Our money goes from young to old, not from hardworking to lazy. The transfer is from workers to retirees. We pay debt service, we pay defense, we pay for indigent health care, we pay a tiny amount toward education and infrastructure, and we pay a huge, heaping pile for old people.

If you seriously want to cut the budget you need to look at where the money goes, not some leftover Reaganite fantasy of welfare queens.

The debt is produced by the government. (Elected by the people.) That government is 100% controlled by the GOP.

Can’t a person expect those who are capable should be held accountable without being labeled as not compassionate? That’s pure hogwash. I expect, no I demand that those who can help themselves by becoming a responsible adult do so. And if that requires some short term sacrifice and hard work on their part, then they need to step up. I’m not about to bust my rear every day and then help support some lazy and irresponsible jerk off, period. Helping people like this is not compassion, it’s stupidity. They’ll never learn unless forced to face the ugly consequences of their actions. And that’s their fault, not mine.

Please Note – this does not mean I would refuse to help those in true need or those who just need a kick start to get on their feet. Been there and done that on a personal level (not via the government handout). Got burned a few times but helped some too.

Personally, I have (and had at the time) doubts that the whole idea was the cure-all it was made out to be. But it wasn’t a Republican initiative at all at all.

What about single mothers who have no education and several children? Exactly how are they supposed to pay for childcare and take care of them on minimum wage? Hell, even 2 people working full time at minimum wage can’t afford even basic housing in many areas of the country these days.

I’m definitely not a fan of huge government spending on entitlements, but I do think that programs that help these people help themselves are a necessary part of any compassionate society. A safety net to keep people from falling through the cracks and into the dumpster is our duty as a civilized people. Instead of using the 3% of people on those programs who cheat to dismantle the entire program, we should make the program harder to cheat, and make sure the money goes where it helps most.

All of these initiatives seem to call for more government intervention, not less. Except for that last part. And just look at that last part. They mushed all the stuff I’d really like the Dems to do (and that I hoped the Reps would do) into one bullet point, and all the things I’m “meh” about are at the top. I wonder which things they’re going to give most emphasis to…

…sorry, Dems. Maybe if you started supporting the war, and started leaving more things up to the people, I’d vote for you. (Hank Johnson aside.)

You’ve got me figured all wrong about “moralizing”. If you want to be succesful in life, then hard work and wise choices are a fundamental requirement. Not only, actually working hard to achieve things is what makes one appreciate life and gives one true satisfaction. That’s not moralizing, that’s the way things are.

I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t be OK with helping people to help themselves. It’s helping those who don’t help themselves that I have a big problem with. It’s like pissing into the wind.

I don’t know how to change people like that. I do know that giving them help they don’t deserve or appreciate is the wrong thing to do. I think the only hope for them is to let them suffer the consequences. That sometimes will wake them up.

See that gross national debt clock on the right of this page? That’s been all GOP for the last six years. Get the GOP to stop spending money like Keith Richards on a coke binge and then you can crank up all that weak baloney about socialism.

Fine. Then the GOP is responsible for the 250% increase in GDP over the last 6 years as well, right? I suppose you will give credit to the GOP for balancing the budget in 2008,after inheritting a recession in 2000? Federal tax revenues have increased by 20% under Bush compared to Clinton despite (or should I say because of) tax cuts.

Who is the party that wants to privatize social security and make the tax cuts permanent (or even increase the cuts)? Now, who is the party that wants a socialist health care system, a tax increase, and means-testing for social security?

Let’s say that despite all her hard work my daughter can never do better than a minimum wage job. She will not be able to afford health insurance. Is it necessary that life’s unfairness deprive my daughter of a chance at a decent life?

I get annoyed by this careless moralizing because I know full well that life is not just about wise choices and hard work. I’m well off. Not because I worked hard and made wise choices — I barely work and I made choices so stupid you really wouldn’t believe it. But I was born with a profitable talent, so life is good to me.

There are millions of people who make smart choices and work their asses off and still cannot maintain a decent life. I don’t mind the government taking some of my money for them.

Get the GOP to stop spending money like Keith Richards on a coke binge and then you can crank up all that weak baloney about socialism.

Amen.

Democrats care deeply about society’s responisbility to the individual but have little interest in promoting an individual’s responsibility to society.

What the DLC is trying to do, at least rhetorically, is balance those two sides. They’re saying, the government will help you get started but it’s up to you to take charge and follow through. It is, essentially, the centrist mindset at work. And, despite statements on this thread to the contrary, the DLC does not represent the current mainstream of the party–it’s to the right of most others in the party.

Now, we can debate whether this new plan is truly Centrist or just typical Democrat programs dressed-up in centrist language — but I don’t think it helps for people to reflexively consider the plan some socialist program. It’s not.

Personally, I agree with Michael (and alluded to as much in my post) that what this plan is missing is a marquee item that will make people say “YES, now THAT’S a good idea.”

And please, please, do not tell me the GOP is the party of small government. See that gross national debt clock on the right of this page? That’s been all GOP for the last six years. Get the GOP to stop spending money like Keith Richards on a coke binge and then you can crank up all that weak baloney about socialism.

Excuse us for being so skeptical of the Democrat’s newspeak. Lets face it, they are the liberal-socialist party of the United States; and with the advent of the Kos-kidz, they are going to get even worse. Why would they all-of-a-sudden steal the Republican’s thunder and do a 180 to be the party of limited government and personal responsibility?

The document is fine as far as it goes. But it needs a couple of marquee items, some things that make people sit up and think, “Yeah, that’d be cool.”