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Rubio’s Family-Leave Benefit Will Go the Way of All Entitlements
Wall Street Journal ^ | September 4, 2018 | John F. Cogan

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. Rubio’s well-intentioned plan begins by promising a small, carefully targeted benefit and assuring us that it won’t 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 programs—Revolutionary War and Civil War disability pensions—followed 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 ...


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: entitlements; familyleave; rubio

1 posted on 09/05/2018 10:02:34 AM PDT by reaganaut1
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Rubio and ALL Bush League Republicans MUST be replaced by patriots before they give away our country.


2 posted on 09/05/2018 10:05:49 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here of Citizen Parents__Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: reaganaut1

Found your candidate for 2020 yet?


3 posted on 09/05/2018 10:06:09 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here of Citizen Parents__Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: reaganaut1

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!


4 posted on 09/05/2018 10:10:04 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Lurkinanloomin
Little Marco "Bubbles" Rubio


5 posted on 09/05/2018 10:10:15 AM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ("Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above.")
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To: reaganaut1

Little Marco sucks.


6 posted on 09/05/2018 10:13:55 AM PDT by jospehm20
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To: Governor Dinwiddie
Old news.

Fake news.

Old fake news.

7 posted on 09/05/2018 10:15:16 AM PDT by x
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To: reaganaut1

Progressive light.


8 posted on 09/05/2018 10:16:16 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: reaganaut1

Foam Boy Rubio bump for later...


9 posted on 09/05/2018 10:21:14 AM PDT by indthkr
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To: reaganaut1

Why add family leave? People have managed to go on with life after the birth of children for millennia. We are wusses.


10 posted on 09/05/2018 10:26:53 AM PDT by lurk
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To: reaganaut1
Mr. Rubio proposes to finance the benefit by requiring recipients to forgo their first three to six months’ Social Security checks.

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today!

11 posted on 09/05/2018 11:24:31 AM PDT by Obadiah
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To: reaganaut1

Yet more encouagement for the welfare mares.


12 posted on 09/05/2018 11:30:35 AM PDT by IronJack
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To: reaganaut1

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?


13 posted on 09/05/2018 11:37:39 AM PDT by DPMD
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To: DPMD

Hows about we just get rid of pensions for pols? :-)


14 posted on 09/05/2018 11:39:20 AM PDT by mewzilla (Has the FBI been spying on members of Congress?)
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To: reaganaut1

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.


15 posted on 09/05/2018 11:59:27 AM PDT by Pining_4_TX (..he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons...according to the purpose of his will Eph 1:5)
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To: reaganaut1

Where in the Constitution does he find this?

Does he think he can amend the Constitution like some unelected judge?


16 posted on 09/05/2018 1:53:26 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (Trump is fixing the world's problems just to distract us from Russia.)
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