Chisago County, Minnesota is described as an "average" town with people earning an average of $39,000 a year. Many people in this town are strong supporters of the Tea Party, requesting that federal programs and spending be cut. However, the contradictory thing is that most of the residents in Chisago are dependent on these government programs. The Gulbranson family, a family mentioned in the article, is all for cuts in government spending, but uses federal money to have their kids fed in school for free. On top of that, Mr. Gulbranson's mother has used Medicare funds to pay for her 2 hip surgeries. I am not against people using these funds, but it really irks me to hear these people constantly calling for cuts in spending while simultaneously taking from these pots of money. Yes, some of them have too much pride to take this money, saying "I will fail or succeed on my own merit. I don't want the government, I don't need the government. But we're hurting." But others say just that and continue taking.
What do you think? Should the government cut some funding to see who floats and who sinks? Do these Chisago County critics have any base for their claims? Thoughts? Feelings?
Monday, February 13, 2012
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3 comments:
I think that that is really not in their best interest to be cutting programs they are using. Do they not know that they are using these funds that they are supporting to cut? I agree with you and that is really annoying that these people either don't understand how federal money works, or just don't care. Their support for cuts only hurt themselves and others like them and although cuts may reduce taxes, the benefits from these programs are a great support system for many, including themselves. Even being as selfish as they may be, it would be in their best interest to throw their support against cuts.
Lol. I think this is the a large part of the conservative constituency, actually (sorry, I hate on conservatives a lot. But it's kind of true). Yeah, so I think this whole thing about people not understanding the idea of actions and beliefs having consequences is kind of what messes with our democracy.
I agree with Kirsten. The biggest problem with this country is uninformed voters and misinformation, or those people who believe what they are told without question and take to their parents views because it is all they know. Maybe if these people opened their eyes and actually understood the good their government was doing for them they probably would not be criticizing spending. People have too many opinions without a solid basis of knowledge and it totally skews politics. If this family was truly informed and had knowledge of the effects of the government spending and still supported cuts, that would be fine. But I think too many people just do not really know what they are fighting against (or for).
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