Let me state this at the outset: Government-mandated anything is bad. It’s bureaucratic, inefficient and, more importantly, it’s socialist. It seems like only yesterday that the very thought of socialized anything made America shudder and demand more military spending. Such was that brilliant, beaming moment in our history when Reagan ruled as our king.
Did I say king? I meant president. A man can dream, though.
Naturally, we have all had some taste of the new slime the liberals have whipped up to paint a pretty face on their socialist schemes. Bethany Wilkerson has become the newest poster child for the expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Thanks to the SCHIP, her parents claim, she has received the medical procedures needed to treat her heart condition.
I refuse to target children negatively. Bethany has no control over her situation so there’s no need to attack her. That’s why God saw fit to provide every poor child with bad parents.
It all boils down to one simple concept – if you want health care, pay for it. We on the conservative side believe in earning our way. If I want a Corvette, I pay for it. If I want a second house, I pay for it. If I want to save my child from a debilitating disease, I open up the checkbook.
But conservatives are also compromisers. Many employers provide health benefits for employees, so get a job that does. And don’t give me that socialist propaganda about “being poor,” because all of us have had to do our fair share of toiling to get where we are.
Sure, I was born into tremendous wealth because my family has owned the same newspaper conglomerate for several generations and that guarantees me a lifetime in upper-management with a six-figure income, but someone somewhere along the line had to do some serious toiling.
Why do low-income families feel this incessant need to procreate, anyway? When you get to a point in your life where you can barely make ends meet, having 17 children probably isn’t the best financial decision. But God forbid you get a third or fourth job.
It’s to the point where it should be mandated by law. How about if you live below the poverty line, it becomes illegal to have children?
Why allow a child to be born into destitution? We could practically say that’s child abuse. Welfare is essentially theft from the rest of us and should be against the law. Maybe we should mandate vasectomies as a form of punishment for prolific deadbeat fathers. If you can’t keep a handle on your own pants, let the government handle them for you.
Simply put, if you can’t afford to foot the bill, you can’t afford to screw.
Matthew Kirchner is a junior English major and a contributing writer for the Daily Forty-Niner.
