Reform?

Is there any reason to believe that giving people direct access to their healthcare allotment will cause them to be more prudent than they were when taxpayers paid the costs directly.

It's true people are more fiscally responsible when they're spending their own money, but handouts are handouts and this population is savvy enough to know they'll be taken care of whether their allotment is used up or not.

Many of the millions of people on Medicaid are innocent victims of circumstances who can never take care of themselves and I have no problem providing for them.

It's the many millions more who will never take care of themselves or their families because we've taught them that they're ignorant and incompetent. For this we can blame public schools and pandering leftwing politicians.

erp:

If I send you out to buy dinner and tell you that you can either spend $20 of your own or $100 of mine which do you thgink you'd do? Would your shopping behavior differ depending on which you were doing? Suppose I gave you $100 and told you that you could keep whatever was left over from the dinner?

oj. With all due respect, what I would do isn't relevant. I've been exceedingly fortunate and have had a lifetime of managing my own affairs without the need of help from government, but I'll still answer your question.

It would be an honor to take you to dinner for the pleasure of your company using my own funds and split the $120.00 between the children's library and the animal shelter in my home town. Those two entities know how to squeeze the good out of every penny.

I wouldn't take any money from you or from any other taxpayer unless there was some perceived greater need that I couldn't predict.

What I'm saying is that people who have never been responsible for themselves can't be expected to see the need for conserving, what are after all, not their assets.

erp:

The problem is you and me as much as them. But if you never give them any responsibility how will they ever become responsible?

oj. The pathology is so widespread and engrained that I don't think adults can be made into responsible citizens without intense intervention almost on an individual basis. Changing the way Medicaid is administered won't do it is all I'm saying.

What would be effective is to begin in the nursery teaching children they matter and making sure they learn what they need to know in order to take their rightful place as Americans contributing to the common good.

I'd be willing to pay a lot more in taxes if I thought we could put that into action. We'd have to bypass the public schools until they dry up and crumble and then rebuild them to benefit students, not the teachers unions.

That's what the Left said about Welfare reform.

Welfare reform forced people into the workforce, but that's not what we're talking about here.

You posited that people eligible for Medicaid would spend their health care benefits more wisely if they were responsible for paying their own bills instead of having them paid by a third party.

I don't think it would work out that way. Food stamp funds issued directly to the recipients aren't being spent very wisely, but you may yet be proven correct.

Time will tell.

Food Stamps is a pretty successful program.

Even if only one out of three Medicaid recipients made better choices, it would still drive changes for ALL recipients.

The major problem with the Food Stamp programme is that it awards TOO MUCH money to at least some of the recipients, which encourages either wasteful spending, or schemes to trade food for cash or cigarettes.