Actually, I think some people do. What about the guys that win the lotto and don't quit their jobs(Ok, maybe they just don't want to burn through the money. But maybe it's more than that.) And I don't know if I'd be *tons* happier if my benefits got bigger(A little...woo hoo, f2f, right?) But I know I always look for a chance to make a contribution, and etc.

Speaking of things I'd do if I were independently wealthy, my alumni association is sponsoring a 14-day cruise to Antarctica. Now if only I could remember where I put that extra $10,000 I had lying around...

there's a lame gum-wrapper, jumble-style "Cool cash" joke in there someplace.

Jessica,

you wait a few years, the price will probably come down because it won't be as cold or inhospitable.

you wait a few years, the price will probably come down because it won't be as cold or inhospitable.

Oh god, this is hilarious and depressing and so true.

for discussion above a link:

[link]

The disconnect between what government actually does for individuals and the desire to see Washington brought to its knees is understandable, according to a new study by Suzanne Mettler, Cornell's Clinton Rossiter Professor of American Institutions, published in Perspectives on Politics.

Mettler has coined a new term to describe the vast array of government policies and programs, tax incentives and subsidies that slip from public view: the submerged state (sometimes called hidden welfare programs).

Hmph, my alumni trip is only to Ireland. But I can't go on it either. I was bemoaning the fact that I didn't stay in college long enough to go on its Europe humanities trip, and now there's this alumni trip being led by my two favorite professors (I hung out at their house (with their son, who later married my best friend, nothing untoward) a *lot*). But I still ccan't go because of cash. Woes.

The thing is, the actual core conservative belief, that people should care for each other (and the underlying suspicion that the government hasn't done a very good job of it) is a reasonable one. But the further down the whackaloon trail the current crop of Republicans go, the further they get from a sizeable portion of their constituency, and the more awful they look to the rest of everybody else.

Hey, it's Erika's birthday today!

Happy Birthday!

• *****

I just had my second annual post-surgery mammogram, and got told "see you next year".

I was kind of sweating this one too, so it is extra YAY

Yay, Lee!!

Did I say happy birthday, erika (here)? Happy birthday, erika!

Yeah, social programs from which I benefit or would expect to benefit (Gen Xer cynicism aside): school loans & grants for the SO, mortgage credit, the recent interest free loan (woulda been a gift if I'd built a year later), social security, medicare, medicaid (no unemployment or workmans comp, though), payroll tax reductions, food pantry (they get government cheese kinda food, and I get undistributed nearly out of date stuff from them.

Earlier in our career, when we were living under the poverty line, there was a bunch more that we qualified for, but didn't take, more or less on the principle that we were voluntarily under the poverty line, and other people needed the help more than we did since we had a lot of other private resources at our disposal.

Privately, we live entirely off other people's largesse, plus we use resources like a church run medical facility, food boxes, clothing donations, game donations, counseling. We get periodic free labor for the house building, maintenance, etc.

So yeah, I use my bootstraps to put on my boots. I rely on the generosity of many people to survive, and I'm damn grateful.