The US has Medicare and Medicaid, for the old and poor.
For the middle class learning that they will need to sacrifice more for sudden illness when they are uninsured. If they are unwilling to make those sacrifices, it is difficult to have too much sympathy, since this is the way the medical system is set up in the US for everyone.
[quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]Charlie Phillips: Indeed, they are middle class values, because the middle class are the ones who get screwed.
Put the shoe on the other foot. While he’s out living it up in his youth, does he give a second thought to the guy squirrelling his money away or paying for stupid things like health insurance premiums? People who don’t take responsibility for their futures (yet expect those who act in a responsible manner to do so) have extremely harsh views and show a lack of compassion. They’re not some poor, downtrodden segment of society. They’re just as selfish and callous, if not more so. The difference is that they often cause a whole lot of social ills as well.
I’ve seen this exact course of events affect my parents both directly (through my mother’s white trash relatives who have let money slip through their fingers before coming and sponging off my parents) and indirectly (through my parents working their arses off in jobs or a small business, paying for private education of their children, private healthcare, etc., and still getting raped on taxes for yet more irresponsible people).
So, to answer your question, yes, I would tell him he should have lived his life differently.[/quote]
Then don’t call yourself a Christian. I have to say that the most hypocritical thing about the US right (not that that necessarily includes you, GuyInTaiwan) is how they are so Christian about somethings but when it comes to paying a bit more tax to help the poor they are all so “it’s your life” about stuff. Assholes.
Getting raped on taxes? Give me a break! Let’s try to avoid the AM radio shit, OK?
[quote=“BigJohn”]Then don’t call yourself a Christian. I have to say that the most hypocritical thing about the US right (not that that necessarily includes you, GuyInTaiwan) is how they are so Christian about somethings but when it comes to paying a bit more tax to help the poor they are all so “it’s your life” about stuff. Assholes. [/quote]Ummm, is that kind of like the same people who value life so highly they will pass legislation to protect it yet at the same time spend billions on sending armed forces overseas and consider a few hundred thousand dead Iraqi’s collateral damage? Oops sorry, slightly off topic - but maybe there should be a weird editorial in the China Post about this…