Parents on government subsidy

[sunnydays]

I lived in the United States for a LONG time. So, unlike most Canadians who think NON-Universal health care is a bad thing I actually have FIRST hand experience with it.

I have been on both side of the fence and I would take the U.S. way in a heartbeat.

You know, in the U.S. they give you very little welfare and most of it is paid DIRECTLY to your housing corporation. Wanna buy groceries....fine... .you get a debit card type thing. Wanna buy milk and eggs...fine...it goes through the scanner at the cash register. BUT, when you buy chips and pop the cashiers system flags it and you have to PAY for it with CASH instead of your food stamps card. It is VERY difficult to abuse the welfare system in the states. And, as a result people actually WORK for a living.

I worked with MANY Mexicans who didn't have a single dime when they moved to that country and because they were HARD workers they managed to feed and house their families with NO government assistance - NONE! So, yes, it CAN be done.

Non-Universal health care?? Here's the thing - if you have a JOB then you 99% of the time will have HEALTH care because of that job. No job - no health care. And this is why more people actually KEEP their jobs. It's win-win for everyone.

I just don't believe that those who sit on welfare or use the system at LENGTH (as in year after year or, in many cases, generations) really WANT to work. You know, when I lived in the states I had a very high management job. EVERY day, when I went to lunch and stopped at a traffic light some vagrant would approach my car for change. And EVERY single day I gave at least ONE person my business card and told them, "You come see me - I WILL give you a job". And do you wanna know how many people after years and years and YEARS of me giving out those cards ever came to see me about a job???? NOT ONE!

My opinions are not just born from ignorance; they are born of experience.

I also had the unfortunate situation of a loved one falling VERY ill (spent 7 days in ICU) while living there. And you know what?? The REASON he literally nearly lost his LIFE was because OUR system, here in Canada, is so screwed up that he was on a waiting list. Yes, he came to visit us and nearly DIED from the same damn ailment that we Canadians did NOT have enough in our Health (sick) care coffers to take care of! And you know what?? Within TWENTY-FOUR hours of his arrival to the ER in the states he got a CAT scan, and MRI, and a surgery where they flew in the BEST surgeon in that field from Massachusettes. He lived BECAUSE of the way they handle medical care in the United States, not despite it. If that had happened to him while in Canada I have NO doubt he would have died.

I've BTDT. I KNOW how both systems work. And I will take the U.S. system of every man for himself any day of the week.

I think it is easy to say "every man for himself" is best when you are born into privelege as I hazard to guess you have been. By privelege, I mean, white middle class English speaking etc. I agree that many immigrants here and in the US are much harder workers than anyone born here and that is why they can make something out of nothing and succeed. But how many people are falling through the cracks because they don't have the help when it is needed? What about those who have been laid off and have no insurance and then get sick...should we say "too bad...you should be working?" I do not disagree at all that many people are lazy and abuse the system...my point is that there are also many who really need help and helping them betters our society. Kids who have a good start in life with access to food, health care, education, grow up to be contributers to society instead of angry criminals. So, why should we pay for other people's poor decisions etc? Because the kids are our future and the more we invest in them, the brighter our future as a society is. I cannot believe anyone would say that the US way is better...crime is higher, poverty is higher, violence is higher and there are vast ghettos full of angry disillusioned youth. Is that better? Really? Well, I suppose as long as you are not living in the ghetto you can close your eyes to the problems and go about your rosy life, but I do not believe this will lead to a better future for anyone.