Further thoughts
I was just rereading that long slog of a blog post I wrote the day of the election and realized I may have left a few things unclear.
One is, that whole extended whine about the Fannie/Freddie thing. I'm not begrudging those people some help, even though I think a lot of them – and even more, the institutions that originated those loans – were irresponsible and possibly even unethical. The bailout actually illustrates my point rather well – that even when people cause their own problems, leaving them to twist in the wind doesn't necessarily improve the situation for anyone, even for me, the person who has to pay for their mistakes. If nothing else, a freaked out, desperate person with nothing left to lose may be much less disinclined to clonk me over the head with a pipe and rob me in some midnight alley than someone who has more or less everything they need to feel safe and secure in the world.
Also, the way I feel about that situation makes me more sympathetic with people on the right who are always complaining about their hard-earned tax dollars going to support lazy, no-good welfare recipients who just don't want to work and expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter, or whatever it is the right is always complaining about.
I get up and go to work every day whether I feel like it or not. These days, I actually have TWO jobs, because my first, main job is with a company that is struggling just to keep the doors open, and they can no longer give anyone full-time employment. They've chosen to reduce everyone's hours instead of laying more people off, and have twisted themselves around like pretzels to try to ensure that those of us who depend on the company for health insurance still have enough hours to stay insured. It's not a perfect situation but I appreciate their commitment to trying to provide a good workplace and a great product. The company is small and healthcare, worker's comp and other government-mandated benefits are a big strain for them to have to pay. The way the current system is set up, smaller companies carry a disproportionate share of the burden of healthcare costs in particular. Smaller companies pay more, huge corporations pay less, per person, for the same coverage. Shouldn't everyone at least pay the same for the same coverage? That isn't what I call a handout. It seems only fair.
My other job is in just about the same sad circumstances. I'm part of a development team that is supposed to be raising operational funds, and it just isn't happening. First of all, there's no money for fund-raising activities – like, seriously, No. Money. Second, even the people who would normally love to donate are holding their wallets like precious newborn babies right now. Nobody's giving. The upshot of all this is that my second job may be going away after the first of the year, because I'm doubtful that we'll be able to raise enough money to pay me after that, and even in these tough times I still draw the line at working for free.
Anyway. This is quickly devolving into what sounds suspiciously like a complaint-fest, and that isn't my intention. I'm not even really trying to complain – just stating some observations. Money is not flowing so freely these days, at least not into my wallet, and so yeah, I do understand hard-working people who feel financially anxious and defensive against having their own money taken away and given to other people who aren't working at all.
I understand the feelings. But I still think that we're all safer and better off when everyone's needs are met, even the needs of people who aren't willing to work to take care of themselves.
Maybe more on this later ... or maybe not. I always get nervous when I talk about my political opinions here, because I fear some or most of them may be inexcusably half-baked. Last time I checked though there's still no law against spouting half-baked opinions on one's own blog.
One is, that whole extended whine about the Fannie/Freddie thing. I'm not begrudging those people some help, even though I think a lot of them – and even more, the institutions that originated those loans – were irresponsible and possibly even unethical. The bailout actually illustrates my point rather well – that even when people cause their own problems, leaving them to twist in the wind doesn't necessarily improve the situation for anyone, even for me, the person who has to pay for their mistakes. If nothing else, a freaked out, desperate person with nothing left to lose may be much less disinclined to clonk me over the head with a pipe and rob me in some midnight alley than someone who has more or less everything they need to feel safe and secure in the world.
Also, the way I feel about that situation makes me more sympathetic with people on the right who are always complaining about their hard-earned tax dollars going to support lazy, no-good welfare recipients who just don't want to work and expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter, or whatever it is the right is always complaining about.
I get up and go to work every day whether I feel like it or not. These days, I actually have TWO jobs, because my first, main job is with a company that is struggling just to keep the doors open, and they can no longer give anyone full-time employment. They've chosen to reduce everyone's hours instead of laying more people off, and have twisted themselves around like pretzels to try to ensure that those of us who depend on the company for health insurance still have enough hours to stay insured. It's not a perfect situation but I appreciate their commitment to trying to provide a good workplace and a great product. The company is small and healthcare, worker's comp and other government-mandated benefits are a big strain for them to have to pay. The way the current system is set up, smaller companies carry a disproportionate share of the burden of healthcare costs in particular. Smaller companies pay more, huge corporations pay less, per person, for the same coverage. Shouldn't everyone at least pay the same for the same coverage? That isn't what I call a handout. It seems only fair.
My other job is in just about the same sad circumstances. I'm part of a development team that is supposed to be raising operational funds, and it just isn't happening. First of all, there's no money for fund-raising activities – like, seriously, No. Money. Second, even the people who would normally love to donate are holding their wallets like precious newborn babies right now. Nobody's giving. The upshot of all this is that my second job may be going away after the first of the year, because I'm doubtful that we'll be able to raise enough money to pay me after that, and even in these tough times I still draw the line at working for free.
Anyway. This is quickly devolving into what sounds suspiciously like a complaint-fest, and that isn't my intention. I'm not even really trying to complain – just stating some observations. Money is not flowing so freely these days, at least not into my wallet, and so yeah, I do understand hard-working people who feel financially anxious and defensive against having their own money taken away and given to other people who aren't working at all.
I understand the feelings. But I still think that we're all safer and better off when everyone's needs are met, even the needs of people who aren't willing to work to take care of themselves.
Maybe more on this later ... or maybe not. I always get nervous when I talk about my political opinions here, because I fear some or most of them may be inexcusably half-baked. Last time I checked though there's still no law against spouting half-baked opinions on one's own blog.
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