Friday, April 28, 2006

A Barrier? Are you kidding me?

This has got to be one of my favourite quotes of all time:

“This provision is misguided and will serve as a barrier to health care for otherwise eligible United States citizens,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire in the April 16th New York Times

What is the barrier of which the governor speaks? Why the new requirement that those seeking Medicaid benefits produce some sort of documentation to show proof of citizenship. The usual, and obviously logically contradictory statements that the new provision will result in little savings but possibly millions thrown out of the program have also been heard from those who support this kind of thinking.

Maybe its time I go and sit down with some of these people and explain things to them. A barrier? Excuse me but when has having to produce a birth certificate or a passport been considered an barrier? And when was the last time government was ever concerned about barriers? That’s what government does; it’s pretty much its sole purpose. Lets try some of this “Ooooo its too hard for me” barrier thinking in some common every day situations:

1) Gee, you know, having to get this building permit is a real barrier to me renovating my home.
2) You know, having to produce a document, called a check, every quarter and having to file long a tedious quarterly tax forms is a real barrier to me feeding and housing myself.
3) You know its sort of a barrier to my business to have to comply with all sorts of regulations and state and federal filings. Is there a way I could just not do that?
4) Wow, its kind of a barrier to have to produce a document called a drivers license so I can drive and go to work. Could we get rid of that?

Ok – Get the picture? All of us have barriers put in our life by government. The difference is, for most of us we surmount these barriers and get nothing. Taxes, permits all sorts of crap. Medicaid recipients, on the other hand, surmount this barrier and get to steal from all the rest of society in the form of health benefits we pay for, and they don’t. So here’s the bottom line.

If you are real old and somehow don’t have a birth certificate because of your birth circumstances, get one. If you have reached 80 and never had to produce it, consider yourself blessed that it’s taken this long, get one. Frame it and hang it on the wall. Consider it your membership card to the real world.
Yep, it really sucks. But hey, look at the bright side; you could be like the rest of us who struggle every day to get our paper work right with the government. The difference is, we get to pay and you reap the rewards. So there you go Sunshine, take some solace in that.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Who are you?

So who are you people, you farmers, who feel you are entitled to hire illegal aliens? Who are you that can brazenly say your business is so special that the laws regarding hiring and wages should be suspended for you? Who are you that feel you are so essential that laws shouldn’t be enforced, exceptions made just for you? Who are you that insists that the rest of society be burdened with the huge costs of illegal aliens so you can hire cheaply. Who are you with all the subsidies that pay you not to grow, with all the tax deferments and exemptions that no other business has in any way remotely close to yours, who are you that you still want more, workers than you can take advantage of because they have broken the law so you can pay them less. Who are you and how dare you.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Cynthia McKinney … God bless her.

I think that no matter what happens, Cynthia McKinney will always be my favourite congressperson. She never fails to entertain, always taking the low road and generally being an example for us all. No matter how stupid any one of us may feel at any given time, we can always look to Cynthia for inspiration. No matter how racist anyone of us may be, there is always the possibility that we could get elected to congress. After all, if Cynthia could, why cant anyone? Who else could run through a Capitol Police checkpoint, slug the guy and then claim it was all racism the next day? Who else could loose a congressional race, blame it all on “the Jews” and still have a viable political future. Who else would illegally pay Isaac Hayes (formerly the godfather of soul, writer of the Shaft theme and now the currently retired voice of “chef” on Southpark) with taxpayer funds to come dedicate a new office in Atlanta? No matter what you may think of her, the woman is as entertaining as hell and probably one of the few that I actually feel earns her pay for the joy and laughter she provides us all.