I've never used welfare, public health care, unemployment, medicare, medicaid, or social security. During the past two years of having no health insurance, all my medical needs were paid out of pocket including a $600 ER visit. But those expenses were still much lower than the insurance would have been.
True I have been paid with taxpayer dollars in my employment, like when I was with AT&T working under gov't contract or now being a teacher. But that is true for all the millions of public school teachers, police, government employees, government contractors, etc. Do you consider that all these people are taking handouts?
As for the EIC, I didn't start taking it until the Bush2 administration, though we qualified many times before that, nor did we take the subsidized school lunch program for our son, even though we easily qualified. So I don't feel too guilty now taking the EIC for the last few years.
>IOW, the taxpayers that he derices are subsidizing over twice his
> salary. _That's_ the only way he can afford to live on $5k.
How am I being subsidized? By the police protection I get? The protection from terrorists by our military? By corporate welfare that allows me to buy dancing Santas? I don't want those subsidies...
>1. you paid off your house long ago when you had two incomes.*
I also had bought 3 acres of unimproved property for $12K back before I was married. I'd gotten my big break in working as a telephone installer, where I went from $3/hr. working for Montgomery Ward to making $6/hr. and was truly well off. I was half way thru paying that first property off when I bought this place. It made the downpayment for this place. But I could have stayed on that 3 acres and wonder sometimes now why I didn't.
>3. if you dumpster dive, you live off the spend/consumer cycle
> of others.
True. It wouldn't be available if others weren't so wasteful. What happens to the divers when conditions force the waste to end?
>4. and don't forget the nice tax write off for that house
You mean the ability to deduct my interest payments from being taxed? Standard deduction is much less costly way to go.
> I assume he's contributing
> NOTHING for property taxes and apparently thinks.
You do lots of assuming here, don't you? I'm paying the entire property tax bill and the insurance bill with no help from my ex even though he will get his half of all proceeds when we sell. I might get his half back when we settle after the sale. May not.
I'm hearing what sounds alot like sour grapes here. I'm wondering why.
--tully