Hits and Misses

Comments (15)

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  1. Devon Herrick says:

    Is there anything wrong with distinguishing between the “deserving” and the “undeserving” poor?

    I don’t believe there is anything wrong with sorting out those who cannot provide for themselves from those who can and helping only those who deserve our help. The most notable example is children. Our society abhors child labor — especially when it gets in the way of an education which could lift the child out of poverty later in life. Medicaid eligibility has always been more generous for children. Universal education is a way for society to help children even when their parents cannot provide for them. Food stamps are far more generous to children.

    By contrast, single adults without dependents get little in the way of public assistance. Society basically already supports this assessment.

  2. Connor says:

    “Hospital eliminates the medical ‘repricing’ medical system scam”

    It’s about time!

  3. Trent says:

    “Now, about 20 percent of hospice patients are discharged alive, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has found.”

    This sounds extremely expensive

  4. Carter says:

    “The fact that a person deserves his poverty does not imply that it is morally wrong to help him.”

    Not all poor people can help their situation.

  5. John R. Graham says:

    Anyone who wants to partake of a discussion of the undeserving poor versus the deserving is well advised to refer to G.B. Shaw’s “Pygmalion” (or the musical version, “My Fair Lady”), in which Alfed Doolittle makes the case for the undeserving poor. (Go to YouTube and search “Alfred Doolittle monologue” for filmed versions.)

  6. Butler says:

    I partially agree with the statement that someone deserves poverty. A highly-motivated person will finally be successful through hard work.

  7. Bart I. says:

    First you have to determine who is “poor.” If I decide to retire early, with most of my investment income hidden away in tax-deferred rollover IRAs, do I qualify as poor?

    The subsidized exchanges might be incentive to do just that, if the offerings weren’t so suspect with their ultra-narrow networks and all.