Why do Republicans oppose universal healthcare so badly?
There are two main reasons, several smaller reasons: 1. Republicans see the purpose of health care as being to generate profits for the handful of corporations that own our health care system. Providing health care itself is just an unavoidable business expense, the real purpose is profits. This is why Republicans won't propose any changes that might threaten the profits of the corporations. The Paul Ryan plan, for instance, gives Medicare funds to the corporations, so they can skim 25-30% off the top as profits and overhead before anyone gets any health care. 2. The Republicans get really upset when a Democrat wins the White House. They see it as never being in their interests to cooperate with a Democrat, because that only hands him a victory. So whatever Obama proposes, you can bet the mortgage payment the Republicans will disagree. There is actually nothing in Obama's plan that wasn't previously proposed by a Republican, but when a Democrat proposes them they're SOCIALISM. In the US we have allowed money to become just too important in our electoral politics. Both parties desperately need money to run campaigns, and they both get the money from the same sources. So you can't realistically expect their true agendas to be all that different. This is one reason the Republicans make every issue partisan. Otherwise everyone would be on the same side! In this case, Obama began his campaign advocating a single payer system, but halfway through the campaign, he said he'd changed his mind, that he didn't think single payer would work 'in a country like this one'. In the meanwhile, of course, he'd taken money from the health care industry. So his plan, like the plans of Bill Clinton and GHW Bush, had the US govt buying health insurance for the uninsured from the existing health insurance companies, at their going rate. Basically shoveling taxpayer money to these powerful corporations, just as the Paul Ryan plan does..
A conservative friend of mine once said that Republicans want you to make money, while Democrats don't. What are some arguments for and against this, using examples of Republican-backed legislation and Democrat-backed legislation?
I'd say it depends on who the "you" is. Conservatives/Republicans are about returning to the past, preferably a past of the wealthy aristocracy ruling over the serfs. In modern parlance this would be the oligarchs and plutocrats being lords over the workers. If you're in that 1% (actually less but it's a convenient number) then yes, the Republicans do want you to make money. If you are in the 99% they don't. The Liberals/Democrats feel otherwise.This is why the Conservatives/Republicans are for:Tax cuts for the wealthy. Preferably zero taxes.Zero estate taxes (which they tend to call "death taxes".)Zero Capital Gains taxes.Zero regulations, particularly concerning the environment and worker rights and safety.Zero regulations on Wall Street and financial institutions.No minimum wage."Corporations are people.""Money is free speech."Unlimited campaign contributions.Zero welfare. (They hope to get there someday.)No health insurance (get sick or injured? Too bad! Bankruptcy for you!)Closing factories in America and opening them in poor countries with few laws.Unlimited CEO and Executive pay, bonuses, stocks.No public schools.No public radio or TV.No National Education Administration or Securities and Exchange Commission.More fear of foreigners and more war.Privatize everything. All services, roads, parks.Meanwhile, Democrats/Liberals are against all of that and want higher minimum wage, more regulations, more worker rights etc. Some want single-payer health care and government subsidized college education.Just look at how much Conservatives/Republicans love Ayn Rand who lionizes the 1% while calling the 99% "moochers", "takers", evil scum who hate liberty, etc. etc. Just look at how the Conservatives talk and write about society. Do you think any of them give a damn about the common man? Of course not. Only the plutocrats matter to them.
Why are "Ready-to-Eat HOT FOODS" ineligible using Food Stamps (EBT Card)? What's the REAL reason & origin?
With the present record unemployment and the BAD economy many long time, steady working folks and college educated people are finding themselves unemployed or underemployed and needing some additional assistance just to survive and keep their home and utilities on. As a result many hard working, educated, "non-lazy" people who are really trying but simply can NOT find any job or enough work are applying for "Food Stamps" only to find there are many insane restrictions such as, you can NOT buy "Hot Prepared Ready-to-Eat Foods" at a supermarket such as a "Hot" Rotisserie Chicken or "Hot" ready to eat Macaroni and Cheese even though the super market will later refrigerate these SAME previously hot food items, relabel them as "Cold" and sell them at the "same price"... yet now they become "Food Stamp Eligible". In fact at my supermarket today (6/16/09) the "Uncooked" whole raw chicken cost $6.39 -- MORE than the "Cooked" "HOT" Whole Rotisserie Chicken which is ($5.99) and the "Cold" Cooked Whole Rotisserie Chicken was on sale for ($4.99). When you consider it's THE POOR (a.k.a. Minimum Wage Employed, Underemployed, Unemployed, Disabled, Social Security fixed income Elderly and Children) WHO NEED FOOD STAMPS and because they are "POOR" they may NOT have money to buy a working stove/oven or even a microwave or NOT have enough money to pay for electricity/gas to use a stove/oven. And MANY on food stamps are HOMELESS in cars, tents, parks or shelters WITHOUT a kitchen. In addition many on food stamps are the ELDERLY who because of poor eyesight or forgetfulness may create a cooking fire hazard. Consider the insanity that (the poor) Food Stamp users are forced to "WASTE" extra electricity or gas to "RE-HEAT" once heated cooked foods on stoves/ovens which only creates HIGHER UTILITY BILLS and POLLUTION and the need for MORE tax payer subsidies for UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE which food stamp recipients are typically always eligible and encouraged to apply for. With these REAL LIFE factors - why do we even have these insane restriction against buying "Hot Foods"?