Years of overspending on social services are catching up to taxpayers in Illinois just as Kentucky gears up for a pep rally on Tuesday to sign people up for government healthcare faster and, potentially, fraudulently. 
So with all this talk about economic Armageddon, is anyone the least bit concerned about what might happen if Illinois is forced to cut back on social services just as neighboring Kentucky is flashing a neon "Come and Get It!" sign?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Could Illinois sneezing give Kentucky a cold?
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2 comments:
The main source of "overspending on social services" that you don't want to address is the incarceration of non-violent marijuana users. Pardoning and stop arresting and incarcerating marijuana users would save the state about $270 million annually in "social services." Why don't you decry that destructive use of "social services"?
Healthcare is not a destructive social service. A healthy population is a more productive population. The taxes they pay on their wages helps pay for the healthcare they receive. An unnecessary middle man, the health insurance industry, isn't needed.
If Illinois were to pardon and stop incarcerating non-violent marijuana users, they too could save a bundle of money that could be better used to pay for healthcare.
I would agree with Hempy that a healthy population is more productive.
However, the question is this; are we spending money on the part of the population which is actually giving anything back to society?
The answer is no. There are now whole generations of families who rely on getting a SS, or SSI check. These people, though able to work chose not during their teenage years in a addition to not getting a drivers license. Of course, they supplement their income with food stamps, KCHIP cards for their children, free school lunch, handouts at Christmas and Thanksgiving, and of course the off the record job where they never have to pay any income tax.
There are whole vast off the record economic systems in East. Ky which no one is tapping into for taxes. Not to mention that some individual have now replaced with cars/trucks with four wheelers even on the highways- again, no taxes, no registration fees, and no insurance.
Why would anyone with any sense at all work a full time minimum wage job and have to pay taxes?
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