Opuscula Bad time to be Fiscal conservative And social liberal

I HEARD ON tv this morning (Monday, May 22, 2017) that POTUS — or someone — is considering reducing several social welfare programs; Medicaid and Welfare were specifically included.

How much truth there is in the information, given that the information is third, fourth or even more hands from the source, is beyond my speculation. I know the media is biased — only a person blind and deaf would deny that — but sometimes even in the worst lie there may be a kernel of truth.

I consider myself a financial conservative and a social liberal. That really is not an oxymoron. while I saw the movie Dave, I came to my position on my own long before the movie was released. (It is a good flick.)

I don’t want to “waste” money on — among other things — sending U.S. troops to bases around the world. England, Germany, Japan, et al, all can defend themselves at least until U.S. rescuers arrive. The U.S. has missile-equipped submarines and surface ships with nearly unlimited range and aircraft that can be dispatched from carriers or U.S. bases (that have not been decimated by BRAC.)

True, the only way to hold ground is with “boots on the ground,” but must U.S. troops be military first responders? Let the locals manage for themselves, at least initially.

It’s an open secret that there is waste and fraud in welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, and, frankly, most government programs — including the military (cost over-runs, low-ball bidding, among other options).

Build up the military; give the county a strong military with all the resources it can justify. Go back to Theo. Roosevelt’s day and “speak softly and carry a big stick,” or, if you prefer, keep an “iron fist in a velvet glove.” Diplomatically, “negotiate from a position of strength.”

Going back to BRAC for a few words.

In an effort to cut defense spending — I’m not certain it really did that — the government in its “wisdom” closed bases. Some of the bases, such as Orlando AFB, were re-puposed to become Naval Training Center Orlando, later shuttered because Orlando’s summer was too hot for Navy recruits (but Great Lakes is OK in the winter?). NTC Orlando, nee’ Orlando AFB, was sold off to developers. The only remaining thing “military” is 56-bed Residential Rehabilitation Program operated by the VA.

I was stationed at the 1360 USAF Hospital at Orlando AFB, ergo my interest in the facility. The 1360 had an entire ward dedicated to VA patients.

Rather than “decommission” military installations, they could have been repurposed to help welfare families get off welfare while keeping military personnel (a) in the U.S. and (b) maintaining needed skills.

I once suggested the following to a far left email acquaintance; her response was to call be a nazi.!

People who are willing to work should be provided (alphabetically)

Child care
Clothing
Housing
Job training
Meals
Medical care

And a small stipend.

If any reader has been in the military, this may sound a lot like basic training. My “stipend” as an Air Force “slick sleeve” (Airman Basic) was $78/month.

Meanwhile, their children, if any, go to local schools that receive federal assistance in the same way they did when the base was active.

Job training would be for jobs that (a) the trainee can perform (physical and mental) and (b) are needing workers. Whenever possible, military trainers would teach the trades (keeping the trainers proficient); military medics would provide medical care; military cooks would provide food prep (with occasional “KP duties” by the trainees — just like basic training — imagine . Housing for the duration would be barracks for singles and on-base housing for families.

The duration of the training would depend on the job requirements.

At the end of the training, the graduates would be outfitted in “civilian” clothes and, when appropriate, work clothes. If there are local jobs available, the graduates would apply, with employers getting a stipend to help pay the apprentice employees. If no jobs are available locally, the graduate — and family — would be relocated to a place where the graduate’s skills are in demand.

Veterans will recognize this as something they — we — went through “back in the day.”

Worst case, the government should be the “employer of last resort” as it was when Eleanor Roosevelt was in the White House.

People who cannot perform work of any type due to physical or mental conditions would be exempt from the above and provided all the financial and material/medical resources they require.

People who CAN work but refuse the opportunity would be removed from the federal welfare rolls, including Medicaid.

I am from a generation that considered going on the dole, or even collecting unemployment compensation as something to be avoided. If we DID receive assistance, we worked diligently to become self-sufficient again.

I firmly believe the U.S. can be fiscally conservative and militarily strong while at the same time being liberal on social issues, taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves.

 

 

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