Let's keep the conversation going. In my post on Obama's 2015 State of the Union, I suggested that democrats try to prevent certain kinds of suffering for all Americans, and use the ideas of rights to get people on board. After all, if something is a right, it pretty much becomes the government's job to provide it for all Americans. Obama called healthcare a right and now it is universal. Maybe you agree with this idea, maybe you don't, or maybe it depends on what kind of rights we're talking about.
Here's a way to see it. All rights can be put under one of two headings: negative rights and positive rights. Negative here doesn't mean bad, it means an American is entitled to not have something bad.
For example, the right to life is a negative right because it's something that the government has to make sure won't be taken away. It doesn't give life. A barrier to life probably implies death and we have police and the military to make sure that's prevented. Both republicans and democrats are totally on board with this. Other negative rights are liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Sound familiar?
Positive rights are different. They are things actually given to you, either products or services. For example, you may not have known this but NYC and NYS have "right-to-shelter" policies, which means that at least in theory, everyone in the entire state should be sleeping under a roof every night. Here, republicans and democrats can be on opposite ends. Why, though?
Here's the biggest reason why: positive rights cost money. A lot of money. See for yourself.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/19/us/budget-proposal.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0
Notice some of the costliest expenses.
- Social Security: $848 billion
- Medicare: $505 billion
- Military: $572 billion
- Vet compensation; $85 billion
- Food Stamps: $82 billion
Because military is required for any country to secure its own people, no side is really going to make a major dent in that budget. Because its dishonorable to both sides to not pay the people who've put their lives on the line, vet comp won't change much. But, you will often see Social Security, Medicare and Food Stamps in the center of budget debates. One reason is that they cost so much. A second reason is that republicans have a much more limited view of positive rights, of rights that are going to benefit SOME. Obviously the military will benefit everyone.
Where do you stand, given that our country is around $17 trillion in debt? Are rights only negative? Are there positive rights, things Americans should be given by the government? If so, what?
Eugene, You are just getting started in your career but be a taxpayer for 10 years then come back to what you wrote in this blog and then let me know your thoughts. It is not about Republicans having a limited point of view. These are not Republican/Democrat issues. These are common sense issues. Social Security is the largest Ponzi scheme ever perpetrated on the American people. It is completely unsustainable because each year less and less people are paying into it due to the fact that they are not working and relying on other government subsidies to survive. You and I will likely pay into it for most of our lives yet not ever see that money when we retire. Social Security is supposed to be bankrupt in about 10 years at the current rate. Medicare/Obamacare, yes in theory it sounds nice that everybody has healthcare but again completely unsustainable. The whole concept behind Obamacare is that the young people pay for the old people because the young people do not need as much healthcare. Sound similar to SS? Well guess what, the ugly truth is that not anywhere near as many young people as they expected to sign up have signed up which has resulted in higher premiums and people who previously had insurance losing it. Back to the taxpayer thought, my wife and I work very hard for our money to support our family with the hope of providing our children a better life. Each year, the government takes almost half of our earnings which go towards entitlements. Why should our hard earned tax dollars go towards the medical expenses of drug addicts, alcoholics, those who choose to engage in promiscuous sexual behavior, the morbidly obese? I did not make those decisions for them. They choose to live that lifestyle yet the government/taxpayer foots the bill. We choose to live a healthier less risk averse lifestyle yet our insurance premiums go up. Do you see the problem here? This is a vicious cycle because when people know somebody else will pay, they will not change their behavior. They become reliant on the system. This is not good for America or its people. Add in the millions of illegal immigrants that are flooding through our borders with diseases that are endemic to their native lands. Not only is this an increased burden on our healthcare system which again the government/taxpayer pays for, they then take jobs away from American citizens who so badly want to break the vicious cycle and get off of entitlements. Many of these illegals are illiterate in their own native languages. How can they be expected to come here and assimilate our culture and language? Agree with you on Military and Vets. You can never put enough money into those budgets. Most people don't realize it but WW3 has already begun as well as the second Holocaust. I don't think I need to tell you how many Christians and Muslims are being murdered in the Middle East & Africa every day yet the Pope has turned into a Socialist Politician more concerned about the fallacy of global warming but that's a different conversation. Food Stamps, Welfare, Disability, unemployment, etc. Also all unsustainable programs that are wrought with fraud and corruption. Are there people that have legitimately been helped by these programs during a tough time in their lives? Yes absolutely. However, the people that are gaming the system far outweigh the ones that are not. With the help of corrupt attorneys, these programs get completely taken advantage of and again perfectly capable people learn to rely on these subsidies rather than work for a living and be a taxpayer. $17 trillion in debt, HALF of which is there since Obama took office. The sad truth is he wants more and more people in poverty and reliant on the system because it helps his party stay in power and furthers his ideology/agenda which is NOT good for America.
ReplyDeleteRussian Rabbi, first, thanks a lot for a very thoughtful reply. Unlike lots of other posters, you actually addressed one of my questions, at least implicitly. I definitely see where you stand on budget. Just a few comments:
ReplyDelete1. I worked hard to avoid any value judgements, so if I came across as if I was leaning one way, it's an issue with my wording more than anything. I'm really here to start a conversation and dig into deeper worldview and assumption issues.
2. I didn't see a direct answer to the question about rights. What I want to know is what people think about the issue of rights themselves. I guess, think of it this way. Guys like John Locke thought life was a right, and that's pretty much the case for him whatever debt a nation has. Same with liberty. Whether we are in debt or not, whatever contingent factors exist, are there such things as positive rights? Are there goods & services that government actually owes people?
Stay tuned for my next post. I plan on talking about the American Dream!
I dont agree that healthcare should be a right. People should work to earn it. By making one's basic need a right, it only create disincentive for work. When everything is free, people lose motivation to contribute to society. As a result, economy slowly fall apart. I am not against making healthcare more affordable. i dont agree with the solution. Problem wont be solve simply by moving burden from one group to another. Even if it did, this will create problem for the other group. So, at the end, it did not solve any problem. The net result stay the same. Instead, I think we should focus solutions on micro level. Do you know we spend the most on healthcare than any other countries? Yet, we dont necessarily get the most benefit. Do you know that prescription cost more in the US? Maybe we should try to lower the cost. Is all the replacement and surgery necessary? is there alternative? sure there is! At last, i am not totally against positive right. I like the intention, but not the solution.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I really appreciate you taking the time to share your ideas. One thing I noticed as I was reading is that negative rights are universal, in theory and practice. Everyone in the country is entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Positive rights, though, usually benefit some, and I wonder if that is a major point to be made. There may be an arbitrariness about who the "some" is. Just thoughts.
DeleteBack to your point. I am not totally against positive rights either. If I were, I'd probably be something of a social darwinist, which is what I think the extreme version of republican ideology is. I sense that life and liberty are the sort of rights that are intuitively true in some way. There is something intrinsically human to these things. Is there something innately human to maintaining one's health? If so, why should people work for it, even if they lose motivation to contribute? They still can have motivation for other reasons. Or do you think that hard work is at least as intrinsically human as healthcare?
I guess I'm asking you why you think people need to work hard and contribute in order to maintain their health, which seems something that's very important to anyone's humanity?