IndependntLogic
Senior Member
- Jul 14, 2011
- 2,997
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I find the oversimplified analogy that our government should be run like a household, interesting. But I've thought about it and there is some merit to it. But there are some rather obvious differences. I never declared war on anyone. That's never profitable. The reverse, actually. It's a drain. I never gave subsidies to my local gas station or farms or whatever. There's another drain. I certainly never gave money to Pakistan or Iraq! Another drain.
However, I do have a strong set of values. I will not call my daughter a socialist if she wants me to pay for her college. Of all the things I would make a priority, that's certainly one. And no, I would prefer she NOT work her way through college as I'd like to see her perform well and graduate cum laude like dad or even better - magna or summa. My daughter has an excellent work ethic, is always on National Honor Role, is an Honor Athlete and starter on the tennis team at a school that was just ranked among America's best high schools by Newsweek, volunteers her time and is just plain great. One of the things I have taught her is that having long term goals and working toward them pays off. Earning a few bucks now, is nothing compared to the benefit of a degree from Stanford or UCLA. Anyone find a flaw in these values?
When my brother got cancer and the caps hit (yes he had insurance but this was before ObamaCare - which I think sucks but it does have a couple good points), we didn't turn our back on him. Would you? We had to sell one of the cars and the house (which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the market collapsed almost immediately afterward. Thanks God!) but it's not like we would refuse to help with health care of someone in our household. What kind of values does your household have if you would?
So if the government should operate like a household, the question is, what kind of household do we want? The kind that would hand out money to Exxon while we let our kids go without an education? The kind that would make sure our own family members died, if taking care of them cost us money or impinged on the profitability of an insurance company?
You want to compare government spending to be like a household budget, fine - The question is what kind of values does your household have?
However, I do have a strong set of values. I will not call my daughter a socialist if she wants me to pay for her college. Of all the things I would make a priority, that's certainly one. And no, I would prefer she NOT work her way through college as I'd like to see her perform well and graduate cum laude like dad or even better - magna or summa. My daughter has an excellent work ethic, is always on National Honor Role, is an Honor Athlete and starter on the tennis team at a school that was just ranked among America's best high schools by Newsweek, volunteers her time and is just plain great. One of the things I have taught her is that having long term goals and working toward them pays off. Earning a few bucks now, is nothing compared to the benefit of a degree from Stanford or UCLA. Anyone find a flaw in these values?
When my brother got cancer and the caps hit (yes he had insurance but this was before ObamaCare - which I think sucks but it does have a couple good points), we didn't turn our back on him. Would you? We had to sell one of the cars and the house (which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the market collapsed almost immediately afterward. Thanks God!) but it's not like we would refuse to help with health care of someone in our household. What kind of values does your household have if you would?
So if the government should operate like a household, the question is, what kind of household do we want? The kind that would hand out money to Exxon while we let our kids go without an education? The kind that would make sure our own family members died, if taking care of them cost us money or impinged on the profitability of an insurance company?
You want to compare government spending to be like a household budget, fine - The question is what kind of values does your household have?