Frustrated by Rhetoric
Oct. 22nd, 2008 04:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeanvieveOkay - I confess it. I'm kind of irritated right now at middle class GOP spouters of party rhetoric. This was in response to a friend's friend's post, (sorry hon!) so taking it offline lest I irritate her friends when they don't know me. But I wanted to posit an issue in Real America. Right here, right now, my house. And I'm middle class, with a great job! This is a rant.
I'm happy you're well off, you comfortable middle class GOP supporters that think things are fine the way they are. I recommend highly both examining the facts around the current unemployment rates, and going down to volunteer at the local food banks.
Rule 1) Do not believe anything ANY politician says during an election year. It's sweet that you do, but incredibly naive.
My mother cannot get a doctor to see her. Why? She has no job and no insurance and has no social security for another couple of years. Can she just pay a doctor to see her care of her daughter (me) who can scrape together a couple hundred if needed for this emergency? No. They will not take any patients that are not at least on the Oregon state medical system. Why is she not on that system? Because she has no children under 18 that would make her eligible.
Why can she not simply be on it because she has nothing? Well, there's a lot of people on it, that also have nothing. It's a long list.
Imagine if you simply could not get to see ANY doctor. Even the free clinics are turning you away because they are already strained to the max.
This is the country you guys are ALREADY LIVING IN.
How nice. Your candidate advocates a tax rebate system, and kickbacks for buying medical insurance. Wouldn't it be a joy to be able to get a job at even minimum wage so that she could pay some taxes? And then maybe spend 2/3 of that paycheck on standard medical insurance (which requires no pre-existing conditions if you don't want to pay over $600/month)? Then pay $4k a year out of pocket on a deductible and likely no prescription bennies?
Let's pretend mom wants to go with the GOP plan. Does anyone know anyone that is hiring a 60 year old woman? Because the job market is tough enough for college educated youths, let alone someone near retirement. She tried flagging, but imagine knowing YOUR mother was out on the road in winter in freezing rain for 10 hours a day risking her life vs insane, asshole motorists who think it's fun to drive their cars at flaggers in construction sites. Like it? How about working graveyards doing heavy machinery work, so hard that they cannot feel their hands most days and their shoulders are going numb. Or imagine how you'd feel as your mother gives you directions to a place and casually tells you that she's going to sell plasma. I hope, like me, you'd turn the car around and go home and say no way. I have been that poor, to sell my own blood. I will be dead in hell before I let my mother do it.
This is where my mom is right now. Screw all of that, at least I can afford to support my own mother. But imagine what it would feel like to be unable to get your own mother's cancerous skin spots cut off.
Then talk to me again about how you hate the red tape a socialized medical system advocated by Democrats would cause. Then tell me how you think vouchers and rebates and stuff would help poor people who have NOTHING. You have to be able to make money to save money, spend money, and get rebates and taxes on your money.
If my mom didn't have me and family, she would be homeless and living in the streets. Think about how any of you would feel if a beloved family member just couldn't manage. Then two. Then three other family members. I'm taking care of people where I can. Thank god that I can! How sucky it must be to not be able to take care of your own family!
If your govt can help you not starve to death and die too young due to neglect, should it not do so? Or does it owe nothing to the people that live within it? When did our government stop being of the people, by the people, and FOR the people?
I'm happy you're well off, you comfortable middle class GOP supporters that think things are fine the way they are. I recommend highly both examining the facts around the current unemployment rates, and going down to volunteer at the local food banks.
Rule 1) Do not believe anything ANY politician says during an election year. It's sweet that you do, but incredibly naive.
My mother cannot get a doctor to see her. Why? She has no job and no insurance and has no social security for another couple of years. Can she just pay a doctor to see her care of her daughter (me) who can scrape together a couple hundred if needed for this emergency? No. They will not take any patients that are not at least on the Oregon state medical system. Why is she not on that system? Because she has no children under 18 that would make her eligible.
Why can she not simply be on it because she has nothing? Well, there's a lot of people on it, that also have nothing. It's a long list.
Imagine if you simply could not get to see ANY doctor. Even the free clinics are turning you away because they are already strained to the max.
This is the country you guys are ALREADY LIVING IN.
How nice. Your candidate advocates a tax rebate system, and kickbacks for buying medical insurance. Wouldn't it be a joy to be able to get a job at even minimum wage so that she could pay some taxes? And then maybe spend 2/3 of that paycheck on standard medical insurance (which requires no pre-existing conditions if you don't want to pay over $600/month)? Then pay $4k a year out of pocket on a deductible and likely no prescription bennies?
Let's pretend mom wants to go with the GOP plan. Does anyone know anyone that is hiring a 60 year old woman? Because the job market is tough enough for college educated youths, let alone someone near retirement. She tried flagging, but imagine knowing YOUR mother was out on the road in winter in freezing rain for 10 hours a day risking her life vs insane, asshole motorists who think it's fun to drive their cars at flaggers in construction sites. Like it? How about working graveyards doing heavy machinery work, so hard that they cannot feel their hands most days and their shoulders are going numb. Or imagine how you'd feel as your mother gives you directions to a place and casually tells you that she's going to sell plasma. I hope, like me, you'd turn the car around and go home and say no way. I have been that poor, to sell my own blood. I will be dead in hell before I let my mother do it.
This is where my mom is right now. Screw all of that, at least I can afford to support my own mother. But imagine what it would feel like to be unable to get your own mother's cancerous skin spots cut off.
Then talk to me again about how you hate the red tape a socialized medical system advocated by Democrats would cause. Then tell me how you think vouchers and rebates and stuff would help poor people who have NOTHING. You have to be able to make money to save money, spend money, and get rebates and taxes on your money.
If my mom didn't have me and family, she would be homeless and living in the streets. Think about how any of you would feel if a beloved family member just couldn't manage. Then two. Then three other family members. I'm taking care of people where I can. Thank god that I can! How sucky it must be to not be able to take care of your own family!
If your govt can help you not starve to death and die too young due to neglect, should it not do so? Or does it owe nothing to the people that live within it? When did our government stop being of the people, by the people, and FOR the people?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Lest you think she was unique..
Date: 2008-10-23 01:36 am (UTC)She's lost nearly twenty pounds, only being able to eat very very soft things.
And this is someone that the current system is actually successful for. What a great success story. Proud yet?
no subject
Date: 2008-10-23 06:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-23 06:04 am (UTC)The health care issue in this country is tragic and awful! I am a huge advocate of socialized health care systems. They aren't perfect but they are a hell of a lot better than what we've got. I benefited greatly from the Danish system and the German system (although I preferred the Danish system). I had to postpone my return to my home country (the good ol' US of A) because I would have come back pregnant, with no access to health care. By staying in Denmark I had excellent, top of the line prenatal care simply because I was a legal resident of that country.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-23 01:20 pm (UTC)gov't can suck
Date: 2008-10-26 06:54 pm (UTC)Bring mom with you, drop her off and I'll take her to the local clinics and health fairs and get her all flu-season ready. We'll tell 'em she's a new resident of Cali. and get her the same bennies as the illegals. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is your gov't dollar working to save "our" economy!