Who here receives government benefits

With all of the people I see posting who are in excess of 60 years of age, it would seem that a good percentage of people complaining about big government and government programs are living off the government.

SS, medicare, medicaid, unemployment, disability, food stamps? Military benefits? VA [ie socialized medicine]?

Who here is living off Uncle Sam or getting benefits, and then complaining about it? I would bet the answer is, most.

I will never forget the summer of Obamacare, with halls full of retirees complaining about government programs. One speaker asked the raging crowd of tea partiers who was receiving benefits, and sure enough, it was most of the people complaining.

I've never collected a dime from the government for anything; not for college or my business or anything else in my life. Who here [esp over 50] can make the same claim?

 

I've got 11 more yrs. before I'm eligible for SS, and still working. I've been contributing to SS for 35 yrs. and although I don't anticipate actually needing those SS checks, I intend to collect them for many, many years. Heap your condemnations on FDR. Architect of American socialism.

 

Fine. So you can't very well object in principle while cashing your checks.

You didn't answer my question: Have you ever collected benefits?

 

I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer. - Ben Franklin

 

Who here receives government benefits and advocates for more of them? Because that's much worse.

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If a thug steals $100 from you, is it unethical to chase him down again and take back $20?

Recall: regulations alone have made the American economy a third of the size it otherwise would be, so this isn't as hypothetical a scenario as it seems.

 

Oh!, but I do object, and will be cashing those checks purely out of spite. Of course what I object to the most is that I'll have to continue paying property taxes. When I see, or worse, hear, one of the fine products produced in our dysfunctional public schools, I simply want to wretch. I'd like a refund please.

 

Not only have I never received any government benefits, but I have never been unemployed one day of my life since the day I graduated from college in June of 1999.

 

Never any government benefits. Did receive a settlement from the government, but it had nothing to do with benefits or welfare.

But the OP assertions also are not accurate. Not wanting illegal immigrants, alcoholics, druggies, lazyasses and welfare cheats to get money from taxpayers is not the same as legitimate unemployment insurance, SS, Medicare or Medicaid, particularly for people who paid into that "insurance" out of their paychecks for years and decades - nor does it have ANYTHING to do with opposing big government.

 

You've only been in the work force for 17 years.

You do understand if you work for either local, county, state or the federal government, that paycheck is a federal benefit in exchange for not having a real job in the private sector.

Civil service employees seem to be the Democrat base.

 

Other than food stamps/medicaid the rest are earned benefits. I worked over 50 years and never took a dime of any type welfare. You say the same?

 

Good for you and thanks for providing tax $$$$ for Medicare and SSI. I suggest you save your money though, old age on government programs really sucks.

 

I used my GI Bill benefits, but I traded 3 years of my life for them. Other than that, nothing, and I'm 61.

 

Police, fire fighters, paramedics and military personnel don't have "real jobs?" Think again before you post please.

 

Don't you work for the government?

 

I can.

I am of the opinion that it becomes hypocritical to take government money once your take exceeds your tax bill. At that point you become part of th3 problem, not merely someone trying to take back what was stolen from you.

 

I am 70 years old. I am not American but I did live in the States during the 60's and I served in Vietnam with the American Army. For that reason I receive a very small pension from the US in addition to my national pension. I could have refused it but I think of it as a sort of revenge for risking my life for an unworthy cause. Do you rate that as "living off Uncle Sam"?

 

We are about the same age...My first career was military and I retired after 22 years...I do collect my military retirement...I earned it and it was part of the deal...Neither of us are 'living off of Uncle Sam'...

 

At 68 Im semi retired and am collecting 740 dollars a month from SS I started paying when I was 16 so I think I deserve it

 

If you don't pay property taxes, who do you expect to provide you with fire & Police protection, your highway department, sanitation, etc?

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Since you've paid into it, you earned the benefit fair and square.

 

I'm a little over 30.
I get to use public roads. Thats one government benefit.

 

You have never been forced to live here. Your choice. So take your wretch, it's BS.

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Didn't you say once, you are Native American?

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How do you know?

 

I thought about it over 47 years ago, they aren't jobs but duty too country and the American people.

During the 1960's and 70's you had those who are today the Democrat establishment who spat upon American soldiers and showed no respect towards those who stood post wearing the uniform.

I've see riots in L.A. where fire fighters and paramedics were targets of sniper fire while responding to the animals who were looting and burning down their own neighborhoods.

You have had the Black Panthers, Weather Underground killing cops and today Black Lives Matter (BLM) the same BLM that the former President Obama and the Democrat party endorsed last year, the same BLM who called for killing cops. And many have carried out killing cops.

Soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, cops, fire fighters, paramedics don't have real jobs, just a mission that many Americans refuse to do.

Real jobs are when you get up in the morning, go to work and aren't a target of some bullet or brick or bomb or collapsing building that's on fire and don't have to worry about being killed or seriously injured and after eight hours you return home to your family and four or six hours later you crawl into a bed at night, cut some Zzz's for eight hours and do it all over again in the morning.

 

I'll bet there are people who will disagree with us.

 

I'm pretty sure that was Elizabeth "Pocahontas" Warren who made that claim.

 

That's like saying if you remove the traffic light from the intersection you'll never be able to cross the road again because there will be no green light. If property taxes are unfair (IF property taxes are unfair - If) then 'fire & Police protection, highway department, sanitation, etc.' should be funded by some other means.