First about me. I spend way too much of my life on forums and I write this so as to spend less time in the future. My goal is to make this the last politically oriented thread I ever post in. I am socially liberal and fiscally conservative leaning slightly toward the right. I would like to think I am generally open minded though I realize most people tend to stick to what they believe no matter the evidence and I'm pretty sure I am no different. Either way, over the last few months I have embarked on some heated debates with the liberals on this forum. Thank you for all those who were willing to engage me, and have discussions about the role of the United States Government. I will admit that some of those discussions have allowed me to see a point of view I seldom see and shown me a little bit of my own hypocrisy. I have even changed some of my thinking thanks to those discussions. Again I thank those willing to have those conversations. I write today because of a comment I read. Ysette9 wrote this amazing post the other day that really strikes home. Not just for me, but it likely affects every person with an opinion. Which should be everyone.
I find myself thinking personally that so much of what I view as wrong with our society comes down to a lack of ability or willingness to empathize with the plight of others. I can't pretend to know what it is like to be really rich or grow up poor or be a minority. . . .
It is so perfectly true, although I have grown up in poverty, that is not where I am today and am thankful I was able to get an education and get me out. Do I still know what life is like in poverty? Absolutely not, though I have given plenty of my own opinions on what poverty is and how to manage it. Definitely hypocritical on my part.
The other aspect of discussing politics are those who think there really is some grand side. Almost like good and evil and you are on the side of good fighting evil. The commentary of those people is very comical once recognized. "Those guys on the other side are evil bastards who hate XYZ and only care about QRS." Really? If most of Americans claim to be either Democrat or Republican to paint such a broad brush stroke on a large portion of Americans is pretty pathetic and once recognized is really fun to poke a stick at. Just like I just did.
To think that some politician who's party says they agree with your values actually has anything more than their own interests in mind is pretty naive. Outside of a select few, most career politicians are scum catering to the lobbyist that pays them most as long as it doesn't affect their re-election. This is exactly the reason why we see such difficulty with the ACA and making any beneficial changes to it. Gutting people from health insurance will lose votes. Doing anything that actually affects cost of delivering healthcare effects lobbyists. The Republicans are fucked no matter what they propose and they know it.
Here is the reality that I see:
Not everyone is equal on this planet. Some people are born in shitty environments such as in poverty in a third world country. Others are born to loving and encouraging parents with stable jobs somewhere in the developed world. The reality is that life is not fair. So the question then is, how many people do we help and by how much? Is it fair to make someone who earns $100k/yr to pay a little more in taxes so that someone making $15k/yr can have access to healthcare, food, and shelter. Most would say it probably is and is reflected by our progressive tax system. But how much is fair? 1%, 10%, 50% there should be some line where it is unfair to take away the lifestyle the $100k/yr person earned. What about making someone who earns $15k/yr to give up a few percent so that someone in Uganda can have clean drinking water and drugs to treat their Malaria or River Blindness? How much do we tax them? 1%, 10%, 50% maybe there is a line there as well. Most who are fiscally conservative don't hate those who make less, we just think there has to be a line and for some that line has been crossed. In my personal opinion I think this has been especially true for middle and upper middle class Americans who have been squeezed the most over the decades.
On the other side, is it right for a society to allow someone with newly diagnosed cancer to jump through ridiculous hoops in trying to acquire some form of insurance to get treatment delaying care for months sometimes awaiting for the family to be financially devastated? Is it okay that a person who desires full time employment can't make enough money to afford the basic necessities of life such as food, shelter and healthcare?
This is what leads me to my reality. I make a pretty good income thanks to having loving parents that encouraged education and pushed me to go into medical school. By law I take care of a segment of our population that will never pay me for my time. Outside of the drug addicts I am generally glad to help those who are in need which is about 20-25% of my patients. I pay what feels like a shit ton in taxes. I also pay a lot for my unsubsidized health insurance that has increased by about 300% in the last 3 years and provides even less benefits. Although I want to be able to assist those who are in need in the US, I wonder by how much, and how much more should I be paying? is 30% enough? what about 40%, 50%, 60%? Where do we draw the line? After all, we can't help everyone especially those poor people in 3rd world countries. Sometimes, maybe life just isn't fair enough for everybody and it sucks, but that is the reality. Some might say we can help everyone, but the truth is that there is not enough money in the world. Especially if we believe that those who worked for something should have some benefit to their labor despite the unfairness of the world.
I really want to do my part in making our society a better place, but where is the line? I honestly do not know that answer. Sure I can afford another couple of percentage points in taxes, but how much more is actually fair and will that extra money amount to anything worthwhile? Currently I get to choose how much I work and actively adjust my schedule so as to minimize the chance of hitting the next tax bracket. I can't say for sure, but if taxes went up significantly I probably would work even less. Considering there is a shortage of physicians in the world that is probably not good for our society.
I think all this as I see our government do the most outrages and counterproductive things. For example, we incarcerate non violent drug offenders. Instead of rehabilitating them, we make them lifetime criminals. I'm sure you know, prisons are big business costing the government $27 billion a year and they have some great lobbyists. Instead of making healthcare more affordable we argue about who will pay for it because "more affordable" will cut the profits from the healthcare industry. We talk about getting out of the Middle East, but instead bomb more countries and then build tanks that no one asked for. Our congress is not on the side of the people. It is in the pockets of crony capitalists. And I don't care if you are a Democrat or a Republican, there is a pretty good chance that the people you voted for are scum.