Perry urges Americans to take "personal responsibility" on health care, taxes
Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during the RedState Gathering, a meeting of conservative activists, where he announced his run for president in 2012, in Charleston, S.C., Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011.
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AP Photo/Gerry Broome
At an economic roundtable in Dubuque, Iowa today, Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said he'd like to see more "personal responsibility" in the United States, beginning with increased financial contributions from those receiving government assistance for health care.
The Texas governor was in Iowa to meet with business leaders when he was asked how he would "change the entitlement mindset and attitude."
Perry responded that the government must make "some hard, tough and courageous choices" in order to get the federal budget under control. As he did when he announced his presidential campaign on Saturday, Perry pointed out that not everyone pays federal income taxes.
"I think personal responsibility is one of the very important traits historically of America. And we are approaching nearly half of the United States population doesn't pay any income tax," he said. "And I think we need, one of the ways is to let everybody, as many people as possible... to be helping to pay for the government that we have in this country."
While nearly half of Americans end up not paying federal income taxes, about half of those people still pay federal payroll taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center. Americans are also subject to state and local taxes, sales taxes and more.
While Perry didn't specifically call for increasing income taxes for anyone, he did suggest modifying government assistance for health care costs.
One way to improve personal responsibility, he said, would be "having even a small co-payment for those that are on limited or fixed incomes on their hospital visits -- just a little co-pay where they got a little skin in the game, if you will."
"Rather than just showing up in the emergency room because they know the government is going to pay for it is really beginning to teach people again there is a cost associated with all these programs," he continued, "and that personal responsibility, you know, really begins with each one of us and helping people understand better that the government is not there to be the be all and end all for everything."
In the past, Perry has made much more aggressive statements in favor of scaling back entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
In an interview with Newsweek last year, conducted ahead of the release of his book "Fed Up," Perry described the entitlement programs as "a Ponzi scheme."
In the interview he also suggested putting Medicare in the hands of states, giving each governor "the freedom from the federal government to come up with his own innovative ways [of] working with his legislature to deliver his own health-care innovations to his citizens."
Also last fall, Perry said on Fox News that he'd "like to see the states be given the opportunity to opt out of the Medicaid program that we are looking at today."
The Washington Post highlights a number of changes to Medicaid that Perry either proposed or attempted to implement. For instance, in 2008, Texas applied for a waiver to limit the number of Medicaid beneficiaries. The waiver was rejected by the Bush administration, and the Texas Medicaid program remains similar to most other states' programs, the Post reported.
How does he expect people who don't earn enough to have to pay taxes to "contribute " more.?
He apparently has never tried to get blood out of a turnip.!
See paragraph four.
People need to take more "personal responsibility".!
If Perry and the rest of the bought and paid for politicans had lived up to their "personal" responsibility (which is to serve the people who elected them) WE THE PEOPLE wouldn't be in this mess.
Perry is just as big a joke as the rest of the politicians; A VERY BAD JOKE.
by tsigili August 17, 2011 9:18 AM EDT "That's how things should be. The Democrats have created a "welfare state" mentality in this country, and not a culture of self improvement, and that's strangling the entire country."
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So how do you feel about good ol' Gov Perry being the Governor for the #1 state with the highest high school drop out rate? So much for self improvement in the Lone Star State!?!??!
I wonder if good ol' Gov Perry takes "personal responsibility" for that marked national distinction!!!!
Each individual has to earn their own way in the world. Those who cannot, must be aided by family. Those without family, must rely on government for essential assistance.
That's how things should be. The Democrats have created a "welfare state" mentality in this country, and not a culture of self improvement, and that's strangling the entire country.
If corporations can't take corporate responsibility when it comes to paying their fair share, how do you expect really poor people to pay up? Especially when the school systems suck in the cities. Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world who is a multi-billionaire had a tax bill of less than $7,000 last year (per his op-ed the other day). How much do you think a person who makes $30,000 should pay in taxes? My husband and I paid more taxes than Warren Buffet last year! Your thought process is very simple minded.
The Republicans see programs for the poor as 'entitlements' which they want cut, but ignore the huge federal handouts to agribusiness (Bachmann's family farms get money), oil companies and many other groups from taxpayer funds. Do we still need to pay farmers NOT to grow crops in this day and age? We pay Joe American if he cannot find work (unemployment), but we wouldn't pay him not to work. Defense industries routinely overcharge for anything and everything they can get Uncle Sam to buy - but are Republicans wailing about that 'corporate welfare'? Warren Buffett said he'd pay more in taxes because he noticed his tax rate was lower than some of his workers. Republicans get all mushy about the rich (being rich seems to be their ultimate dream), but unfair taxation is no representation for the people. Let's play fair, as Mom used to say. The burdens like program cuts in social programs ought to be matched by cuts in programs for big business, big defense and the richest among us, or else we are simply 'taxing' the poor for the benefit of the well-off.
So as I say, I wake up every morning, thankful that I have exceptional health insurance coverage I found through "************" for my family because it gives me peace of mind knowing that my family can count on me to deliver their health care needs.
We have got to change and take personal responsibility once more. The US cannot continue to prosper under the circumstances it is seeing now. We have flash mobbing, flash robbing, and flash rioting, and everyone thinks that no one is doing anything wrong. Curfews to stop these sort of things are "unconstitutional". The AFL-CIO support no curfews, so they must support these unlawful acts. Is this a black thing? So many of the ones committing these robs and mobs are black. Where is Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? Why aren't they speaking to their young folks? Because they're really comfortable with the wealth they have acquired from donations gained over the years and are now not as thrilled about discipline as they were about "rioting for freedom"? White kids seem to be fairing better, but what is this seemingly trend among older white men and women killing their children? Do you realize more than likely when you hear of a child dying at the hands of a parent or "friend" of a parent, its going to be a white child?? What gives with people these days? Is it drugs? Desperation? Lack of giving a damn?
Folks, I don't care what party you are, you'd better vote to get the criminals off the streets and the dirty politicials out of office and the bad teachers out of schools, and the molesting preachers out of the church. You'd better vote to get this nation off welfare and on the IRS tax-payer list. You'd better vote to stop corporate welfare and farmers welfare and poor people's welfare and ANY welfare. Get this nation back on the road to be personally accountable and personally liable.
Personal responsibility? So, the people who intentionally caused the housing market to collapse thereby causing thousands of people to lose their homes and their savings--how about their personal responsiblity? Insurance corporations [you know, those "people"] who, pre "Obamacare", intentionally denied treatment to people or cut off treatment due to "lifetime caps" or preexisting conditions. What about their personal responsibility? Or oil and coal companies that polllute and poison the water supply? Do those "people" have personal responsibility? Or are you just going to talk about how government needs to let business be business? When politicians start talking about personal responsiblity, it is never the rich and corporations who they expect to bear it.
Rick Stop calling Social Security and Medicare and entitlement. We the working people (something you know nothing of) paid into this. Stop equating Medicare and Social Securty with with farm subsidies and welfare .
Yup, and he doesn't even pay for his own housing either. He lives in a $10,000 a month 5 bedroom, 7 bath mansion in the hills of Austin which is paid for by the state. He also uses campaign funds to pay for the upkeep of the mansion and entertainment. It was supposed to be temporary housing while the Governor's mansion was being repaired but he has lived there for a while now. So, is it somehow "different" for Perry to live off the government? Or is it do as I say but I'm special and what I say doesn't pertain to me?
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See paragraph one.
How does he expect people who don't earn enough to have to pay taxes to "contribute " more.?
He apparently has never tried to get blood out of a turnip.!
See paragraph four.
People need to take more "personal responsibility".!
If Perry and the rest of the bought and paid for politicans had lived up to their "personal" responsibility (which is to serve the people who elected them) WE THE PEOPLE wouldn't be in this mess.
Perry is just as big a joke as the rest of the politicians; A VERY BAD JOKE.
"That's how things should be. The Democrats have created a "welfare state" mentality in this country, and not a culture of self improvement, and that's strangling the entire country."
---
So how do you feel about good ol' Gov Perry being the Governor for the #1 state with the highest high school drop out rate? So much for self improvement in the Lone Star State!?!??!
I wonder if good ol' Gov Perry takes "personal responsibility" for that marked national distinction!!!!
That's how things should be. The Democrats have created a "welfare state" mentality in this country, and not a culture of self improvement, and that's strangling the entire country.
Folks, I don't care what party you are, you'd better vote to get the criminals off the streets and the dirty politicials out of office and the bad teachers out of schools, and the molesting preachers out of the church. You'd better vote to get this nation off welfare and on the IRS tax-payer list. You'd better vote to stop corporate welfare and farmers welfare and poor people's welfare and ANY welfare. Get this nation back on the road to be personally accountable and personally liable.