[littlelolly]

What would happen if your husband lost his job?You would refuse any government assistance?

Are you for eliminating food stamps?

Actually, this is a real possibility. He's a high-end technical recruiter in the EDA space--for electrical engineering, electronics, stuff like that. His employer is still hiring for the R&D side of things, because as you know, when the economy does start to recover and those industries start to produce again, they will need to have the R&D done to present new product--and he still has a ton of job openings to fill right now, but like the rest of the EDA space, he's having a hard time finding people in America to fill those jobs. If those jobs get filled elsewhere, by more qualified candidates, they don't need recruiters here. His team has gone from ten recruiters to three since Christmas. Being a recruiter is a roller coaster, and he's the breadwinner in our family. He could lose his job any time.

Having said that, we would absolutely refuse government assistance with respect to unearned handouts. He'd get a six-month severance, in which time he'd find a job (even if it meant a lesser-paying one or one out of his field); we have money in rainy-day savings that we can tap into if necessary; I'd go back to work; we stop eating out and get rid of the five thousand channels we have on satellite. It's not the government's responsibility to take care of us if he loses his job. He made the choice to be a recruiter; we made the choice to buy a house/cars/have kids; we made the choice to have me stay at said home and raise said kids. Why is it anyone else's issue if we can't afford our choices?

It's not my place to judge others if they're on assistance. Well I guess technically it is my place to judge if it's my money paying for their assistance--I'm just saying we wouldn't take it--and as long as people aren't abusing the system or only using what they've paid into for their tenure in the working world, I don't take issue. I have very good friends (on the internet and in real life) on it and I don't think any less of them at all. Again, it's none of my business as long as they're not infringing on my wallet or my rights.

With respect to food stamps, I think the current system needs a pretty dramatic overhaul. People can stay on food stamps (and unemployment, for that matter) for years--well after any portion that they've paid in has been exhausted. Our current system allows people to stay lazy at the cost of others. That needs to go away. Our government should be responsible for providing roads, public safety, infrastructre, and a military to defend us from foreign and domestic aggressors. That's it. Our government shouldn't take care of us cradle-to-grave.

the Libertarian candidate is Joe Kennedy (no relation, but probably the main reason he'll get any votes).

he basically wants to disband the army and shut down all government programs.

Joe Kennedy doesn't want to shut down the army. Shutting down the army isn't libertarian--it's progressive and I don't agree with it. He wants it used more effectively. He doesn't think we need to take care of everyone else in the global community. Iraq needs to accept personal responsibility for rebuilding itself. He thinks it's stupid for America's government to think that America's military can stop a war in Afghanistan that's been going on for centuries. I agree. He wants to repeal government programs that increase costs and deny access to services--and provide free-market alternatives that allow for better care. He wants our current welfare system scrapped and replaced with a program based on (you guessed it) individual responsibility. Yup, he wants people to take care of their own shit. What a concept.