Is there currently a culture of dependency & entitlement in American culture & s

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   gmwilliamsposted 7 years ago

   Is there currently a culture of dependency & entitlement in American culture & society?
   
   

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   Hxprofposted 7 years ago

   Yes, there is.  Look back 50 years, and I see that there were fewer people demanding that other people give us something.  The attitude now for many Americans seems to be that "those who have something ought to give me a bit of what they have", for whatever the reason.  The federal government has grown to accommodate this attitude.  We used to rely upon the mercy and compassion of other people to help in time of need, but now Americans simply demand it, and the federal government imposes the regulations/taxes/rules needed to grant it.  There's no compassion in that, only compulsion.
   
   What the federal government grants, it can take away. The federal government can also use what it gives to control - it does this already by imposing regulations on states in exchange for money given by taxpayers in those states (how ironic) it will get worse as the Feds get more power.
   
   The state and local governments CAN do things that the Feds shouldn't be doing.  Police protection, firefighting, licensing and zoning regulations are provided by the states.  Massachusetts currently has it's own healthcare system.  Beautiful!  The people of that state want it, and they have a state government that's accountable to THEM, so if they want changes in the program, or if they decide to discontinue it, they can fairly readily do so.  The federal government is a different beast, and the founders knew this, which is why they didn't give the federal government much power.  Oh, I just said something unpopular.......and the reason it's unpopular is because when a large part of the population determines it's entitled to something that it's not, nothing will get in the way.

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      gmwilliamsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hxprof,  EXCELLENT answer.  America went from a can-do nation to a gimme, gimme, gimme, I am entitled nation.  What a nation of whiny, wuspy crybabies we have....BECOME. It's SAD bordering on THE TRAGIC. America has gone to....HELL.

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      Hxprofposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Yes.  The excuse often given to take from other people is that others are greedy, and are making life tough for the rest of us.  Their remedy is using government to take money from wealthy greedy people to give it to less fortunate greedy people.

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      gmwilliamsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      EXACTLY!

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   Aime Fposted 7 years ago

   Not even a little bit.
   
   Look at Canada, Sweden, Australia, the U.K., etc. and you'll see that they have a lot social programs in place that America lacks, including universal healthcare. Things that perhaps would be seen as "handouts" to Americans but are parts of normal, every day life for people in those countries... and those countries also tend to be happier, on average.
   
   But a lot of Americans are still very opposed to anything that might be seen as giving something to citizens who have fallen on hard times or are in unique circumstances, to the extent that you've elected a man who promised to dismantle a healthcare system that brought you the closest thing to affordable healthcare as you've seen in who knows how long. 
   
   So no, there is no culture of entitlement and dependency in America. There is a culture of being terrified of and oversensitive to anything that might be perceived as evolution from the traditional "suck it up buttercup" mentality in the United States. And that is why I will always laugh whenever someone touts the US as "the greatest country on earth."

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      wrenchBiscuitposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Their Imperialist agenda proves just the opposite. I would gladly contribute to universal health care. But they are using my tax dollars to build bombs and kill children. If I do not pay their tribute I will be thrown into a prison! But I am free?

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      gmwilliamsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      There is a CULTURE OF ENTITLEMENT & DEPENDENCY.  These social programs are what are killing the middle class.  If we reduce such programs such as welfare & dismantle the current healthcare system, the middle class would have MORE money. DO FO

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      Aime Fposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Why bother asking a question if you're just gonna yell your answer at me? *shrug*

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      gmwilliamsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      EACH is entitled to his/her respective opinions.  There is nothing wrong w/different viewpoints Aime.    Different viewpoints don't bother me in the least.  You state what you believe & I state what I believe.  I WELCOME such discussions.  Procee

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   gmwilliamsposted 7 years ago

   
   
   Hell to the yes.  America, for the most part, was a country which valued people pulling their weight & not depending upon the government for things that they can do themselves.  Poor people in the past didn't look for the government to mollycoddle them & give a comfortable lifestyle.  They realized that if they wanted a comfortable lifestyle, they had better work for it & do better.  They didn't whine, bitch, & moan that society & the gub'mint  OWE them.  Now, they got off their #### & worked for what they wanted.  My parents are the example of this, they were Black & poor(both deceased) yet they become middle class by their initiative & wanting a better life. No one gave anything to them, they WORKED for the better life.
   
   Plenty of poor people did the same.  If they wanted a middle class or better life, they WORKED for it.  They also knew how to plan for the future.  My father & mother were great planners, they strongly inculcated me not to depend upon anyone & NEVER expect handouts for that is slavery.  Also they taught me that dependence is for the lazy.   
   
   However, something happened in America in the 1960s.  The Great Society, a social program instituted w/the intent to pull poor people out of poverty.  There was the institutionalization of welfare.  Welfare's purpose was to be .....TEMPORARY.  However, welfare become fraught w/people who believe that they are ENTITLED to such.  There were people who viewed welfare as a normative lifestyle hence generational welfare.  The middle class bore the brunt of taxes to social programs which only made people lazier & more dependent.   Welfare is part of what is killing this country.  There are more stupid social programs than one can think of. We Americans are TAXED ENOUGH!  I am not here to support others who should be pulling THEIR OWN weight.   Because of such social programs, Americans have a PARASITICAL class of those who EXPECT, even DEMAND that others CARRY them.
   
   Now, the government is in healthcare.  The American healthcare system was fine before communist Obummler decided that there should be universal health care.  Well, we all know what a disaster that was.  No one should pay taxes for other's healthcare.   Either you pay for your own healthcare or DO WITHOUT.   Why should I pay for your healthcare- again,, I am taxed more than enough already- I would like to keep my money!  Yes, unfortunately, America has devolved into a dependent, entitled nation of crybabies who feel that everything is a right!

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      gregasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Grace, this is one thing that you and I agree on.

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      gmwilliamsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Why thank you.   ENOUGH is....ENOUGH!   I really can't believe what America has devolved to & I am a Liberal but in the traditional sense not what is currently synonymous w/Leftist.

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      lisavollrathposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      You are taxed LESS in the US than in most industrialized nations. You have an obligation, living in a country that allows you to amass wealth, to contribute to the support of that country. Stop throwing your fellow citizens under the bus.

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      gmwilliamsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      That's the problem.  Each person OUGHT TO SUPPORT himself/herself.  I am not about to support an ABLE-BODIED adult who should be RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH to SUPPORT himself/herself.  My advice: SUPPORT YOURSELF or....STARVE...I don't give CHARITY!

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      Hxprofposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Obummercare was a plan to control Americans, to make dependents out of all of us.  If the government wanted to help people who couldn't afford insurance, or didn't quality, then help them,don't coerce Americans into buying something.

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