"Sometimes you get what you pay for, and sometimes you get less" comes
to mind.

;-)
Steve

One of the wise men of this group has said:

You get what you pay for, sometimes you get less.

Hey, don't go by my opinion.  I have a bias.

I feel badly for those people who are disabled and cannot work in *ANY*
field at all.  I do not feel bad for anyone who could still work in a
different field but chooses to stay on government assistance.

Lately, I have been reviewing some research and images of the Andrea
Doria/Stockholm tragedy of 1956.  I take some interest since I would have
been on one of those boats, but the USA did not process our immigration
visas quick enough,,,, so we had to crowd onto a sister ship (the Conte
Grande) a couple of months later.  I personally know a couple survivors of
that sinking.  They lost every worldly possession and had to start off a new
life with *nothing*, in a strange (to them) new country.  They worked hard
and never took any government aid, (unless you count a blanket or cup of
coffee as they were rescued by the Ile De France, or one of the other ships
to render assistance that night.

I could tell you about crossing the Atlantic with two steamer trunks, a
suitcase, both parents, and older sister, and about $500 in Dad's pocket.
No one was there to offer government money.  There was no **Press 1 for
Italian**, no schools offering to teach classes to my sister and I in
Italian.  Dad had to find cheap housing, take the first job (at minimum
wages), and work his butt off.  We had to learn English immediately.  We had
to learn how to get by without many conveniences.  After three years of hard
work, Dad bought his first car (a 1953 Ford Fairlane that occasionally would
start), got a house mortgage, and eventually we applied for citizenship.
[ I signed my citizenship papers the month Kennedy was shot.  :-(   ]

I have no sympathy for poverty in the absence of disability.   Most of the
disabled people I meet, are fully capable of working in *alternate*
occupations.  Save the government assistance for those who are completely
disabled;  provide graduated assistance for those who are in the process of
re-training to overcome partial disabilities, and loan tuition money to
those who want to learn an occupation.  Financial support for those who make
no effort to go to work, should only be funded by those who volunteer to pay
for it (like contributing to your favorite charity).  There is more than
enough opportunity in this country to support yourself, you simply have to
work hard (like anywhere else in the world).

Choice ?,.?,,?,,?    Well, not for the fully disabled.  But,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
for the rest, sure, they have plenty of choice.

Yeah sure.

Like the Canadian and UK socialized health care systems
works so perfectly and smoothly.

If the government gets involved with health care, the mistreatment
of our brave soldiers of late will look like a trip to Disney World.