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Which is more reprehensible?

Which is more reprehensible?


  • Total voters
    52
  • Poll closed .
Pretty sure the "living off welfare" bit means those who scam the system. If someone is legitimately unable to sustain themselves due to disability or birth defect, I can't see anyone having a problem with them receiving monetary aid from the government.

I agree, although I believe there are more circumstances where poverty to the point of starvation cannot be avoided.

That said, I despise fraud -- but hopefully, we can agree that a Bernie Madoff is a bigger evil and deserves a greater punishment than a woman who finds some crooked doctor to certify her kids as "disabled" so she can get SSI for them and not "have" to work.

I voted that scamming welfare is a greater evil -- in fact, I see nothing wrong with financial success if it is honestly earned. But I was a regulatory lawyer in a financial services industry for many years, and I can tell you, we do a terrible job of catching crooks in suits. We could do far better even without a single new law, and the people that steal millions of dollars from the public should be hated on far more than some guy who malingers on workers comp.

It astounds me that this is not so for many people.

 
a quick google search will show that you are wrong.

Really? Show me where a 50 year old man with a wife and three teen aged kids, one of whom has diabetes, can buy health insurance for anything approaching $300 a month.
 
Really? Show me where a 50 year old man with a wife and three teen aged kids, one of whom has diabetes, can buy health insurance for anything approaching $300 a month.

nice way to move the goalposts. show me where a one-legged man with HIV who smokes 8 packs of cigs a day and has a pacemaker can get health insurance. :lamo

relevant to my comment. my cousin is not 50 and does not have 3 teenage kids, no one in his family has diabetes...therefore he could find insurance for $300/month
 
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nice way to move the goalposts. show me where a one-legged man with HIV who smokes 8 packs of cigs a day and has a pacemaker can get health insurance. :lamo

relevant to my comment. my cousin is not 50 and does not have 3 teenage kids, no one in his family has diabetes...therefore he could find insurance for $300/month

It is possible that a 20 something who has never had any health issues and is not married might buy an individual policy with a high deductible for $300 a month. For most of us, no, there is no such thing as health insurance that is that cheap.

A more realistic figure for an individual policy is somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000. The group policy where I used to work cost about $800 when I left 8 years ago. Now, it is more than double that.

Cheap health insurance does not exist.
 
It is possible that a 20 something who has never had any health issues and is not married might buy an individual policy with a high deductible for $300 a month. For most of us, no, there is no such thing as health insurance that is that cheap.

A more realistic figure for an individual policy is somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000. The group policy where I used to work cost about $800 when I left 8 years ago. Now, it is more than double that.

Cheap health insurance does not exist.

again...do a google search instead of just stating your opinion. I am 49 and I can get a policy to cover my wife and two teenage kids for $229/month. It took me all of 5 minutes to find a quote online.

but, of course, I don't live in a big flaming liberal state where everything is more expensive than the national average either
 
again...do a google search instead of just stating your opinion. I am 49 and I can get a policy to cover my wife and two teenage kids for $229/month. It took me all of 5 minutes to find a quote online.

but, of course, I don't live in a big flaming liberal state where everything is more expensive than the national average either

Bull****. If you're paying that little for health insurance, you can bet it doesn't cover much.
 
Bull****. If you're paying that little for health insurance, you can bet it doesn't cover much.

but then again, the quality of the insurance wasn't the point. you said you can't get insurance for $300 a month and I have shown that you can. If you want to debate the specifics....make your claims more specific.

and, FWIW, spending $300/month on insurance that "doesn't cover much" is still better than spending $300/month on cigarettes.
 
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but then again, the quality of the insurance wasn't the point. you said you can't get insurance for $300 a month and I have shown that you can. If you want to debate the specifics....make your claims more specific.

and, FWIW, spending $300/month on insurance that "doesn't cover much" is still better than spending $300/month on cigarettes.

Well, sure, spending 300 bucks a month on practically anything is better than spending it on cigarettes. They'd much better off just going out and giving it away than smoking so many cigarettes.

But, that 300 bucks or 229 or whatever is simply providing a false sense of security. When and if there is a medical emergency, that policy is going to be worth the paper it's printed on, and not much more.

Let me restate it: You can't buy a meaningful health insurance policy for 300 bucks a month. It's like saying you can't rent a house for $100 any more. Well, maybe you can:

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Most people wouldn't have a problem with them getting aid from the government, but the extremists will say that welfare is not a function of government and that those who are unable to fend for themselves should look instead to family or private charity.

Yeah, but extremists are dildos who derive their beliefs from ideology instead of reality. Not everyone has the luxury of a family that can take care of them, and in the face of recession, corporate philanthropy will also suffer.
 
I agree, although I believe there are more circumstances where poverty to the point of starvation cannot be avoided.

That said, I despise fraud -- but hopefully, we can agree that a Bernie Madoff is a bigger evil and deserves a greater punishment than a woman who finds some crooked doctor to certify her kids as "disabled" so she can get SSI for them and not "have" to work.

I voted that scamming welfare is a greater evil -- in fact, I see nothing wrong with financial success if it is honestly earned. But I was a regulatory lawyer in a financial services industry for many years, and I can tell you, we do a terrible job of catching crooks in suits. We could do far better even without a single new law, and the people that steal millions of dollars from the public should be hated on far more than some guy who malingers on workers comp.

It astounds me that this is not so for many people.


I agree 100%. Able-bodied jack offs who fraud the system to get welfare are stealing money from those who actually need it, and that's why it pisses me off so much. I've had a lot of exposure to those with disabilities and birth defects, and they really need that money, just as much as they need someone who will help and protect them from the buzzards and leeches who see an easy mark.

I also know businessmen, business owners, people who built their name from the ground up. Not every rich guy is this evil corporate vampire they're all made out to be in the press, and I have as much disdain and anger towards corporate criminals as the low level thieves and punks, because they destroy the image of self-made men and women.
 
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