I recently had a discussion with a true libertarian who truly believed in individual responsibility. I concur that individuals must truly be responsible for their behavior but there must be a floor, that we as society should fight to insure people can’t fall through. A floor that will enable those who are at the bottom the opportunity to pull themselves ahead. This floor would insure that a son wouldn’t have to worry that conditions at his father’s work place were so dangerous that there was a good chance he wouldn’t return. A floor which would insure that those who worked had enough food on the table and shelter so that if mom got sick and couldn’t work, they wouldn’t starve and live on the street. This floor would insure that those who are truly disabled (mentally ill, Cancer patients, etc) have a living standard that they can survive on and have the ability to make changes in their live.
The question is where does that floor end so that dependency doesn’t begin? If that floor is too comfortable with Fleece Blankets and Goose Filled pillows it might be hard to get up and make something more for your life. We need those in our communities to determine how strong they want their floors to be with some basic funding from the federal government to local charities that can efficiently disburse those funds to the most needy.
WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE ON THAT FLOOR? HOW WOULD YOU DECIDE WHO GETS THE FUNDS?