What's in it for me?

This is our son's opinion:  Many people don't care how damaging certain political policies can be unless those policies affect them directly.  By way of illustration, he points out that there are those who oppose gay rights until their son turns out to be gay, oppose abortion rights until their 17-year-old daughter gets pregnant, oppose Medicaid (government-provided medical coverage) for people in nursing homes until their mother ends up in one, oppose Meals on Wheels until their father needs them . . . well, you get the picture. 


Here's how the Jewish Daily Forward puts it:


"As goes the NEA [National Endowment for the Arts], so goes the Environmental Protection Agency, the Education Department and so much else. It’s not a coincidence that the same budget that eliminates the NEA eviscerates the EPA. Both cuts reflect the conservative position that the less government, the better. That’s why conservatives opposed the New Deal, opposed Medicare (which they called “socialized medicine”), opposed the Civil Rights Act and are poised to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Because rich people don’t want to give up any of their money, white people don’t want to give up any of their privilege, and corporations don’t want to give up any of their profits.


Never mind the public good that comes from accessible health care, equal rights or pollution laws. Just leave me alone, conservatives moan, and keep away from my hard-earned (or easily inherited) savings."