The argument that the author makes on the web pages of Forbes is that those who live self-reliant lives similar to the Amish, are a drain on society by living in such a way that they receive government benefits without contributing anything of value. Having a Ph.D. in Economics obviously does not make one immune from turning out poorly-researched articles at times.
The article, entitled, “Dear Homesteaders, Self-Reliance Is a Delusion” was published a couple of days ago on the Forbes website. You’ll be forewarned that the article won’t be deep in the first paragraph, when the author presents his claim to knowledge about self-reliant living comes from the fact that he is “a big fan of shows about doomsday preppers, homesteaders, survivalists, generally people who live off the grid.”
Well, right off the bat we see a problem. Watching entertainment television shows is a poor substitute for real research. “Reality television” is sometimes anything but. The author, Dr. Adam Ozimek, knows better than to base research on information gleaned from television programs, but seems to be informed largely by what it has to offer.
The people in these shows often describe a very romantic vision of the lives they have chosen the ethos underlying it. They describe themselves as fully self-reliant, and criticize the rest of society as being dependent and lacking in this self-reliance. It is morally superior, the story goes, to provide for yourself, take care of your own needs, and often, be prepared to survive if society collapses.
Maybe some believe that, perhaps others do not. But it’s beside the point. His main concern seems to be the issue of health care.
“On Live Free Or Die, a man in his mid sixties named Colbert lives in the Georgia swamps alone….I always wonder what will happen if he slips and falls, and can no longer provide for himself. He’ll likely end up receiving hospital treatment paid for with Medicare, and perhaps end up in an assisted living center paid for by Medicare as well.”
“Another example from Live Free or Die is Tony and Amelia, a couple who live on a simple, off-the-grid homestead in North Carolina. When I watch them I wonder what would happen if one became extremely sick, and simple, off-the-grid home medicine couldn’t treat them. Would they say “we’ve chosen our fate, and now we die by it”, or would they seek treatment in a hospital they couldn’t afford which would be covered by the hospital’s charity care or perhaps Medicaid?”
Check out the basic error he is making on the final page:
Terry Case, our elderly retired, veterans, disabled civilians and disabled veterans aren’t moochers and you didn’t read any reference to these groups of people in me reply to the post. These people “paid it forward” by fighting for our nation, paying taxes and paying into their social security accounts. Truely disabled Americans deserve the social benefits the sacrificed and paid for. As for America’s children, most of them don’t get thr full benefit they deserve because the screwed up politicians aren’t intelligent enough to develope a system that will assure that the children actually receive the benefits. I’ve actually witnessed Welfare gueens but $400 wedding cakes and obscene amounts of shrimp, crab and lobster from food stores. The entire system is screwed up and no one will admit to it, nor will they allow it to be corrected. So, I do have an enormous issue with people defrauding America’s “social programs”. And by the way Mr Case, some of these same people drove away from the Publix store in Mercedes, BMW’s, Lexus’s, Escalades and other expensive vehicles the likes of which I can’t begin to afford. So I say to you, read and understand what is actually written instead of interjecting your perceived bias. I’m sure that you are convinced of your superior intellect, yet you missed the point of my statement completely. Happy New year from one smug p***k to another!
Well, we do know that there are moochers. However, some very kind people act as “Authorized Representatives for SNAP recipients, driving to the store in their own vehicles and delivering the groceries to poor people, including poor elderly, people. Forty years ago, when my wife was a Food stamp caseworker, her office got a few irate ‘phone calls every week, to report people in nice cars buying with Food Stamps. The investigation unit always followed up, and never found a single case of fraud in those situations.Some churches, for just one example, with a mix of income levels, organize to drive the elderly and disabled to the store, or go for t hem,, as I described above. The most common form of fraud, by far, is a family which claims a child in the household, and in the household where he does not live. These would be kids who live part-time with the grandmother and part-time with their parents, and both claim him as a member of the household on their Food Stamp (Now, SNAP) application. The net loss to the government is usually under a hundred dollars a month. Yes, it’s fraud, and, in Texas, we investigate every case, even though the cost of investigation is greater than the loss through fraud, It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish, if you ask me.The simple mathematical truth is that, if we tolerated a small increase in fraud, we could cut the administrative costs by half, and, since the program spends eighty percent of its budget on administration, there would be a net saving.Emotionally, that’s hard to accept. Mathematically, it just makes good sense.
With the Trump administration’s economic improvements, we are reducing SNAP use, just because more people are rising above the poverty line. So, for the near future, anyway, we shall see less fraud.
Every right in the world leaving the hell out
Who are they moching off of . They don’t need anyone .
and that is threatening to them so they start with the name calling to ostracize
When you want everyone dependent on the government, aka Socialism, you can’t have anyone self reliant because you can’t control them.
No$#%&!@*that’s your welfare clowns and illegals.
Forbes is a bunch of assholes
Freedom
EXACTLY!!
Liberals throwing stones at others who disagree with them. What a surprise!!