Letting the Government Fill Our Pockets

As one would expect John Derbyshire inclines toward conservative perspectives on the distribution of government handouts:

Such attitudes are in any case so quaint and fogeyish now, they are as far beyond praise or blame as the wearing of a tricorne hat would be. They are relics of the time before Anglo-Saxon civilization collapsed into hedonism, dependency, ethnic masochism, consumer credit, and trillion-dollar national deficits. In Liverpool today, one household in three is “economically inactive” — that is, contains no working adults. In Britain overall the statistic is one household in eight. No doubt parts of the U.S.A. are as bad.

The rub comes with the fact that he has reached an age at which the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom have both determined that it’s time residents are good and bought with handouts: He is now receiving pension payments from the latter and Social Security disbursements from the former. Does that make him a hypocrite?
Whether or not it does, conservatives aren’t quite as apt to consider hypocrisy the biggest sin known to man, as progressives hypocritically seem to insist on a regular basis. Personally, I’ll be apt to take any money thrown my way. It’s not as if my refusing it sends it back to the person from whom it was taken, and especially in my continuing circumstances, my use of it will be lest wasteful than others’ might be.
Perhaps it’s enough for a conservative to strive not to be dependent on government handouts and therefore not beholden to those who would perpetuate them. That, one suspects, is the main attraction to politicians of ensuring that everybody’s got at least a finger in the till.

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ANTHONY
ANTHONY
12 years ago

All empires die. Some are conquered from without and some from within. In our case there are too many waiting for the government to distribute the wealth. Sadly the only thing that will be distributed for sure is the poverty. Witness England “health care” and await HusseinCare.
Death By Socialism – UK Elderly Patients Denied Surgery
The breast cancer patients TOO OLD to save: Thousands are being denied surgery by ‘ageist’ doctors – (Daily Mail) Elderly women are being denied life-saving breast cancer surgery that is routinely given to younger patients, alarming research reveals. Some doctors look at a patient’s age in their notes – and decide on a treatment plan before they have even met them, experts warn.
The Brave New World brought to you by Chicago, Inc.

Monique
Editor
12 years ago

That would NEVER happen here, Anthony; CERTAINLY, it wouldn’t happen under ObamaCare.

ANTHONY
ANTHONY
12 years ago

“That would NEVER happen here, Anthony; CERTAINLY, it wouldn’t happen under ObamaCare.”
Correct Monique. Much like the US Govt. would never be in the car business….never tell you what light bulb to use…what toilet is legal…fund the treadmill exercise of shrimp…erect statues of living politicians…all with taxpayer money. It could never happen here.

Tommy Cranston
Tommy Cranston
12 years ago

Socialism works in only 2 places-heaven where they don’t need it and hell where they already have it.
W. Churchill

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