Gov't Assistance: WIC, food stamps

[Owlie]

I so totally don't get it either. I really wish more preventative care would be covered and provided actually. I must give credit to a previous company my husband worked for in this category. As part of their health care (although not part of the health insurance) they would refund upto $200 a year for anything that was health/exercise related. Things included gym memberships, bicycles, exercise bikes, ect.

I also don't get the whole let's defund Planned Parenthood and while we're at it, make abortions impossible to get, even in medical necessary cases (Georgia law, which did not pass the state Senate) and make birth control illegal. On the last part I had visions of having to find my local drug dealer so I could buy birth control.

That drives me crazy. There's a disturbingly large number of people who don't want birth control covered by insurance, demand abortion be outlawed (or create a degrading series of hoops to jump through), and want Planned Parenthood defunded....and these same people also make a huge stink about WIC, Medicaid, and forms of social welfare programs. You can't have it both ways...

This thread also reminded me of this Cracked article. Yes, it's Cracked, but I think it's still somewhat relevant.

[Koronin]

Owlie, Exactly.

[zoom-zoom]

Perhaps we should make any man who wants Viagra prove that they are actively trying to get some woman pregnant before we pay for their ED meds. Oh, wait a minute. Guys with ED are more often older, and so, by default, they are not likely to want more children.

Hmmm. Something screwy here.

They should have to go through an invasive pelvic exam, just like we have to when we want a prescription for hormonal contraceptives.

[Irulan]

Perhaps we should make any man who wants Viagra prove that they are actively trying to get some woman pregnant before we pay for their ED meds. Oh, wait a minute. Guys with ED are more often older, and so, by default, they are not likely to want more children.

Hmmm. Something screwy here.

There were a whole bunch of bills restricting viagra proposed in various state houses/sentates, requiring among other things: a psychological examination, a note from a spouse, cardiac stress test, and so on.

[PamNY]

This thread also reminded me of this Cracked article. Yes, it's Cracked, but I think it's still somewhat relevant.

I'll bet there's a lot of truth in the Cracked article.

[salsabike]

I'll bet there's a lot of truth in the Cracked article.

That's a good article.

[zoom-zoom]

I identified with most of the first page of that Cracked article. We had very little. We didn't have medical insurance until I was already in college and my mom got hired in a full time support position at my former school. We went without a phone quite frequently and had our power shut off on more than one occasion. My family certainly qualified for assistance, but my dad was too proud/stubborn/stupid to take it.

I still have a difficult time eating fruits and veggies. I never really developed a taste for them and when I'm hungry I crave toast and crackers (gimme a sleeve of Ritz crackers...mmmm...). Sometimes I really do prefer canned fruits and things. The texture of a lot of raw veggies kinda makes me wanna puke.

I'm terrible at saving money. We never had money to save. My hubby's upbringing was a polar opposite and sometimes we struggle to understand one another on financial stuff. But I still remember how offensive his mom was years ago, she was very down on my parents for not paying for my college...but my folks had another kid in college (at Northwestern) and still had 1 at home. They also live in a relatively high-cost area. My ILs, on the other hand, had only 1 kid and lived in an area where housing was dirt cheap. They also both made about twice as much as my folks. And my DH's grandparents had bought stock when he was little that essentially paid for his tuition in full for all 4 years. My MIL was a special ed teacher, so she (of all people) should have had a clue about financial struggles that families face.