OK. If government should be involved with the oil spill because of the impact it has, where do you draw the line on when and where the government gets involved in problems that impact all of us? The majority of the country feels government should not have passed the recent health care bill but health care impacts everyone more than this oil disaster impacts us. I am trying to get a feel for what small government in the current tea party/libertarian movement looks like, what issues government should be involved in and what they shouldn't be involved in.

Isn't that for a new thread?

OK. If government should be involved with the oil spill because of the impact it has, where do you draw the line on when and where the government gets involved in problems that impact all of us? The majority of the country feels government should not have passed the recent health care bill but health care impacts everyone more than this oil disaster impacts us. I am trying to get a feel for what small government in the current tea party/libertarian movement looks like, what issues government should be involved in and what they shouldn't be involved in.

I don't see how you can compare the two.

OK. If government should be involved with the oil spill because of the impact it has, where do you draw the line on when and where the government gets involved in problems that impact all of us? The majority of the country feels government should not have passed the recent health care bill but health care impacts everyone more than this oil disaster impacts us. I am trying to get a feel for what small government in the current tea party/libertarian movement looks like, what issues government should be involved in and what they shouldn't be involved in.

 

Isn't helping in what could be a environmental disaster and ordering us to pay for health care two different things? Isn't helping/taking charge in an environmental disaster and taking money out of my pocket and giving it to someone else two different things? I don't see the connection. I don't see many Libertarians, Tea Parties or Conservatives having a problem with the government helping in some kind of disaster, it becomes a problem when they intrude in their personal lives and distribute their wealth.

Isn't helping in what could be a environmental disaster and ordering us to pay for health care two different things? Isn't helping/taking charge in an environmental disaster and taking money out of my pocket and giving it to someone else two different things? I don't see the connection. I don't see many Libertarians, Tea Parties or Conservatives having a problem with the government helping in some kind of disaster, it becomes a problem when they intrude in their personal lives and distribute their wealth.

 

OK, that makes sense. I see a line there of "intruding in personal lives". However, when people don't have health care and incur health care expense, it intruded on my personal life and raised my insurance rates. So my personal wealth is being impacted whether the government requires people to get insurance or not. It was impacted negatively by the free loaders, the irresponsible and/or those who just couldn't afford insurance.

 

As to comparing the two, the cost of health insurance is a national crisis impacting far more people than the oil spill. That is the comparison.

 

And as to 75center's comment above, I think he is right. I should start a new thread to discuss more thoroughly government's role in our lives and where the lines should be drawn.

OK, that makes sense. I see a line there of "intruding in personal lives". However, when people don't have health care and incur health care expense, it intruded on my personal life and raised my insurance rates. So my personal wealth is being impacted whether the government requires people to get insurance or not. It was impacted negatively by the free loaders, the irresponsible and/or those who just couldn't afford insurance.

 

As to comparing the two, the cost of health insurance is a national crisis impacting far more people than the oil spill. That is the comparison.

 

And as to 75center's comment above, I think he is right. I should start a new thread to discuss more thoroughly government's role in our lives and where the lines should be drawn.

 

I don't see the cost of health insurance as a national crisis...Too expensive in some cases, but not a national crisis. There are countless people that get healthcare in this country without paying a penny. There are countless people in this country that are satisfied with their healthcare costs. There are also a lot of people that are in a dire situation because of healthcare costs, but I just don't see it as a "national" crisis.

Ok, here's the thing. Was listening to the radio. According to the guy there. One of the Louisiana congressmen, not sure which one.. Every barrel of oil that comes out of the gulf has a tax on it specifically for this type of thing. This money is supposed to be put into a trust fund(yeah right) for this particular type of emergency. There has been 1.6 billion dollars in taxes collected for this purpose. So yes, the American people have already put the money up, and the government should be utilizing this fund to do everything possible to help.

 

Now, IMO, BP should have to reimburse whatever is spent.