Yep. My wife worked at a pharmacy. Folks would pull up to the pharmacy's drive through window in their brand new fully loaded pickup trucks talking on the latest, greatest cell phones and pay for their prescriptions with medicaid.

I am on the board of the Youth Soccer Association in the town where we live. This year we had to raise our fees because after a comprehensive fiscal review we discovered that our costs are something like $70 per kid per year and we had been charging between $55 and $65 per kid per year (a year being two soccer seasons - most of the associations around us charge that much per season and some charge twice that per season). We recently announced that because of this we are adding an additional $15 fee that is fully refundable if one parent comes out and works for two hours at an organized work day. Several parents have expressed anger that we would expect them to either work or pay to help cover the costs we are incurring (I must admit, the anger is far lower than the board thought it would be). Of course, there is an organization in town that provides "scholarships" to needy players, and the "scholarship" doesn't cover this new and separate fee. The ironic part is that most of the kids who drop out a game or two into the season are scholarship players (which throws off all sorts of team dynamics and things like that).

It's sad that it's that way. It used to be a "given" that parents could work for part or all of a tuition or scholarship for their kid but a lot of people these days don't seem to be aware of that concept.

I've often heard that people that don't have to pay their way are less likely to give their all or stay in a program. As a family that was on scholarship several times, I felt embarrassed by those statistics. We felt it was MORE important to stick to something someone ELSE paid for.

People are always looking for freebies and bargains. They don't seem to realize that SOMEone is paying for that and it's not always the "rich higher ups" that they think it is.

Yes I hate the statistics but sadly they are true. I myself get financial aid for school and I'm amazed at how many people either get aid and drop out or fail; or at those who could get aid and go to college at no expense to them so they could get a job and provide for their families but refuse. I believe the bible says that the man who doesn't work shouldn't eat. Actually the whole chapter is good.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 The Message
Our orders—backed up by the Master, Jesus—are to refuse to have anything to do with those among you who are lazy and refuse to work the way we taught you. Don't permit them to freeload on the rest. We showed you how to pull your weight when we were with you, so get on with it. We didn't sit around on our hands expecting others to take care of us. In fact, we worked our fingers to the bone, up half the night moonlighting so you wouldn't be burdened with taking care of us. And it wasn't because we didn't have a right to your support; we did. We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious.

Don't you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? "If you don't work, you don't eat." And now we're getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. Friends, don't slack off in doing your duty.

Sadly that sounds like today's time more than ever. Even children use to have to work to eat. Today we are too spoiled. A very spoiled people.

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“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
― Mother Teresa

His letter was a ridiculous over simplification and inaccurate assessment of what the nature of the health care crisis is about. To say this is rude and an insult to many, many ,hardworking responsible people that do not have health care insurance, and it is not about spending money on things like tattoos or other unnecessary luxuries and expenses but about choosing to house and feed your family. I suppose if people would give up buying groceries, or gasoline for their cars, maybe they could afford several hundred dollars every month for inadequate health insurance that still does not cover a lot of the expense of health care.
" Once you fix this "culture crisis" that rewards irresponsibility and dependency, you'll be amazed at how quickly our nation's health care difficulties will disappear. "
What an arrogant, self serving thing for someone involved in the health care profession to say. Kind of makes me mad.

Sometimes kids on scholarship have other things that keep them from participating - like a family member with a terminal illness, or a car that doesn't work reliably, or even a parent with an addiction problem. It doesn't mean the kid doesn't appreciate the help they get.

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

I think I agree with Sherry and it's also disturbing that a doctor is judging his patients on things that he has no business judging. He doesn't have a clue what the person paid for those things or if they were gifts or not. You can get expensive looking things for very cheap these days. I judged my dh's family because they had so many nice TV's until I found out they were getting them for free from people they knew.

Plus, the stuff he mentioned is really not expensive compared to healthcare. A person could live in rags, eating only bread, with no extras and still not afford the ridiculous cost of health care. Does he think if this person didn't have any of those things, they would be able to afford healthcare? If so, he's delusional.

There is also this assumption that I don't understand. It sounds like people are assuming that everyone receiving healthcare benefits doesn't work and is lazy. I'm sure many people are, but they shouldn't be lumped in with the people who are hardworking. I don't know anyone with these benefits who is not working, but I do know some who are working and paying taxes, therefore making a contribution. There should be a distinction between the lazy and the hardworking.

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Mom to Christian (13), Saphira (10), Xavier (5), and Adrian (2).

He does have a point, though, that people should be taking care of themselves (not smoking, etc.), especially if they're on gov. healthcare, and they shouldn't be getting seen for every little hiccup.

One thing I'm thinking, when we make comments about how someone has nicer this and nicer that then us, is there subtle envy there? Maybe not with everyone, but I recently noticed that with myself. I might make a comment about how my kid's cousins all have nicer clothes then my kids because they're on welfare and that may be true and not fair, but does that make it right for me to disobey a commandment? It just doesn't seem like a good attitude for a Christian to be having and doesnn't seem very humble. If we're really content with what we have, would we be scrutinizing what everyone else has? It's not going to do any good or change anything. I don't really know what the right attitude would be, though.

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Mom to Christian (13), Saphira (10), Xavier (5), and Adrian (2).

I could understand if a few of the kids on scholarship had things get in the way, but the overwhelming number of kids who drop out of our leagues are on scholarship. As far as the "envy" of the folks who have the nicer whatever, I think that's off track. I think it is righteous indignation. People are coming and asking/expecting us, their fellow citizens, to pay for services for them that they can't/won't pay for themselves and they are callously displaying evidence that they are unwilling to take the same cost cutting measures that the folks being asked to pay for their services are making. THAT'S the problem. Poor prioritization. If we don't have money for food and healthcare, we DEFINITELY don't have money for a new car or iPhone. Folks who view the iPhone/any other luxury as being something they should spend their money on instead of food/healthcare are clearly in the position they are in at least partially because of poor choices on their part. That is not behavior that should be condoned or enabled in any way.

I reiterate what I said above.

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Mom to Christian (13), Saphira (10), Xavier (5), and Adrian (2).