The good old days of America are long gone, we're in a new age with different rules. We live in a hugely divided country that falls just short of internal strife- if Americans were any more divided, the battle wouldn't be rhetoric, it would be bullets and blood. It's sad, and without a unifying agent, we're doomed as a country.

Doing for your country could include contributing funds from your paycheck to allow those less fortunate citizens of said country access to affordable healthcare. A country is not the land, a country is the people. Without the people, there is no country.

ATC@ZDC wrote: [TO: Gigantes56]
There's a difference between federal salaries for essential government functions and people receiving a hand out. Military is essential - in fact, i'd be happy to pay more taxes if i knew for certain our military people would be getting the additional taxes. Military people should be paid way more.

Social security should have never happened. In fact, it's not going to happen. The baby boomers have just begun retiring. It's been estimated the government will have to pay out in excess of $40 TRILLION dollars in future benefits. We simply don't have that money. The only way we'll have it is if we just decide to print more money - which is already part of the reason our dollar has been shrinking against foreign currencies.

Social security was nothing more than a pyramid scheme started by Roosevelt. It seemed sustainable while the baby boomers were employed, but now that we'll soon have more people drawing on social security than we have paying into social security, the whole thing is about to go bust. The ponzi scheme is being exposed.

There are very few people in this country who are unable to get health care. I keep hearing this number of 47 million uninsured. But 38% (almost 18 million) of all the uninsured make more than $50K a year. 20% (about 9 million) of all uninsured have incomes over $75,000. And 12.6 million of those uninsured aren't even citizens (some estimates put the number closer to 20 million).

Add it all up and we have almost 40 million out of 47 million who can either afford health care but opt out, or aren't citizens entitled to health care in this country because they're here illegally.

Not to mention, as many as a third of all those currently eligible for public health programs don't even bother to apply.

For me, the bottom line is, it's not the governments role to use my money to subsidize other peoples choices to not have health care. It's amazing how much money people will put towards cars and homes every month but health care is expected to be free and easy.

<<The good old days of America are long gone, we're in a new age with different rules. We live in a hugely divided country that falls just short of internal strife ...>>

I couldn't agree more. We're divided because leaders divides us. As i watch the caucus returns i am amazed at how we are viewed and targeted by our age, color, religious beliefs, income and sex. We are viewed and tallied by our differences - yet we are told to be blind to differences. Entitlements for this group or that group - again, based on discriminatory criteria - yet we're told to believe we're all equal.

It's okay to lead by divisive means, but we mustn't follow along the same lines. This country is broken by those who promise healing.

Is it any wonder we are a schizophrenic nation on the cusp of revolution

Okay ... off my box ...