Friday, March 22, 2013

Who's Really Exploiting The System?

If there's one common complaint that I've heard coming from retail pharmacists and techs nationwide, it's about dealing with seemingly able customers who they consider are abusing the welfare system. I've even heard some of them say that they "hate" those leeches. Although it's never bothered me as much as some of my former colleagues, I can understand their anger.

Imagine working in pharmacy located in a poorer section of town and constantly dealing everyday with customers who seem to have no overt physical problems, dress nicely, drive expensive vehicles, and perhaps even wear more bling than you, and who then use Medicaid/AHCCCS/ Workers Comp or some other type of social welfare program to pay for their prescriptions.

And to top it off, you find out that some of those welfare recipients can't speak English, increasing your suspicions that they might not even be Americans!

It's not hard to understand why those pharmacists and techs are angry at people who they think are exploiting the system. They've struggled, they've sacrificed, they've worked hard and put up with a lot of bullshit to earn everything they've got. Why should their hard-earned tax dollars be spent supporting people who are being allowed to suck off the system? Who wouldn't agree with that? I know that I do.

Of course, things aren't always what they seem to be.

I'm sure that many welfare recipients aren't exploiting the system and truly need the help. Although a few of us have probably said it, wishing that we could be in their shoes to live their lives of ease isn't the answer. If you've dealt with some welfare patients behind the scenes, and see how they really live, you wouldn't wish their quiet lives of desperation on your worst enemies.

That being said, yes, I'm also sure that there are some welfare patients exploiting the system. And you want to know what? It's not fully their fault. Lack of enforcement is the problem. Exploitation of any system would rarely occur if it was designed appropriately and the rules enforced to protect it.

But, exploiting the system is what America is all about. That's how we roll.

The problem with America today hasn't been caused by some poor schlub who may taking advantage of the social welfare system. America, and the rest of the world too, is in crisis because of the lack of enforcement against corporate crime, and corporate welfare. That's where most of our tax dollars are being spent. That's where the bulk of any type of investigation and reform should be directed.

As such, when you begin to read investigative reports into crimes involving the social welfare system, ask yourself why, especially during this period in time, are such investigations are being conducted?

Is it because the social welfare system is truly in crisis and could cause the American economy to fail? Or is it because the grand old "party of hate" is attempting to redirect your anger away from the real crimes being committed against the American public, in an effort to exploit you?

So, if you feel the need to have to hate people, then make sure that you're hating the right people.

23 comments:

  1. The ultra-rich share few of the priorities of most Americans, but their access to policymakers is greater, a study finds. Source: The 1% aren't like the rest of us

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  2. Like we need a study to tell us that?

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  3. Richard Wolff’s smart, blunt talk about the crisis of capitalism on his first Moyers & Company appearance was so compelling and provocative, they asked him to return.

    This time, the economics expert answers questions sent in by their viewers, diving further into economic inequality, the limitations of industry regulation, and the widening gap between a booming stock market and a population that increasingly lives in poverty.

    It's a great show! Watch Richard Wolff on Capitalism’s Destructive Power on BillMoyers.com

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  4. Okay, here comes my cynicism again.

    While Dr. Wolff does a fantastic job of describing the problem we're facing with capitalism today, I don't agree with all of his solutions. And that's not to diss the fine doctor, because we need more educators including the public on finding ways to fix the problem. Change will only occur if people participate. (yes, I said that)

    And the reason I disagree is because whatever type of system we create, it's always going to be subject to the negative forces of human nature. We can create co-ops that give workers a piece of the pie and create an ownership incentive, but as history has shown, co-ops aren't always the panacea the good doctor described.

    Human beings are inherently selfish, and when push comes to shove, will almost always put their own personal interests above any group interests. No matter what system is used to create a functioning society, there will ALWAYS be a need to enforce the rules or it will fail.

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  5. Counterpoint to my views about co-ops. - How Worker-Owned Companies Work. And by-the-way, I bank at a credit union and I invest through The Vanguard Group (a pseudo-co-op).

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  7. Here's the problem I have with the so-called "mandate" that corporations must pursue profits at "all" costs - IT'S A COP OUT - used to justify excessive greed on the part of corporate insiders. They use that mandate as a tool to reflect blame off of themselves.

    Corporations are run by PEOPLE.

    Like Jason often says, people who work for a corporation can always say "NO" when they are being directed by corporate insiders to do things that they find personally, ethically, or legally reprehensible. You can't blame your own individual actions on some corporate non-entity, like it has some strange power to control your every decision. That's bullshit.

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  8. Why is social welfare reform even being considered as part of the national debt solution? Are the Democrats about to sell us out through compromise? Democracy vs Dollarocracy

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  9. Those damn welfare criminals! Exploiting the system and stashing loads of their cash offshore, while I'm busting my ass at work just trying to get by. Oh, wait..

    The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a Washington-based group that, along with affiliated news media organizations, announced its coup on Thursday, has punched a big hole in the secrecy that surrounds what the Tax Justice Network estimates are assets worth at least $21 trillion held in offshore havens.

    “This could be a game-changer,” said Mr. Murphy, the author of a book about offshore tax shelters. “Secrecy is the key product these places sell. Whether you are a criminal laundering money or just someone trying to evade or avoid taxes, secrecy is the one thing you want.” Once this is gone, he added, “it creates an enormous fear factor” and has a “massive deterrent effect.”

    Source: Leak of Data on Offshore Account Holders Likely to Spread Fear and Anger

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  10. Why is it that Senator Sanders can see what's happening so clearly, explain it to the public so simply, fight on behalf of the publics' best interests, but other Senators can't, or won't? Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday urged President Obama to keep his promise not to cut Social Security benefits. A change in how cost-of-living adjustments are calculated also would cut benefits for disabled veterans.

    “Millions of working people, seniors, disabled veterans, those who have lost a loved one in combat, and women will be extremely disappointed if President Obama caves into the long standing Republican effort to cut Social Security and benefits for disabled veterans and their survivors through a so-called chained CPI,” said Sanders “In 2008, candidate Barack Obama told the American people that he would not cut Social Security. Having him go back on his word will only add to the rampant political cynicism that our country is experiencing today.”

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  11. Rumor has it that President Obama is going to present his deficit reduction plan on Wednesday, and it will include cuts to social security and other social welfare programs in order to appease the Party of Hate.

    I hope it's not true that he's considering selling out the loyal Democratic Americans who had absolutely nothing to do with creating the Federal deficit and debt, in order to pay for those who did. I'll be seriously disappointed if he does.

    But, having been the unwitting victim of unsubstantiated rumor and gossip throughout both my married life and my career in pharmacy, I'm going to wait until he tells me himself to make sure it's true.

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  12. Conservative critics of SNAP and other federal social programs like to portray them as turning the United States into an "entitlement society" by undermining the work ethic and creating a class of people dependent on government programs.

    That's not true of SNAP and it's not true of other federal health and income security programs. CBPP analysis finds that more than 90 percent of the benefit dollars that these programs spend go to assist people who are elderly, seriously disabled or members of working households – not to able-bodied, working-age Americans who choose not to work.

    Source: The Facts About Food Stamps Conservatives Don't Want You to Hear

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  13. In response to Jane Mayer's recent report in The New Yorker, A Word from Our Sponsor:
    Public television’s attempts to placate David Koch.
    , a link to the film.

    Who are "really" the entitled people in America? Park Avenue: Money, Power & the American Dream - Park Avenue: Money, Power & the American Dream

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  14. See? It's not just me. Paul Krugman sees the same thing happening.

    "Like many observers, I usually read reports about political goings-on with a sort of weary cynicism. Every once in a while, however, politicians do something so wrong, substantively and morally, that cynicism just won’t cut it; it’s time to get really angry instead. So it is with the ugly, destructive war against food stamps."

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  15. If only our leaders would put a stop to those damn welfare recipients exploiting the system again and abusing us hardworking taxpayers.

    Using allowed deductions and legal loopholes, large corporations enjoyed a 12.6 percent tax rate far below the 35 percent tax that is the statutory rate imposed by the federal government on corporate profits according to recent study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

    Read more at: NY Times - Big Companies Paid a Fraction of Corporate Tax Rate

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  16. Is the United States in debt due of the costs of it's social programs? Hardly. According to the National Priorities Project, our Government has spent at least $8 TRILLION dollars on national security since 9/11/2001? Do you consider that taxpayer money well-spent?

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  17. Those damn poor people cheating the system with their sense of entitlement. Who the hell do they think they are with their incessant Money on the Mind?

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  18. Republicans show they are willing to compromise on the farm bill by eliminating the part they refused to compromise on, food stamps.

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  19. Those criminal food stamp recipients cheating the system for a couple of hundred dollars. It's just those type of poor blue-collar lowlifes that are ruining the social welfare system in America.

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  20. Here's the NYAG's press release about the alleged white-collar charity crime. Let's see if the mainstream media or the right-wing news outlets report it with the same abundance and outrage as they do when someone on food stamps is caught scamming the system. A.G. Schneiderman Announces Arrest Of Former Nonprofit Director For Involvement In Scheme To Steal More Than $5 Million

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  21. is an attack on a computer system, especially one that takes advantage of a particular vulnerability it offers to intruders. is used as a verb exploit introduces the act of successfully making such an attack. Whether the known exploit is due to a vulnerability in the software even hardware, developers can code patches to plug the hole.

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