Second time, Shame on Me

While attending the seventieth birthday party for a lovely friend of mine on Charlie Mountain this past weekend, I was once again the target of extreme ridicule for being a Democrat.  While sitting on the porch with neighbors, I was ambushed with questions:

"Why do you feel it necessary to keep giving handouts to the 48% of people on the government dole?"

I was one of the FEW people in attendance NOT receiving Medicare benefits and free prescription drugs!   I guess my elderly neighbors have not come to realize that they are included in this identified group of "deadbeats."

"Before LBJ people survived hard times on their own without government assistance".  

They did? Let's look back at a time when the President of the United States decided to let fiscal events run their course.  Herbert Hoover was a strong individualist that believed the downturn in the economy would right itself within 60 days.  Here are a few facts from the outcome of his decision:

• 1,000 homes foreclosed each day 
• Hospitals reported an increase in death from starvation.  Boris Borisov, a history researcher estimates (based on analyzing US population, birth and death rates, immigration and emigration) the US lost over seven million people during the famine of 1932 and 1933.
• Average rate of death by suicide (per 100,000 population)
  
  1929: 18.1
  1930-1940: 15.4
• Working women were openly discriminate against and usually lost their jobs.  Section 213 of the Economic Recovery Act of 1932 stated that any married person whose spouse worked for the federal government should be fired first.  State and local governments and school boards refused to hire married women. Collages urged female graduates not to seek work. 

Who are the individuals most benefiting from the social reforms introduced by LBJ? You got it SENIORS!  In 1963 most elderly Americans had no health insurance and very few retirement plans provided healthcare coverage.  Since 1965, 79 million Americans have signed up for Medicare. Poverty levels for senior citizens has dropped to around 10%, the lowest level for any category.    

And while life expectancy for seniors has done nothing but increased during the past twenty years, the number of newborn deaths each year puts the US at 41st worldwide in health care rating for infants and their mothers.  

Are you a pacifist?  You don't own a gun.  Would you defend your family if attacked?  

I have never owned a gun because I have a temper and believe it best I'm not packing heat.
However,  looking back, I do see I lost an incredible opportunity to whip out my six shooter and rid the world of a room full of government freeloaders.:-)