by fortbuckley on Sep.14, 2009, under Uncategorized
You Don’t Have A “Right” To The Job Of Your Dreams—You DO Have A Duty To Pull Your Own Weight In Life
In one of Al Gore’s national campaigns—I can’t remember if it was for President or VP—he appeared on a televised forum. (The audience was young adults, so it was probably MTV. )
An obviously intelligent young lady, just graduated from college, told Gore that she planned to pursue a career in the “creative arts.” She wanted to know whether Gore, if elected, could enhance government-funded health care options for people (like herself) who pursued career paths that didn’t pay well.
Gore said he’d try. I wished he’d said something like this instead: “Ma’am, you’re obviously talented and capable. We need to save our precious public health care funding for people who are truly needy, who truly can’t provide for themselves. You need to take care of your own healthcare needs. Find a job that allows you to do that.”
Maybe, now that we’re in the midst of a great national debate on healthcare, Gore could say it now? I wish he would.
I encourage everyone to follow their dreams. If you want to be a painter, or a writer, or a performance artist, great!
However, you’re a citizen first. That entails personal responsibility. I submit that, one of those responsibilities is making sure your personal needs—food, shelter, healthcare—are taken care of by YOU.
That’s what jobs are traditionally for. You take a job that gives you the money and benefits you need to feed, clothe, shelter and take care of you and yours.
Now, it would be nice if you can find a job that does all those things AND you enjoy—but it’s not critical. It’s not central to the reason for working in American society and it never has been. We work to support ourselves and (hopefully) not burden our neighbors and neighborhood. We don’t work for fun, personal growth and fulfilment.
I suspect that some of the advocates for a public healthcare option hope that, if the government will take care of their medical bills, they can then pursue jobs that they like more but pay less. Well, in a capitalist society, the better paying jobs tend to be those that provide services that society values. (I’m referring to private-sector jobs here. I acknowledge that many public servants—e.g., teachers, social workers—don’t get paid commensurate with their work’s value to society).
Remember economics class, when the teacher talked about Adam Smith’s “invisible hand?” Capitalist economies will naturally shift resources to those needs people most want fulfilled. People who do those jobs, who fulfill those needs, get better pay and benefits.
Does this mean that every idealistic, aspiring writer or painter should go work on Wall Street or join the Army. No. It does mean, though, that you need to take steps to ensure that, if you do have health problems, you’re covered.
Take a job that offers benefits, and pursue your dream on the weekends or evenings. Most young people are healthy enough to qualify for catastrophic health care coverage with premiums of just a few hundred dollars a month. So, buy a beater car, get the basic cable package, take a roommate and buy the insurance you need.
We need to save our limited public healthcare dollars for the disabled, single parents, and others who really aren’t financially able to meet their needs. The rest of us need to pull our own weight.
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September 14th, 2009 on 6:22 pm
“We don’t work for fun, personal growth and fulfilment.”
Boy Howdy! That’s why they call it work.
September 14th, 2009 on 7:49 pm
Funny you put a caveat about private vs. public sector employment, because nothing about her question or Gore’s reply implies private sector only.
September 15th, 2009 on 6:12 am
I don’t see your point. Could you restate it, and elaborate?
September 14th, 2009 on 8:04 pm
And for those who perform critical functions in our society, doing “real work”, who are just one accident or major illness away from a lifetime of poverty, despite “full medical coverage?” What about them?
What about the pensioners who have worked their whole lives, planning for a healthy retirement with all of the tools of this great status quo system, only to find that their coverage is worthless and their first stroke burns through 600,000 dollars of their estate in a year?
Pointing to the thoughtless and gullible art student is easy. I suspect most of the people I know who pulled their own weight and are facing the insurance companies, or rather the real “death panels,” would argue that the issue is far more complicated than dreamy jobs for artsy students.
September 15th, 2009 on 6:10 am
Chron, you make good points about people who have insurance, and then that insurance company stiffs them. That’s why each state has insurance commissioners, states attorneys and prisons.
And for those who perform critical functions in our society, doing “real work”, who are just one accident or major illness away from a lifetime of poverty, despite “full medical coverage?” What about them?
Well…if they have “full medical coverage,” then that coverage should kick in. If they took out short/long-term disability policies, those should kick in, too.
As for the “lifetime of poverty” comment—universal health care will cover health bills, but not all living expenses for the disabled. What exactly do you propose, and how do you propose paying for it?
would argue that the issue is far more complicated than dreamy jobs for artsy students.
Please. I never claimed that my 540+ word article covered everything there is to say about the health care debate.
But hey, chronography, now that you’ve SPOKEN TRUTH TO POWER!!!, let’s hear your solution. In 540 words or less.
September 16th, 2009 on 7:52 am
“Spoken truth to power?” I may have spoken the truth, but you are as powerless as the rest of us. Or was that a lame attempt at a joke?
State insurance commissioners? State Attorneys and prisons? Your ignorance of the reality that people who “played by the rules, and carried their fair share” face is one of the biggest parts of the problem. At least you dont lie, its obvious you just don’t understand the reality of the situation.
A solution? Its really pretty simple. Adopt the German system. 1/2 the cost, longer lifespans, healthier population, far lower infant mortality, house calls!, and German industry is not saddled with the cost of providing health care.
September 17th, 2009 on 6:01 am
Your ignorance of the reality that people who “played by the rules, and carried their fair share” face is one of the biggest parts of the problem.
Are you normally this arrogant?
As for people who “played by the rules and carried their fair share,” if you’re saying that people are being treated unfairly by insurance companies—many conservatives are open to insurance reform. If these people to whom you refer didn’t take out insurance in the first place, or join an employer with a decent health plan, then they really didn’t “carry their fair share,” did they?
At least you dont lie, its obvious you just don’t understand the reality of the situation.
Ah…you can read minds! You can tell what people are thinking!
OK…what am I thinking now?
September 15th, 2009 on 9:51 am
I don’t even know where to start, Don. You might say I’m gobsmacked.
One of your supporting points seems to be that we all have a responsibility to each other. It’s interesting to hear a conservative talk about our collective responsibility rather than individual rights. Does your philosophy on our responsibility to one another go beyond doing what we need to do to insure that we have no collective responsibility for one another (and national defense, of course)?
On another subject, I find that the personal narrative used as example is a common element in conservative arguments. You used this in your statements about catastrophic health insurance. Basically, it seems to be variations on the theme of, “I did it this way, you can too”. Any idea why this is so popular in conservative arguments and essays? I could be wrong, but most liberal arguments seem to refer to a third person.
September 17th, 2009 on 5:55 am
collective responsibility rather than individual rights.
No, I’m talking about individual responsibility.
Does your philosophy on our responsibility to one another go beyond doing what we need to do to insure that we have no collective responsibility for one another (and national defense, of course)?
Not on this discussion thread.
September 15th, 2009 on 5:42 pm
I saw in Georgia they are thinking that maybe public schools are socialistic.
After all, why should my hard earned tax dollars be used to educate your undeserving son, when you should pay for it yourself ?
The blind hand of the marketplace does not produce what most of us consider to be a decent society, which the citizens of other more “socialistic” countries such as Canada know full well.
I would rather live in a country where everyone had healthcare and education guaranteed than one where some had elite educations and excellent healthcare while others were ignorant and in poor health.
Of course that would deprive me of the joy of feeling self righteous, but its a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
September 17th, 2009 on 5:53 am
The blind hand of the marketplace does not produce what most of us consider to be a decent society, which the citizens of other more “socialistic” countries such as Canada know full well.
If you want to go on record as saying that the Canadian health care system is better than ours, be my guest. I don’t advise it, but that’s your choice.
I would rather live in a country where everyone had healthcare and education guaranteed than one where some had elite educations and excellent healthcare while others were ignorant and in poor health.
Of course that would deprive me of the joy of feeling self righteous, but its a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
Don’t let us stop you. There are planes to Canada every day and the highways are open!
September 17th, 2009 on 6:50 am
Although things have changed in Argentina and Chile, there are still ways to get to Myanmar, Don.
September 16th, 2009 on 2:10 am
So, “here’s the thing,” as Master Card used to say. All those that are so adamant about the public option, who at the same time spout, “Support The Troops” are so full of crap, that it is hard to sleep with a clear conscience.
Do you all know that any veteran with a disability rating cannot only NOT get Life Insurance for the balance of their life , but cannot ever get health insurance in the market place outside the VA?
So the warrior who puts himself/herself , in harms way, and is wounded in the service to their Nation, is not qualified for health insurance from the NATION they defended because of a “pre-existing condition.” Bull…sh…t to the bone.
No rated veteran can get life insurance for the balance of their mortal life.
How would the Tea Party puppets answer this?
Maybe the next March on Washington should be populated with ALL combat veterans who cannot get health insurance, and we will just make a ring around the phony Patriots and keep them cloistered on the mall until they agree to pay for our Life Insurance policies for our dependents.
I say, take off the gloves, and bring it on. Most posters here, never served one hour in combat, and do not have an ounce of understanding about what it means to defend our Constitution.
September 17th, 2009 on 5:51 am
Mike, if you want to argue that veterans’ health care is not what it should be, please do so. (In fact, don’t you do that daily on your blog?)
No rated veteran can get life insurance for the balance of their mortal life. How would the Tea Party puppets answer this?
Maybe the next March on Washington should be populated with ALL combat veterans who cannot get health insurance, and we will just make a ring around the phony Patriots and keep them cloistered on the mall until they agree to pay for our Life Insurance policies for our dependents.
Where has the Tea Party movement said that veterans’ health care should be cut? Link, please.
I suppose I should give you an A for effort, though, in logical leaping. My post is about people who are healthy and capable, but don’t fund their own personal healthcare needs. You’ve leapt here to decrying an abandonment of our veterans—when that’s not what’s being called for.
Are you just looking for an opportunity to rant and insult?
Most posters here, never served one hour in combat, and do not have an ounce of understanding about what it means to defend our Constitution.
Man, what arrogance. Sorry, Mike—ALL Americans get to be citizens, with equal rights and position. Non-veterans get to have the same say in how their country is run as you do.
I say, take off the gloves, and bring it on.
I say, go right ahead. Stand on your chair, with fists clenched in rage, and lecture away.
We conservatives can then point to you, turn to the rest of America and say “WOW…whew! Get a load of THAT guy! THAT’s the kind of person who votes for Maxine Waters or Pete Stark. We need to do something about that in 2010—care to join us?”
September 18th, 2009 on 2:04 am
Don,
I will make another leap of logic into the pool of arrogance at another sitting. Your non-sequiturs here are a bit too much to address without more time to muse.
Possibly some other readers will comment, as they see that my posting had absolutely nothing to do with VA health care. The arrogant ole bastard says, look up the word projection and come back to class prepared.
And, what gives you the impression that I am not conservative? The arrogance or the facts? Or factual arrogance? I will accept the latter moniker.
And, I cannot stand on a chair. My leg was crushed in Vietnam.
September 18th, 2009 on 2:26 am
Oh yeah its a secret, so don’t tell anyone, I am not a Democrat. You are going to have to use Leftfield as a straw man.
September 19th, 2009 on 6:11 am
So the warrior who puts himself/herself , in harms way, and is wounded in the service to their Nation, is not qualified for health insurance from the NATION they defended because of a “pre-existing condition.” Bull…sh…t to the bone.
Mike, you make it sound as if American has made no meaningful provision for the health care of its wounded warriors. It has—the VA. Americans provide for those wounded in the country’s service by funding and running the VA hospitals.
Private health care insurance doesn’t have an obligation to treat wounded servicemen/women—We The People do. And, we have made those provisions.
The arrogant ole bastard
Don’t you mean “The arrogant ole bitter bastard?”
September 19th, 2009 on 7:12 am
I forgot to say this before I posted: You do have a point on pre-existing conditions. I’m confident if you ask those Tea Partiers, you’ll find that many (if not most) of them support health-care insurance reform. What they DON’T support is a de facto evisceration of our private healthcare insurance system.
September 18th, 2009 on 7:45 am
That’s OK – in return we get to point to you and say
Get a load of THAT guy! THAT’s the kind of person who votes for Joe Wilson. We need to do something about that in 2010—care to join us?”
September 19th, 2009 on 6:04 am
tiponeil, I triple-dog-dare you to say that to the voting population in general. I think the conversation will go something like this:
Voting Public: Who’s Joe Wilson?
tiponeil: He’s the Congressman who shouted “You Lie!” at President Obama during his healthcare speech to a joint session of Congress—DOESN’T THAT MAKE YOU FURIOUS!!!!!!!
Voting Public: Ummm…not really.
tiponeil: (Insert racist insinuation here)
September 19th, 2009 on 8:39 am
Don’t worry – your dare will be gladly accepted
As with most conservatives, you have a distorted view of “the voting population” and think that it is composed of white southern males like Wilson’s constituents.
For the rest of us, Wilson will serve as an example of Republicans in general, happily.
And since the demographics of the US will continue to change, the right wing white male will become more and more of a minority of “the voting population”.
Life is good
September 18th, 2009 on 1:37 pm
No rated veteran can get life insurance for the balance of their mortal life. How would the Tea Party puppets answer this?
Maybe the next March on Washington should be populated with ALL combat veterans who cannot get health insurance, and we will just make a ring around the phony Patriots and keep them cloistered on the mall until they agree to pay for our Life Insurance policies for our dependents.
Where has the Tea Party movement said that veterans’ health care should be cut? Link, please.
Interesting, Don. Mr. Brewer didn’t place the Tea Party inside that “ring around the phony patriots” – you did.
Most posters here, never served one hour in combat, and do not have an ounce of understanding about what it means to defend our Constitution.
Does that say all Americans don’t get to be citizens? I don’t see that interpretation, and it doesn’t say non-veterans don’t get a say in the running of the country either. There is no way to deny that those who have not served in the military do not know what it means to defend our country with your own life. With your own life.
What is a person who is not a conservative? What label do you put on everyone else – the present majority, since conservatives are plainly a minority, shrinking every day.
September 19th, 2009 on 6:17 am
winneo, for the most part, I can’t follow your argument here—sorry. Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee this morning, but your post reads like a rambling rant to me.
No rated veteran can get life insurance for the balance of their mortal life.
How would the Tea Party puppets answer this?
Mr. Brewer did say this; I’ve responded above. He also said this:
Most posters here, never served one hour in combat, and do not have an ounce of understanding about what it means to defend our Constitution.
How does he know that? What gives him the grounds to assert that?
Are you playing Lemoo, to Mr. Brewer’s Gaston? (Look it up)
September 19th, 2009 on 6:24 am
Correction—”Lefou,” not “Lemoo”
September 19th, 2009 on 7:22 am
Alrighty then. I rather suppose coffee won’t cure your logic shortcomings. Your cognitive biases are showing, and you seem to have no recourse beyond a shirt-pocket ad hominem attack. At one time, I had hope for your column, but it’s really too much self-reflection for you, isn’t it?
Do say hello to Mrs. Potts for me, will you?
September 19th, 2009 on 7:15 pm
At one time, I had hope for your column
winneo, I suppose I should say I’m sorry to be disappointing you—but really, I’m not.
it’s really too much self-reflection for you, isn’t it?
I’ve read your arguments, and found them either unpersuasive or confusing. And, I don’t see why it’s worth my time to try and uppack/decipher them. If you disapprove of what I’m writing and what I think—well, who cares? I don’t.
September 19th, 2009 on 7:27 pm
You’re a lightning rod, Don. Is it worse to attract negative attention, or to be ignored? I think you owe the success of your blog to people just like winneo, tiponeill and myself.
Feel free to be effusive in your gratitude to me.
September 19th, 2009 on 7:42 pm
Left, admit it—if it wasn’t for our exchanges, your life would be boring and you know it.
Is it worse to attract negative attention, or to be ignored?
As long as I don’t end up with a horse’s head in my bed, I prefer the attention!
September 19th, 2009 on 10:22 pm
There lies the biggest problem we have in this country today. People just don’t bother to try to understand someone else’s viewpoint. Or, really, they just don’t want to understand. Too risky.
September 19th, 2009 on 4:30 pm
Wow, Mr Don, you do seem to find “arrogance” at every turn. Have you ever heard the phrase, “paranoia attracts the thing it fears?”
To be erudite is a clear distinction from arrogant. Anyhow, in real life I am much closer to “Lumiere!”
I have observed here at our coffee house of polemic, that when your premise is challenged you frequently fire off a pugilistic prologue laced with the same vocabulary for everyone; “rant” and “arrogance” . While you politely do not engage in “ad hominems” per se, your style does not exactly promote dialogue, nor allow any true listening. Even the adjectival judgment of “bitter” is clearly a projection of your internal mental state that is noted by most all those who have ripostes to you commentary.
I would stand more accused of being “pedantic” as opposed to arrogant. At least the private emails I get are more in tune with that characterization. I do know my game well, and it is hard to tone it down at times, especially when engaged with those who conveniently side step affronts to their blatant ideological “rants”, which again are frequently protracted projections of their perceived persona, and in complete denial about corroborated factual evidence.
So if I were to continue on the track of pedantry, I would say, go to the library and check out a text of Immanuel Kant and review the material on “Syllogistic Arguments” and “Disjunctive and Hypothetical Syllogisms.”
And while in the reading room, review the solid, substantiated fact, that a combat veteran rated with PTSD cannot get Life Insurance. There is no reference here to health insurance or the VA. You missed the boat, the train, and the plane on this one.
And, in defense of the integrity of combat veterans, from the Revolution to Tekrit, you can gin up whatever derogatory slant you wish, but I will maintain all my mortal life, that the citizen soldier who puts themselves in harms way is assuredly a class apart from a nation of “Chicken Hawks.” Should you elect to respond with a bitter rant, as is so frequently noted in others, I would be delighted to provide you, by mail, the phone numbers of at least 20 combat veterans whom you can educate.
The logic of your discourse, Don, is pretty easy to track, and your postings are generally helpful, it is the logic of your listening that has some flaws.
September 19th, 2009 on 7:39 pm
Mike, you are a legend in your own mind. If I don’t argue the way you wish or state my opinions as clearly as you think I should, I really don’t care. As I’ve said before, I find you rude, arrogant and—I presume—bitter.
As for PTSD, you never mentioned that in your original post. How can I miss a boat that I didn’t know was even leaving port?
in defense of the integrity of combat veterans
Please. Who appointed you as a spokesman for combat veterans? Who vested you with the right to speak for combat veterans, writ large? I’m not questioning anyone’s integrity at all. I am questioning your reasoning and pointing out the shortcoming I see in your arguments.
Even the adjectival judgment of “bitter” is clearly a projection of your internal mental state that is noted by most all those who have ripostes to you commentary.
Oh, brother. You’re a psychiatrist, too? Mike, you are a piece of work.
While you politely do not engage in “ad hominems” per se,
Oh…you mean ad hominems like this:
All those that are so adamant about the public option, who at the same time spout, “Support The Troops” are so full of crap, that it is hard to sleep with a clear conscience.
Most posters here, never served one hour in combat, and do not have an ounce of understanding about what it means to defend our Constitution.
Yep, that’s erudite of you, Mike.
What I find most disturbing about your writing, is that you seem to fancy yourself some sort of “super-citizen,” whose military experience and personal sacrifice give him license to judge others.
September 20th, 2009 on 3:37 pm
Don and Mike,
I do love me a good deductive donnybrook, and this one’s been a doozy.
But I think it’s time to offer both of you the best advice I have ever heard.
It’s what Drill Sgt. Hulka told Pvt. Francis Soyer in “Stripes” after Pvt. Soyer laid down the law to his fellow recruits about how he preferred to be treated and spoken to:
Sgt. Hulka: “Lighten up, Francis.”
September 20th, 2009 on 12:45 am
Actually Don, Brewer was in fact a Therapist in his first career. He has counseled veterans since 1972. As for him being a spokesman for vets, he has been a Veteran Service Officer for nearly 20 years and travels all over the western states to help vets with their claims. Arranging for the Power of Attorney in the claim process is clearly a spokesman’s role, but from your tone, it does not appear that you would find that sufficient. In fact the manner in which you have answered the other contributors here here has a common thread of the bitterness you mention.
The number of vets that Brewer has helped is legion. And yes they like him being their spokesman. He is good at what he does.
I am one of those veterans who cannot get life insurance because of my rated disability. It is clear to me that Brewer was simply using PTSD as one example to drive home the point. His original statement about rated veterans is equally true.
We know this man in a much different way than you perceive him.
BTW your example of ‘ad hominem” is not correct. It is thee, who engages the use of ‘ad hominems’. Take care.
September 20th, 2009 on 12:51 am
There you go, living proof that I am a legend in my own mind. Now you can be right, the way you like it.
September 20th, 2009 on 1:36 am
Don, William Buckley and Ronald Reagan would not approve of the way you speak to people. They both had a great deal more decorum.
September 20th, 2009 on 2:09 am
I agree Patrick. If Mr. Smith knew Brewer the way we do, he might not be so mean to him. He should take him to lunch sometime and see how outrageously funny the man is, and oddly conservative.
If Smith just read his Bio on the main page here, you can see that he in fact does operate as a spokesman at times, and at the request of many, including me. I never would have got my claim through without his advocacy. I do know that he was registered as a Lobbyist at one time for Veterans Affairs. I think that is called “spokesman.” And I know that he wrote for Stars and Stripes in Vietnam, and is published in other arenas. I remember the TV show he had here in the early 70’s. This dude has been lookin’ out for us for nearly 35 years! Don’t really know why this irks Smith so much. But he seems pretty mad most of the time.
As for me, he may very well be a bit of a “super-citizen.” And what is wrong with that? We could use a few more of those types. They at least give feet to their pronouncements.
Keep up the good work Brewer, and thanks a ton for helping me and my family. There is a reason your site “Veterans Veritas” is so talked about at the VA and the Vet Centers.
And my mother saw your article about Lou Gehrigs Disease and widows benefits copied in a community paper back in Michigan. Kudos my friend.
September 20th, 2009 on 9:02 am
Bill Buckley, model of decorum:
“Now listen, you queer, you stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in the goddamn face and you’ll stay plastered.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYymnxoQnf8
September 20th, 2009 on 9:44 am
This is really great, tip. My only disappointment is that we don’t get to see Buckely’s trademark: that weird, pinched, little laugh that he had. The other annoying and peculiar facial tics are there though.
September 20th, 2009 on 1:09 pm
Buckley, like Bush I, was old school Repub (back before it was the Dems who were “elitist”) so they opposed civil rights for blacks in their most Ivy League intonations and appealed to Bach.
That was before the party was taken over by the southern rednecks they courted so assiduously and Bush II had to learn to speak in a twang with grammar by Boomhauer and drink beer, watch NASCAR , listen to both Country AND Western, and clear brush.
The sacrifices that family has made for the country…