Posted on 09/05/2018 10:02:34 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Sen. Marco Rubio has introduced legislation to establish a modest federally funded family-leave program. Mr. Rubio proposes to finance the benefit by requiring recipients to forgo their first three to six months Social Security checks. Mr. Rubios well-intentioned plan begins by promising a small, carefully targeted benefit and assuring us that it wont add to the long-run public debt. But history demonstrates that is how costly entitlement programs begin.
The pattern of expansion is remarkably common. New programs initially target benefits to a group of individuals deemed particularly worthy at the time. Eventually the excluded come forth to assert that they are no less worthy of aid and pressure lawmakers to relax eligibility rules.
This ever-present pressure has been magnified during periods of budget surpluses, during periods of economic distress since the Depression, and by the imperative of lawmakers and presidents to be elected and re-elected. Eventually, the government acquiesces and additional worthy claimants are allowed to join the benefit rolls.
The broadening of eligibility rules brings yet another group of claimants closer to the boundaries of eligibility, and the pressure to relax qualifying rules begins all over again. The process of liberalization repeats itself until the entitlement program reaches a point where its original noble goals are no longer recognizable.
The two major 19th-century entitlement programsRevolutionary War and Civil War disability pensionsfollowed this pattern. Eligibility in both programs was initially limited to soldiers and sailors who were injured during wartime service. Both programs eventually grew into universal service entitlements that provided benefits to virtually all veterans of those wars at extraordinary cost to the nation.
In modern times, the Medicaid and food-stamp programs followed a similar path. These programs were originally limited to providing health and nutrition assistance, respectively, mainly to supplement welfare cash assistance.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Rubio and ALL Bush League Republicans MUST be replaced by patriots before they give away our country.
Found your candidate for 2020 yet?
We know how THIS ends.
Sally takes her paid family leave after having a child at age 29.
At age 67 she goes to retire, and finds she must forego her first six months of Social Security payments.
She and every other seasoned citizen in this situation SCREAMS BLOODY MURDER, and since Congress wants to win re-election in 2056 and not 2018, they relent and pay them.
Lil’ Marco is running a SCAM!
Little Marco sucks.
Fake news.
Old fake news.
Progressive light.
Foam Boy Rubio bump for later...
Why add family leave? People have managed to go on with life after the birth of children for millennia. We are wusses.
I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today!
Yet more encouagement for the welfare mares.
A Rubio version of obamacare: make the citizens pay for it. How about instead financing the giveaway by making politicians forgo their first three to six pension checks?
Hows about we just get rid of pensions for pols? :-)
This is infuriating. It’s one more government attack on families that choose to have mom at home to take care of the children. These families are making sacrifices to live on one income, and they are going to pay more in taxes to support those who have paid employment.
Government wants all parents in the work force paying taxes and all the kiddies in government “care” from birth on.
Where in the Constitution does he find this?
Does he think he can amend the Constitution like some unelected judge?
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