I have a problem with Govt mandates and forced obligations on the individual under the pretense of charity, kindness and altruism...
This narrative that societies are incapable of compassion and charity without Govts intervention is baseless.
Charity, kindness, and compassion, while admirable and certainly present without government intervention, has never been adequate by itself. That's not a baseless claim. All history supports that. You seem to think that charity, kindness, and altruism have been adequate by themselves in the past to take care of serious problems in society in an acceptable manner. Child labor laws were not passed because the problem was fixing itself through anyone's sense of voluntary charity when left alone. It was getting worse, as industrialists aggressively exploited and abused the labor of young children with temerity to make ever larger financial empires. And the kids still did not have enough to eat. Only sensible regulations and laws finally put a stop to that: child labor laws, minimum wage laws, etc....
Social security and Medicare were not passed because the elderly, especially the poor, were being taken care of adequately at home or by charity. The situation was a travesty. Where were the charities and churches to take care of these elderly then?
And most recently, before the passage of the ACA, as recently as 2009, 45,000 Americans were dying EVERY SINGLE YEAR due to lack of access to the healthcare system. This is not including things like going blind or living with chronic pain or disability. Many of them were refused insurance by the health insurance industry exactly because they were sick to start with. That's how the free market works when left completely alone and free. It doesn't always work out for the best. Where were your charities then? How barbaric.
There is nothing "inherently compassionate" about going back to such horrifyingly unacceptable statistics.
When there is a major storm and the traffic lights go at the local major intersection, people generally do OK driving through the intersection. When all else fails, people automatically take care by themselves. They are generally careful, yield to pedestrians, take turns crossing the intersection while looking carefully in all directions. But I wouldn't want to get rid of the traffic light altogether forever as "government tyranny". There is something to be said for having a formal, reliable, and enforceable system of traffic regulation and safety in place for important things. Protection of basic human rights of the citizens of our country is important too- important enough to have formal systems in place to protect them- and yes this includes the right to food, water, shelter, a basic education, and access to healthcare. I wouldn't call using taxpayer money for a traffic light, nor for protection of basic human rights, "veiled tyranny".
