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A Simple Question -

Do you trust the federal government to do what's in your best interest

  • Total voters
    63
Redress said:
You are making an assumption that it is "despite us". If that is what the people of the state want, it is in fact not "despite us". If they do not want it, they have ways to handle that as well. Your example was weak on so many laevels.
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Well, that's not really true. Once someone is voted into office, I really have no control over what they do. Laws get passed against the will of the people all the time. Witness: Obamacare.

Both of us in this thread? Saying "CC, Redress" would have been as easy.
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And yet, by using "big govt types" you knew exactly who I was referring to, didn't you? ;) Besides, I wanted to include others that may not have responded to the thread yet.
 
Yes and No, all depending on the arena. For where it is structured now, I think it mostly accomplishes the public interest (which I typically have few ills) though there have been recent additions where I could say no. In overarching theory, I am in agreement where I believe our goal of having as little of a government as possible is a good one.
 
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Redress said:
Really? Ever fight with an insurance company for payment on coverage? That put me at more risk than the government ever will.
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Why would you fight with an insurance company? Private insurance is contract based. The contract spells out what will and will not be covered.

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No.

It is the nature of the beast. Some things in government go my way, some don't. I accept the things that government does do or agree with me on, and work for the others I don't have and want.

You can't please all of the people all of the time. Welcome to life and living in a society with millions of others.
 
TheGirlNextDoor said:
Do you trust the federal government (in its entirety) to do what's in your best interest?

Why or why not.
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Since you ask "in its entirety" then the answer is no.

I think large portions of it are either acting in what is in THEIR best interest and I think other portions are acting in what they THINK is my best interest, not necessarily what actually is my best interest.
 
TOJ said:
Why would you fight with an insurance company? Private insurance is contract based. The contract spells out what will and will not be covered.

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And the whole world is honest and we all sit around in circles singing happy song. What insurance companies sometimes do is start out denying a claim with the hope that people will be ignorant enough to take their word for it. Worst case the insurance company holds onto their money longer, best case they never pay. Your post is the worst type of naivete.
 
The Fed Govt. should look out for what is best for America, ensuring the Constitution is not stepped on, and the security of America. The individual is responsible for their own "best interest", actions, happiness and well being.
 
Redress said:
And the whole world is honest and we all sit around in circles singing happy song. What insurance companies sometimes do is start out denying a claim with the hope that people will be ignorant enough to take their word for it. Worst case the insurance company holds onto their money longer, best case they never pay. Your post is the worst type of naivete.
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Nasty tonight, are we? Ok. You must be too lazy or not bright enough to look out for your own interests? Of course, being a liberal, that is to be expected.

Our foundation's law firm frequently deals with denial of claims. If the claim should not have been denied, it usually only takes a letter to get it resolved. They very seldom want to risk a lawsuit.

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Redress said:
And the whole world is honest and we all sit around in circles singing happy song. What insurance companies sometimes do is start out denying a claim with the hope that people will be ignorant enough to take their word for it. Worst case the insurance company holds onto their money longer, best case they never pay. Your post is the worst type of naivete.
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Worst case is the insurer gets poured out in court after paying a gazillion dollars to defend it's position.
 
TheGirlNextDoor said:
Do you trust the federal government (in its entirety) to do what's in your best interest?

Why or why not.
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Part of the time.

The real issue is that they can't seem to agree what *is* the best interest - *how* to see to it or *what* is innapropriate or even *what* their goals are.

Our government is a great example of what happens when the system is shabbily thrown together an the people in charge are morons.
 
TOJ said:
Nasty tonight, are we? Ok. You must be too lazy or not bright enough to look out for your own interests? Of course, being a liberal, that is to be expected.

Our foundation's law firm frequently deals with denial of claims. If the claim should not have been denied, it usually only takes a letter to get it resolved. They very seldom want to risk a lawsuit.

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LuckyDan said:
Worst case is the insurer gets poured out in court after paying a gazillion dollars to defend it's position.
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The point you are missing is that it is not going to be denied long enough usually to go to court. But 2 or 3 months of denied disability can be devastating to a family as an example.
 
TOJ said:
Nasty tonight, are we? Ok. You must be too lazy or not bright enough to look out for your own interests? Of course, being a liberal, that is to be expected.

Our foundation's law firm frequently deals with denial of claims. If the claim should not have been denied, it usually only takes a letter to get it resolved. They very seldom want to risk a lawsuit.

.
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Insurance companies typically deny claims either on "technicalities" or for completely bogus reasons. For example, I have a request for medical information on a client sitting in my mailbox as we speak. This is the 4th time they have sent it to me. Each of the other 3 times, I sent them the information that they requested, only to find out, each time, that they changed their fax number, so instead of claims getting it, it went to a different department where it was probably shredded. These are the kinds of games that insurance companies play. One time I responded to a request for information. When I responded and STILL didn't get paid, I enquired why. Turns out that the paperwork they mailed to me for the medical information was THE ORIGINAL and since they didn't have a copy, they could not connect my information to the file. Of course, they neglected to contact me about this until I called them.

Fighting with insurace companies to get them to pay and or apply appropriate benefits to clients is a daily job for me.
 
CaptainCourtesy said:
Because the government is concerned about ALL the people, both as individuals and as a group, not just you, which makes the question far more complex than the way that X Factor answered it.
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I agree with this, but I also think that, in principle, the government is supposed to work in our favor given that our leaders are elected with our vote and removed with our vote. They are supposed to answer to us, therefore, I don't think it's inherently flawed or ignorant to think the government should work in our favor or demand the leaders work for our favor.

We shouldn't have think the government is naturally against us... we simply don't want the government to restrict us or our rights either. It's not the same thing. I can expect my rights will not be violated and expect my elected leaders do what is in my interest. I think it's pretty simple... at least to understand how it is supposed to work in the minds of the founders (perfect union, justice, domestic tranquility), but in modern times, government itself complicates the above question in part because the voice of the governed is more diverse now.

Government creates an agency between many people, wanting different things... sometimes wanting to use the government as a vehicle to impose their wills and morals on others or restrict the rights of others. This agency causes us to not trust government, and not trust political foes.. it creates divisiveness in our society.

Yes, government is a problem... but it's not the problem. The problem is the agency itself and I don't trust other people in society getting a vote in my rights, and getting to vote on what is best for me.

I stand for everybody to have rights, and I am against using the government to restrict the rights of others.. But unlike some of the founders I don't think rights are natural or inalienable. All rights are privileges the government grants to us, and the government must recognize them before we can exercise our rights freely without punishment (it's only a right, when the gov says so). The social construction of rights exist and must exist to justify the existence of government, and the founders were keen on the philosophy of natural rights... because it fit well into whole idea that government works for you via your vote idea and it naturally should.

Well, I am not offering an answer... just rambling. It's a complicated question and I don't really agree 100% with the enlightenment philosophy of the founders.
 
X Factor said:
A private business has never taken something from me that I didn't voluntarily give to them. The same is not true of the government.
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What does the government take from you? Just your taxes? OMG... America is awful, totalitarian and must be destroyed!! How dare they tax their subjects. :roll:

I have never really understood this mentality and anger about paying taxes... Everybody has to pay a tax, and everyday you buy something... you probably pay a sales tax. And if you support the flat tax, because you think that's more fair... you're still supporting a tax and that isn't going to change your situation with being taxed.

If you really hate taxes that much you can always denounce your citizenship or become Amish... :shrug:
 
TheGirlNextDoor said:
It's only as complex as you make it. There are politicians [sic] that do indeed, answer to their constituents and seem to have their overall best interests at heart. However... the political 'machine' is not to be trusted and SHOULD be questioned.

I am talking the overall entity known as the 'federal government'. I am in no way, shape or form saying that all elected officials are corrupt and/or aren't actually working for 'we the people'.
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I have a question... do you think the federal government can be broken down or limited to a level which it can be trusted to operate, or do you think is government inherently untrustworthy?
 
CaptainCourtesy said:
Insurance companies typically deny claims either on "technicalities" or for completely bogus reasons. For example, I have a request for medical information on a client sitting in my mailbox as we speak. This is the 4th time they have sent it to me. Each of the other 3 times, I sent them the information that they requested, only to find out, each time, that they changed their fax number, so instead of claims getting it, it went to a different department where it was probably shredded. These are the kinds of games that insurance companies play. One time I responded to a request for information. When I responded and STILL didn't get paid, I enquired why. Turns out that the paperwork they mailed to me for the medical information was THE ORIGINAL and since they didn't have a copy, they could not connect my information to the file. Of course, they neglected to contact me about this until I called them.

Fighting with insurace companies to get them to pay and or apply appropriate benefits to clients is a daily job for me.
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Not referring to you, but in general, having trouble with insurance is not surprising considering your specialty. Your specialty has a long and proud history of committing fraud.

Sounds to me like you are not discriminating enough in what insurance you accept. If enough providers would refuse insurance from companies that do not pay promptly, they would change their practices or go out of business. Do you need the additional business enough to put up with the hassle?

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I think it depends on who is in control. Some policies are there to make lives better, and some are there to only make a small few lives better while the majority suffers. So it truly depends.
 
I think that government is mostly concerned with its own power and the select groups which donate the most to them. As such, I have no expectation that they'll do what's "right" for me. I expect, in fact, that what they do will end up being the opposite since they are looking to expand their power and protect certain groups.
 
Zyphlin said:
Since you ask "in its entirety" then the answer is no.
I think other portions are acting in what they THINK is my best interest, not necessarily what actually is my best interest.
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Agreed. It's what they do "for our own good" that's almost scarier than anything else.
 
I never trust any gummnit because most of guys are corrupted idiots who are only making money and lying.God gave us already our Freedom, all governments want only one, to still it!

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty" ( 2 Corinthians 3:17 )
 
SheWolf said:
What does the government take from you? Just your taxes? OMG... America is awful, totalitarian and must be destroyed!! How dare they tax their subjects. :roll:
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Well, in that 50% of the US pays 97% of the taxes, I'm not just paying my taxes, am I? If you think taxation is the only area govt exerts control, you're just not paying attention. It wants to make you buy insurance and it wants to control the insurance you do buy. I also saw where they want to have a mandate that future cars being built must interfer with cell phone use. It's also shut down off shore drilling actually making us more dependant on foreign oil. These all represents just the tip of the iceburg.

I have never really understood this mentality and anger about paying taxes... Everybody has to pay a tax, and everyday you buy something... you probably pay a sales tax. And if you support the flat tax, because you think that's more fair... you're still supporting a tax and that isn't going to change your situation with being taxed.

If you really hate taxes that much you can always denounce your citizenship or become Amish... :shrug:
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Naw, I like my oil burning air polluting cars too much.
 
X Factor said:
Well, in that 50% of the US pays 97% of the taxes, I'm not just paying my taxes, am I? If you think taxation is the only area govt exerts control, you're just not paying attention. It wants to make you buy insurance and it wants to control the insurance you do buy. I also saw where they want to have a mandate that future cars being built must interfer with cell phone use. It's also shut down off shore drilling actually making us more dependant on foreign oil. These all represents just the tip of the iceburg.

Naw, I like my oil burning air polluting cars too much.
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All governments and levels of government (my state makes me buy insurance, my city also taxes me) involve some amount of coercion and force... If you want government and to be governed, it's included in the social contract. If you don't like the force and coercion created by the agency and reject the enlightenment's social contract theory, you always join the the anarchists... :2razz:
 
SheWolf said:
All governments and levels of government (my state makes me buy insurance, my city also taxes me) involve some amount of coercion and force... If you want government and to be governed, it's included in the social contract. If you don't like the force and coercion created by the agency and reject the enlightenment's social contract theory, you always join the the anarchists... :2razz:
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seems to me we mandate education.
 
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