Post by @KoboldCoterie@pawb.social

2026-10-18 22:36 UTC

I have a friend whom I have this argument with frequently, not about health care specifically but other socialized benefits (e.g. SNAP). He’s even a leftist, but still thinks he shouldn’t have to pay for people who “take advantage of the system” (e.g. spend their SNAP benefits on things he doesn’t believe should qualify, or receive SNAP benefits while spending their ‘real’ money on things he considers non-essential). The fact that there are corporations getting orders of magnitude more in handouts, or that we’re spending an unreal amount of money on the military, or that there’s unfathomable amounts of corruption in the government, and that those benefits are in actuality a tiny fraction of what his taxes go to, makes no difference. He doesn’t want people at the bottom to get an ounce more than he believes they strictly need or deserve, and I cannot for the life of me understand that line of thought.

Replies (3)

@Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2026-10-19 04:08

are you sure shes a leftist, or one in NAME only. almost everyone that believes welfare should not be for POORs/POC is almost always a conservative. i know a couple people that are ON THE left in name only, but says alot of talking points of a republican.

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@ilinamorato@lemmy.world 2026-10-19 00:01

A while back, I was listening to a podcast that apparently had a fairly sizable conservative Christian audience, because there were a good number of ads for Christian “Health Care Sharing Ministries,” into which subscribers pay a voluntary “share,” and from which they draw when they need it. I don’t remember the specific language the ad used, but I do remember it saying something that sounded almost dangerously close to “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need.” I started laughing at that one.

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@frisbird@lemmy.ml 2026-10-18 22:39

When you say “leftist” I assume you mean liberal Democrat.

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