I live in Fairfax County. You’re right, I don’t want to live in downtown DC. The taxes are abysmal in the District and you get more real estate/house for your money in Northern Virginia. Life in the “703” is good!It’s also loaded with people who work in DC who don’t want to live in the city or Martin O’Malley’s Maryland.
Get off your high horse. I’m a conservative too, but you can’t tell me those who immigrate here just want free stuff. I worked in a school that was 75% hispanic and mostly illegal since it was a meat packing community in rural nebraska. Anyway, most of them wanted work. It wasn’t like they crossed over the border to get welfare. Also, what about those who wanted to escape poverty or drug warfare. I’m not saying crossing illegally is right but i’ve always found it hard to call it wrong.
Sometimes even social conservatives have to vote on the economy. Nebraska voted for Bob Kerry and Ben Nelson and are just as conservative as Kansas. Also, Sebelius probably lied her butt off or didn’t talk about abortion. Sometimes people get deceived this way.
I agree with you somewhat - illegals come here and work hard and do the kind of jobs that American citizens refuse to do - landscaping, construction, restaurant work, etc. I admire them in this way. I wish that there were more opportunities for Mexicans and other hispanics in their own countries so they didn’t need to travel here for a job and leave their families and relatives.
I disagree - there is a fundamental difference between the government confiscating less of your hard earned money in one case (i.e. lower taxes) - and the government confiscating your money and giving it to someone else in the form of foodstamps. The recipient of foodstamps could rightly call it a “gift” from the taxpayer, not the government. Estate taxes tax people twice - once when the estate is being established, and again when its passed on to children. If the government said, “we’re not going to tax you twice but only once” (or even less the 2nd time) would you say, “thanks for the gift!” ? I hope you see the absurdity of that.
I think every able bodied person receiving welfare should be working these jobs. The problem is many of them think they are too good to do these jobs so they’d rather receive welfare. So the Mexicans get the job.
So then how do we distinguish between those who need welfare and those who don’t. I assume you are one of those who believe 47% just want welfare, but to be honest, I have a hard time believing that many people actually want welfare. for example. I’m a part time employed college graduate. I’d love to get a job and my own health insurance, but unfortunately I didn’t get a teaching job. Do I count as the 47%? I don’t think so. Its not like I want to be working part time and living on my mom’s healthcare plan. Its not like my brother with autism wants to receive disability payments (he’s quite embarassed btw). To be honest, I will say there are people who truly cheat the system, but its nowhere near 47% of Americans, maybe 15 to 20.
Means testing. Drug testing.
Why do you assume that?
You got your teaching certificate? Where are you searching for employment? According to this article, the best places for teaching jobs are Nevada, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona. If you expand your search and keep trying, I am sure that you’ll be able to find something. Maybe you need to look harder.
There are those who need a helping hand. And there are those who abuse it. I have no idea of the percentage - but I am sure that its a significant number that receives aid of some kind that doesn’t need it - be it in the form of foodstamps or some other aid. Something needs to be done rather than simply throw more money at the problem and breeding more dependency.
but we spend more on defense than the top 10 countries combined. The GOP and the democrats both waste money. We need to cut spending across the board if we are serious about spending within our means.
Agreed. There is much waste on defense spending which is a huge source of pork barrel projects. We probably have bases around the world that could be reduced or possibly even eliminated. Fiscal conservatives often forget that the military is a huge monolithic government program with all the bureaucracies and waste that go with that. It is necessary, but I am sure that the spending could be reduced or streamlined. Not being an expert I wouldn’t know where to start but I’m sure it could be done.
We do spend a lot on defense, but it is also for defense of other countries as well. And one of the tenets of our constitution is to provide for the common defense. But you are right, we could certainly do it better on less.
Don’t forget foreign aid. How many countries receive foreign aid from us and then turn around and stab us in the back? And while providing for the common defense is a legitimate function of government, foreign aid is not, last I checked.
I did get my nebraska teaching certificate, but its not as easy as saying I just want to move to Arizona or Georgia. Even in states that border nebraska, I have to get certified in those states and take their tests and in some cases take more classes (usually not too much, but still). Also, Is it wrong that I want to stay within my region. Yes I know we should be mobile and get a job where we can find one, but I guess I want to stay close with my family. Also, my certification area isn’t in demand. But’ I get what your saying.
I didn’t realize that there was such a difference between a Nebraska certificate and other states - that would make it harder to move on short notice. Nothing wrong with staying in your region, but that is your choice. I used to live in Hawaii. But I soon realized that in my field, there were much, much fewer opportunities than elsewhere so I moved after 3 years because it was a struggle to make ends meet.
If you stay in a region with less demand for your skills or area of specialization, I can appreciate that it might take longer to find a job, but in the meantime, should others help you pay for that?“I have no idea of the percentage” followed directly by " but I am sure that its a significant number that receives aid of some kind that doesn’t need it"
Let me help you out, oldcatholicguy - I may not know the exact percentage of those who abuse the system, but I am pretty sure its significant. 20%? 25%? 15% Hard to say. For example, foodstamps: While working in retail I witnessed daily those who had no business being on foodstamps, come in and buy things with them. They would make two transactions - one for the food, and the other for the things you can’t buy with foodstamps such as flat screen TV’s. Add to that, people like my co-worker, nice guy - but he and his wife make upwards of $200,000/year and he got foodstamps! My personal favorite is the lady who complained we were packing her groceries too slowly because she had a flight to Hawaii to catch. These kinds of things happened routinely. Now, think hard, oldcatholicguy: just a guess, but it seems to me that it would not need a bureaucracy to figure out that those people have no business being on foodstamps - wouldn’t you agree?
And unemployment benefits for 99 weeks? Call me crazy but I don’t think extending unemployment benefits to 2 years will really encourage people to pound the pavement looking for a job.The main reason why people are not taking those jobs is because a lot of them are paid more to stay at home.
