I've been seeing and hearing some pretty ignorant statements lately. The AFFORDABLE CARE ACT or Obamacare as it is known is bringing out the worst in some people and I need to say something instead of just dismissing the ignorance and hoping they'll one day understand.
The title for people who can't afford healthcare or use food stamps or rely on some other government support IS NOT “lazy”. Yes, there are those who take advantage of any system, from the poorest to the very richest. That is the problem we should be focusing on.. how to prevent and eliminate the cheating, not ending the support programs for the poor.
Instead of “lazy”, try less fortunate. Instead of portraying those less fortunate as wildlife dependent on hand-outs, try showing a little compassion for people that haven't been able to attain your level of success.
In case someone has been living in a vacuum, our economy has changed drastically over the last couple decades. The abundant family-wage manufacturing jobs of my past are being replaced by low-paying service jobs. From Kaiser Steel, the middle-class, economical mainstay of my hometown of Fontana, CA to our Georgia Pacific pulp mill here in Bellingham, WA, well-paying, unskilled jobs are disappearing.
I am thankful that I was able to find good paying jobs and had the entrepreneurial (had to google the spelling for that) spirit to be able to enjoy a financially secure work-life and retirement. But every job I held was one job someone else couldn't and the competition for all good jobs is getting fierce. I retired as a tugboat operator 25 years after starting out swabbing decks and cleaning toilets. Now, many of those Deck Officer jobs are held by Cadets with a couple years of education. And that same story can be told throughout America. High paying jobs are being replaced by computers and technology everywhere.
Fewer and fewer people have the opportunities that many of us had. The minimum wage is a joke and even our middle class can be bankrupted by any one of a variety of medical conditions. I can only imagine the hopelessness of many young people who are looking at their future possibilities.
Society is changing and we need to be opening our hearts rather than clutching our wallets. This is not about our politics, it's about our humanity. As Jesse Jackson says - 'Never look down on anybody unless you're helping them up.'
