[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Much like you, as someone who has investments that are being taxed, have zero concern for people who despite working 40 hours a week are scraping by just to keep their car running or their heat on, or in a case like Flint, Mi, to afford bottled water to keep your children alive since the actual water provided (that you still have to pay for, lest you lose custody of your children) is toxic.

I'm not sure where you were intending on going with this screed, but no matter...

Originally Posted by wittynickname

You honestly have no grasp of what it's like to be poor, do you?

I have a pretty good idea of what it is like to survive off of peanut butter (and only peanut butter) for months at a time, going to bed at 5:30 under piles of blankets because I couldn't afford the electricity bill to keep the lights (or heat) on at night, and being concerned about whether my car would be reliable enough to get me to school and back for the semester.

Whether all of that qualifies as being "poor" I guess is up to your (and others) own definition of the term.

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Being poor is incredibly expensive.

It can be, but it doesn't have to be.

Originally Posted by wittynickname

If you're wealthy . . .

* * *

For a poor person . . .

Yeah, but here's the thing: life is about choices. People can choose to be wealthy, or they can choose to make repeatedly bad (or poor) decisions and be (or remain, or become) poor.

You can't afford your "crap car"? Fine, get a bicycle. Or walk.

You can't afford to buy a house? Well, not everyone deserves to have a house. Get over it.

You have a bad job? Well, do something about it--go to school and get a marketable degree in something that pays well.

And spare me the whole "if you have kids" thing, because that one is the most easily avoidable problem of them all, especially if you (i) aren't married; (ii) aren't well-educated; and/or (iii) don't have the money to support yourself.

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Forgive me if I don't feel too much sympathy for people for whom medicare taxes cut into their luxury items when we have millions of people in this country who flat out cannot afford necessities.

One commonality that the people who paying the increased Medicare taxes have with the "millions" who allegedly cannot afford necessities is that neither have limitless funds. Yet the government, and others like you, apparently, feel no compunction about further limiting the quantum of funds available to the alleged wealthy in order to support the lives of said "millions."

Have you ever wondered why the decades-long war on poverty has failed to achieve any real success? And do you lecture said "millions" on how they should better spend their limited monies, or do you only reserve such discourses to those whom you believe should pay more to support only the select others that you deem to be deserving of such largesse?

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Why should healthcare be available only to those who can afford it? Explain that to me without complaining about Your Tax Dollars and Your Investment Money.

Why don't poor people deserve health care?

Basic health care should be available to all, and should be paid for by all. More extensive health care treatments should be available to those who have the ability to pay for it and benefit from it.

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Oh, you mean going tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into student loan debt? Only to come out of college to find that those better jobs are not available in this economy so you end up working retail or service jobs to pay off that 90 grand in debt you accrued? Which you can't ever bankrupt your way out of? Which they will go after your next of kin for even if you die?

What do you mean by "in this economy"? Unemployment has been steadily trending downward--so much so that the Fed is now raising rates--and hiring is up.

The answer is truly simple: get a marketable degree in something that pays well. And you don't have to go "hundreds of thousands of dollars into student loan debt" to achieve that.

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Cities in the US that have the best public transportation systems are also the cities in the US that have the highest rent figures, so the savings on car payments/gas/insurance would be negated at best, and likely overcome by the rent costs.

Then get a bicycle. Or walk.

Or, in the context of getting an education, live on campus!

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Have your medicare tax costs ever prevented you from paying your water bill? From paying your mortgage? From buying food for yourself or your family?

No, no (I do not have a mortgage), and no.

The tax(es) have prevented me from investing additional monies, however--monies that could be used to (i) reduce my need for government services; and/or (ii) employ others (including at least a few of the "millions" who apparently are in need of better employment options).

Originally Posted by wittynickname

That's what happens if you equally tax poor people for medicare. You cut into the money they need for actual necessities.

Poor people need mortgages?!? Who knew?

More seriously, if you tax poor people for the services that they consume, they will become better consumers of the services. Simply giving them "free" money to purchase health insurance (or health care) will do nothing of the sort.

Originally Posted by wittynickname

What assets do you think poor people in America have?

Most of them have personal and physical capital--that is, the ability to something with their mind and/or their body. Most of them have a car that is rapidly depreciating and they would likely be better off without. Many of them probably live alone, when they would be better off with a roommate. Many likely have a few hundred dollars in a bank account and must be selective about what they can purchase and consume.

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Especially if they took your advice and went to college via student loans, at which point that <$10K in "assets" wouldn't come near the at least $30-40k in student loan debt that they now carry.

Do you honestly think that most college graduates come out of school with a positive net worth? Do you not believe that most college graduates struggle for several years? Do you not believe that there is some value in enduring such a struggle?

Originally Posted by wittynickname

Do you complain that your tax dollars go to paying the salaries/pensions/cadillac insurance plans of your senators and representatives? If not, stop complaining about helping poor people obtain healthcare. Your senators/reps/etc can afford to pay for their own and they don't, you do. If that doesn't bother you, stop whining about poor people who depend on that assistance to survive.

Quite frankly, I complain that my federal income tax bill amounts to two times (or more) of what my family's annual living expenses are. And I will continue to complain of that fact, especially when there are people who seemingly believe that I should pay even more taxes to support people who aren't even paying a dime into the same system.

I don't know how else to say it: Taking money from one group to give to another group will not, on a long-term basis, help the other group achieve any sort of lasting success and it will not help the other group escape poverty. The desire not to be "poor" must come from within, and no amount of money given to the "poor" person from a "wealthy" person will change that.