A Successful Medical Doctor Explains How He Has Been A Moocher

Mitt Romney suggested that 47% of Americans are moochers who rely upon government rather than their own initiative to become self sufficient.  Paul Ryan, who was his running mate in the presidential election is basing his "War on Poverty" by claiming that social welfare programs prevent Americans from becoming self sufficient.  If we eliminate social welfare programs everyone will have an incentive to be successful.  I found the quote posted below among the comments following a post on this topic.  It does more to discredit the nonsense about moochers and dependence on government than most of what has been written about this issue.  We are all moochers but in a good way.

29

Pat S said...

Mooching:
I am a physician and a moocher. As such, I was the beneficiary of about $500,000 (in current dollars) of payments that financed my K-12 education, my undergraduate education, my medical school education, and my residency training. I continue to be the beneficiary of payments from the federal and state government that account for about 40% of my income -- income that the physicians of the 1950's and earlier received in the form of chickens and potatoes, if they received it at all. The grateful taxpayers of the United States have made me, by any standard, wealthy.
It doesn't stop there. My father (the moocher) was also educated in public schools and then in a public university with additional help from the GI bill. The GI bill helped him buy his first house. In addition, he became wealthy as a real estate developer because the interstate highway system, other road and infrastructure building, and GI bill and FHA dollars turned cornfields into land for housing developments and shopping centers. The taxpayers made him rich too.
However, none of this makes me or my dad members of the "takers" in the eyes of Romney, Ryan, and their enablers. We are "makers," because as upper class, well educated people we "deserve" the government help we got that boosted us to success -- just as John Galt deserved all the subsidies that paid for the railroads and other projects he developed, Mitt Romney deserved the government underwriting of the financial industry that helped make him rich, and Paul Ryan and his family deserved the government money from the oil industry and road contracts that made them rich.
It's only the undeserving poor that don't deserve the government money they squander on food, housing, and medical care. They should have picked better parents.