I didn't catch President Obama on the talk shows because I work weekends.  I heard he raised the question -How do we balance personal freedom with our resposibility to take care of each other-.  If he really posed that question I think he hit the nail right on the head.  I work as a Psychiatric nurse and in my little part of the world I see constantly those who need help and those who are abusing the system.  As Americans, in our personal pursuits of happiness, we have many choices to make.  As a dad I don't often get to do what I want but I derive happiness from taking care of my family.  Many patients I work with need help because of illnesses they had no control over, but many are admitted and receiving medicaid dollars because of bad life choices made in their on pursuits of happiness.  I work with people who choose not to have health insurance because they don't think they'll need it and are using their money to pursue happiness in other ways.  People choose not to get renters insurance or flood insurance or full coverage on their car.  If the government was able to identify those who truely need help from those who do not I could support those programs.  We live in a corrupt world.  It is not just the rich who take advantage of the poor.  Government and community programs do as well.  People who run these programs take millions for themselves, a little here a little there, but it adds up quickly.  President Obama himself said we can cut  $500,000,000 from medicaid abuses, the brother of the founder of Acorn took $900,000 for himself.  Without trust in the government and the systems that utilize that money (the hospital I work for included) how can the president ask me for more.     How do you balance personal freedom with our responsibility to others?  The Constitution gives me the right to pursue happiness it does not make me responsible for anyone else.  Those are moral choices.  The government should motivate me to want to help others.  They do that by establishing trust that my money will help only those who cannot pursue happiness without it.  President Obama and members of Congress, both Republican and Demoncratic, fix you house and you will be welcome in mine.