Isn't It Funny...

Well, I think I can have an *opinion* about what people should do - and not just with their money! haha

But I shouldn't have a SAY in what they actually do. Why? Mostly because I wouldn't want someone else having a say in what *I* do with my money. It's just not anyone else's business.

Even in the case of people on assistance that is paid for with taxes; they've applied and have been approved for the assistance through the proper channels. If we have issue with what they can use that money for, then that's a problem with the system and it's regulations.

And do you think a father who pays child support should have a say in how the mother spends it? What if he doesn't like the kind of clothes or food she's buying for the kids; should he be allowed to withold payment until she agrees to buy father-approved items? I don't think so. And government assistance is the same principle.

AHH, my answer for this flops like a fish so I am going to leave it to the people who have O....Good question though Denise.

I know My husband and I have no O. to blame for our finances but ourselves. No O. held a gun or knife or silly string to us and said...''You over there, sign up for more credit then you can pay back'' We made that dumb choice on our own.

I think that part of the problem does fall on our shoulders for not teaching our children about how to be fiscally responsible. My mother in law almost everyday shakes her head and says ''I thought I taught Cory better?''. Problem is, everyone has said that. I think we need to hammer home how important credit, bank accounts and all that comes with being a ''Grown-Up'' is. From what I can remember from my HS years, we were never really taught about it. We never had a lesson in how to be smart about how we spend. Especially how to be smart using credit.

Since we have built our country on credit and debt I think we owe it to the kids that are in the systems now to show them what to do. My sister graduated HS almost four years ago. I watched as she started to make the same dumb spending mistakes I did. Signing up for CC's and literally maxing them out in three days. It took a whole lotta convincing that what she was doing was toxic and dangerous. I explained to her, I am still paying for clothes I gave away almost ten years ago. She cut every last card up and has settled for a bank CC. She still needs to build her credit, but safely.

I said I wasnt going to answer your question...bah, I hope at least I was able to hit some of it in the ball park for what you were asking. We need to educate the kids more then we were educated about fiscal responsibility. That is my thought on the matter.

Amanda L. I love your quote.

If anyone does anything we wouldn't do ourselves, we will definitely have a thought about it. And most of the time we will vocalize it.

It IS kind of snotty to say what people should do with their money. I would hate for anyone to tell me what to do with mine unless I ask.

I think its so funny the gov't has the food pyramid on its health site, yet they allow people on food stamps to buy anything they want NOT on the food pyramid. Funny or ironic.

I don't think I should have any say in what people do with their own money. I enjoy the quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes: "The right to swing my fist ends where another man's nose begins." Which is to say, I don't really care what you do, provided you aren't hurting anyone else.

However, there was a recent argument in the Texas Legislature this session, specifically about restricting sodas from food stamp eligibility. The argument is that a majority of people on the food stamp program are also candidates for medicaid and/or medicare, and that soda is a purely optional item that has no health benefit, and is increasingly being suggested to have a detrimental effect on health.

So, in the name of consistancy and avoiding hypocrisy, the question I'm looking at is this: By ignoring the negative health effects of the product and assisting in its procurement, are we "hurting" our own collective finances (ie, the government coffers)?

I'm not going to weigh in any further than that, except to say that I'm not, NOT advocating restricting the diets or exercise habits of government insurance recipients. I'm merely providing O. point of view to the question that was asked. (The bill failed, by the way.)

Hmmm, well I think the problem is, for every person in the US, there is a different definition of 'Fiscal Responsibility'.

What we NEED and what we WANT is a fine line, right? Everybodies' LINE is in a different place.

I think this issue is (O. of the many) side effects of living in a 'free country'.

And a very YOUNG country too, it takes countries thousands of years to create it's own identity. The US is really the ONLY major world force that is entirely a collection of OTHER COUNTRIES identities.

Doesn't really answer your question does it? Well, it got ME thinking anyway!

:)

You are right on about it all being about the "source". We get pissed off about our tax dollars being spent on soda, but the real culprits are the big guys that are spending our tax dollars on things I shudder to think about. We ought to be easier on each other about such things. Our government is doing the best it can with what it has. No different than being a first time mom and making lots of silly mistakes with our first child. There are good people AND bad people playing with OUR money in our non perfect world. I know I wouldnt want to be in charge of any of it.

As long as I am paying my bills and taking care of my responsibilites it is no O.'s business what I do with my money. God knows, my husband knows and I know that's all that matters.

For those living off uncle sammy that's a different story.....

Denise, you always make me think about these issues....

I wrote on here awhile back..it's always easy to judge, whether you're looking up or down the income chain.

The $2 M engagement ring is honestly what I would consider normal spending given the financial circles that family travels in. It will not break their bank accounts.

And a $2 K engagement ring would be considered too much for the very poor but the poor probably feel pressured by society to purchase something out of their price range.

Did you know that back in the 80's, before Bill Gates, O. of the richest men in America was a southern man who sold the mortgage loans for trailers and double wide trailers? He charged excessively high interest rates on the poor, then would re-possess their trailers and re-sell and re-mortgage over and over. This cycle went on for decades.

I do not think we can or should ever dictate what people do with their money. I do find it appalling how some people earn their money...drugs, illegal trafficking of people, abusing financial power like the Bernie Maddoffs, and the poor living on welfare buying non-nutritive foods for their innocent kids.

and ditto Hazel... you must be a professor somewhere....I went back and read the potluck birthday party question too and am shocked at the overwhelming majority of people who thought the request was tacky. Only a couple of us were not bothered by the request. Where has hospitality and love thy neighbor as thyself gone in this world? So what if someone asks you to bring a dish? I love tasting other people's food.....especially ethnic dishes. I can hardly wait to go to parties where there will be non-American cuisines represented: Indian curries, Thai spring rolls, Korean meats, Japanese sushi, Middle Eastern rices....yum, yum, yum. Sorry, I digressed about the money topic.

Well what people do with their money that they earned is up to them. Personally to me it's seems such a waste to blow that kind of money on such senseless things but that's my opinion. Do I have the right to dictate to them, how they should spend it? Nope not at all.

Now as far as what our tax dollars are being used for, yes I do have a right to say something about that. We work hard for our money and to see "our" hard earned money spent on junk or unnecessary items is very frustrating. I don't think our tax dollars should be wasted. We should have the right to say how our tax dollars are used. No matter how small our contribution is. It's hard enough trying to make ends meet after taxes are taken out and then to see it spent on things wastefully is rather aggravating.

I think where the money comes from makes a huge difference, it is the difference between making your own way or living off of others. If you have the money to own a nice house and go on vacations, than you should not be leaching off of the tax payers for food and basics. I do not mind my tax dollars going to those who really need the help, but if they do not really need it, than leave it for those that do.

I am of the belief that people need to take care of themselves and do what they can to help others. Other than that, people should really not be so judgemental and should just mind their own beeswax :)

We don't have a say until someone asks for our opinion/advice/recommendations/etc. We had to learn at our own pace how to be debt free, figure out what really matters to us, etc. It definitely bothers me when people make dumb decisions about things (like my relative who can't pay utility bills but somehow put brandnew counters in her kitchen) (or the person who just survived life saving surgery only to go back to smoking 3 packs/day), but I try to remember how dumb I've been in my past.

I feel that those who make an obscene amount of money - whether thru family ties, inheritance or hard work - should feel INCLINED to share more of their money with those who don't have it or who need something more than what they are getting. Even if it's as a state or national level - like improving school programs, helping certain underpaid professionals get better salaries, fixing roads or public buildings... that way our government can save the money they usually spend on those and put it to more help with medicaid/medicare, foodstamps, child support enforcement, etc.