Tag: personal responsibility

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Even before sufficient data on who is the most vulnerable to the virus was known (certainly by this past summer), encouragement to engage in regular exercise, commit to better nutrition, and proactively work to strengthen one’s immune system (get daily sunshine when possible and use over the counter vitamin and mineral supplements) should have accompanied […]

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Pot – Weed – Marijuana – Cannabis

 

That is what is emblazoned on a mailing that we received prior to Christmas. The words are huge and white, followed by “It doesn’t matter what you call it, MAKE IT LEGAL. Immediate action required – send your personalized petition and mail it back today – free!” I looked at my “personalized petition” and it contained the voter’s information printed on the three-fold flyer, of both my husband and I, including our full address, and our voter registration numbers. All we had to do was sign it and pop in the mail, no postage needed! It came from “Make It Legal Florida” in Tallahassee.

It then states that the “form” if mailed, will become a “public record” upon its filing with the Supervisor of Elections, because apparently, it is a planned Amendment. The amendment is titled “Adult Use of Marijuana,” and gives a ballot summary. The big glossy, colored flyer gives some incentives. They are as follows:

  1. The amendment includes “strict rules” to make sure that marijuana products are clearly labeled, childproof, and not advertised to children.
  2. It will help combat the “opioid addiction” crisis and free up law enforcement to protect us from violent criminals and sexual predators.
  3.  It will boost our economy and generate more than a hundred million dollars per year in new revenue to fund important priorities such as schools, healthcare, and public safety. The above words in bold were in bold on the flyer, so they took the time to point out the wonderful benefits of legalization of marijuana in the state of Florida.

Where do I begin? I was deeply offended that this organization dove into our County Records and obtained our and others voting registration records. I live in a state that already has a major drug problem. We are known as the capital of the pill-popping clinics, called pill mills. Just Google pain clinics in Florida and the articles are filled with doctors spreading the addiction of oxycodone across the country, reports if numerous arrests of physicians in the business of writing endless prescriptions for drugs, the increased crackdowns on drug distribution, etc. that go back decades.

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There is now such a thing as an “Automatic Contribution Arrangement” available to most 401(k) plans; essentially, once employees have performed enough service to become eligible to begin deferring (usually 1 year of service, but sometimes less) and are old enough (usually age 21, but can be younger), instead of being given a piece of […]

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“Personal Responsibility” Means Nothing Anymore

 

Today Walter Williams in his syndicated column reminded me (like I needed to be reminded) that people simply don’t care about personal responsibility anymore. He gives a number examples of how the culture has changed, and writes about companies that advertise the ways people can get out of their debt. They promote steps people can take to “quickly be debt free.” Essentially, because someone carelessly and thoughtlessly used a credit card to satisfy their materialistic needs, the companies are paying for it. Even Dave Ramsey, a financial expert and person of high moral values whom I greatly admire, encourages people to negotiate with companies to lower their debt, and for a fraction of what they owe.

Then we have the Federal Student Aid program, which provides a means for students to have their loans forgiven, canceled, or discharged. At first, when looking at the requirements, I thought that the criteria made sense; then I realized how any creative person could play with those guidelines:

  • Your school falsely certified your eligibility to receive the loan based on your ability to benefit from its training, and you did not meet the ability-to-benefit student eligibility requirements (for example, you did not have a high school diploma or General Educational Development certificate).
  • Your eligibility to receive a loan was falsely certified because you were a victim of identity theft.
  • The school certified your eligibility, but because of a physical or mental condition, age, criminal record, or other reason, you would not meet state requirements for employment in the occupation in which you were being trained.
  • The school signed your name on the application or promissory note without your authorization, or the school endorsed your loan check or signed your authorization for electronic funds transfer without your knowledge, unless the loan money was given to you or applied to charges that you owed to the school.

On second review, I realized that almost anyone who wants to qualify for this program could do so easily. For example, on bullet point three, how difficult would it be to incriminate the school? And why should a school be responsible for your poor decision in choosing a study major for a job that doesn’t exist? Or one that’s hard to find?