My high school graduating class has a dedicated person who will forward along to all of the over 200 graduates anything class members choose to share - except when one of us is soliciting funds for a charity or trying to sell something. I think that's appropriate. And most of us know not to get "political" even though some of the snarky comments are borderline.
Anyway, someone posts a story from 1985, mind you, about a hometown ball field, (one he grew up playing on, and he's 75 years old now!) Seems it was in such bad shape, county commissioners were proposing it be closed. Thirty years ago! And my former classmate goes on a mini-rant about when the government gets involved in
"anything dealing with kids they really mess it up." I just
wanted to scream. Who the hell does he think builds, maintains, and staffs
parks (for kids)? The government! City, County, State, National
government. When was the last time big business built a park for kids?
Are we living in alternate universes? And besides, that park has been
absorbed by a nearby school athletic association. Not exactly
unavailable to kids. Arghhhh.
My dad was a
disinterested worker bee for the U.S. Government for thirty years, and he retired
to be continuously taken care of by the government for the rest of his
life. Multiple surgeries, hospital stays, etc. etc. Not one thin
dime out of his pocket.
I walk into a doctor's
office and get essentially free care; my husband's last surgery probably was
over a hundred thousand dollars - not a penny from us. Who do all the
government haters think is taking care of them/going to take care of them
forever? Not capitalism, not free market economics, not major
corporations. The government.
Medicare was supposed to run out of
money by 2016 - wait that's now, right? And the Affordable Care Act along with
lower healthcare costs (lowest since 1960) allowed the trust fund to stabilize
until 2030. Hmmm. But isn't that "Obama Care?" Give me
strength.
Who makes sure the air
we breathe, the food we eat, the roads we drive on, and the water we drink are safe? Who employs law enforcement? Does anyone
really believe that private enterprise would do that? I know there is
waste, I know there is corruption, I know the system is fraught with problems
and bloat, etc. but I would hate to try to exist watching the lowest
bidder provide all those services.
But that's just me.