Quote Originally Posted by try2bfrugal View Post
I just don't get why there isn't more empathy in the U.S. for lower income people instead of this ... no free (or even marginally affordable) health care for you kind of attitude.
I don't think that's the case at all. Everyone I know believes in providing some kind of assistance. Of course, I don't know everyone, so there very well may be those kinds of people out there, but I don't think the view is prevalent.

The difference I was alluding to (and the one Rob seems to have no problem with) is the entitlement mentality, i.e. the degree to which people who want things but can't afford them should expect others to pay for them. It's one thing to look at the system in the abstract and say "how can we design this so it works for everyone." Few people would object to that. More people object when they perceive others to be manipulating the system for personal benefit. I personally prefer a system where people are motivated to be productive, not just see how much they can extract from others whenever they can't pay for what they want. I think that has been the national character for some time. We don't cotton to freeloaders.