble to our Constitution says that We the People desire to ‘promote the general welfare’ to ourselves?
Citizens are our most valuable resource. Health care should be something everyone can access affordably. I don’t want a country of sick, hungry people. It is not humane and not good business sense.
The idea that very poor, disabled, or elderly can just pack up and move to a better state when they can’t even afford food is ludicrous. Entitled people always seem to think, “well, I can do it, so they should be able to”.
Governor Abbott announced he is trying to enact legal barriers to prevent New Yorkers from moving to Texas.
The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.
I wonder if the “let’s eliminate federal support for the public and dump it on the respective states” recent digression belongs as a separate thread?
I’ll ask the Mods via reporting this post.
Why?
If, hypothetically, the majority of the people in the US want the Federal government to provide aid to their fellow citizens what is wrong with that?
Of course, putting help in scare quotes sort of indicates where you’re coming from.
At the time the US was initially formed “medical care” involved, leeches, blood-letting, doctors who didn’t believe in washing their hands, and surgeries performed by your local barber. I really doubt the issue of “medical care” (or lack of it) was on the minds of any drafting the US constitution.
But OK, let’s do it your way. No more medicare for anyone. Service members in our armed forces no longer get medical coverage from the Federal government they’ll have to get it from whatever state they reside in and if they stationed overseas they’re SOL. Not one employee of the US government will get medical care from their employer ever again so that’s 2 million more folks also looking for coverage in whatever state they live in. I’m sure it will all be fine.
Also - that social security you were expecting to get? Nope - cause no more Feds being involved with “helping” people. All that money you’ve paid in over your life? >poof!< gone.
No more mortgage deductions on your Federal taxes. Either your state does that or no one.
Next natural disaster? No help from the Feds. Not even weather reporting for free, you can just pay for that out of your own pocket and if you can’t afford to subscribe to a warning service I guess you’ll just suffer whatever it is.
No more free access to GPS - can’t have the Feds “helping” anyone.
On and on and on.
Or is it just poor people who shouldn’t be helped? Everyone else gets a slice of the pie and something from the Feds except the poor, right?
Why not?
Let me refresh your memory on the preamble to the constitution. It runs like this, with some emphasis added:
We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
If a sufficiently large portion of the population decides that that means the Federal government gets involved in personal welfare then it’s the will of the people.
^ That, too
First of all, I expect everyone, every individual and every institution, to help people, and if any institution doesn’t help people, it should be abolished.
Second, if you think that the federal government shouldn’t be in the business of food assistance specifically, then you need to amend the Constitution, because it’s clearly an issue of interstate commerce. No state produces all of its food.
I’m pretty sure the guidelines vary by state, and COL in the areas.
What you are describing more closely falls SSI/SSDI guidelines, and those definitely need to be revised.
I wish someone would steal his wheelchair.
[removed joke about his handicap.]
No, what I described are the SNAP requirements. Yes, there are similarities between that and SSI but they are what they are. I am familiar with them because during the Great Recession me and mine were on SNAP for a couple years.
No, local cost of living is NOT taken into account. As it is a Federal program the program requirements are uniform across the nation.
While states might differ in how they disburse the funds and while a few states may offer additional state level aid what I described applies to all, whether they’re living in rural Wyoming or New York City.
I’m not sure if that was wishful thinking on your part or not.