Somebody Has to Pay? Guess Who That Would Be
I first heard this on the Neal Boortz show.
The video is astonishing in its audacity. It is an embarrassing illustration of everything that is wrong with our system of social services. I’m not a social worker, or a psychologist. I’m just a housewife and mother who’s had to work hard, pay taxes and live with the consequences of my choices. I could never imagine myself proclaiming that someone other than myself or the father of my children should “pay for them.” Yes, children are a gift from God. But when he blesses us with children He tasks the parents with the responsibility for their care. Not the government. It’s obvious that our welfare system is broken. Fortunately most of the problems are simple to fix. Unfortunately our culture of political correctness and preservation of self-esteem will prevent these changes from taking place.
We need to remember what the purpose of the welfare system was in the first place. It was meant as a way for people who had hit hard times or who were economically disadvantaged, to be put back on the path to self-sufficiency. No one was expected to stay on welfare for life. It was certainly never intended to be a “family business” handed down from parent to child. As our society began to put a higher value on self-esteem than integrity, the stigma of being on welfare began to disappear. We were taught that feeling guilt and shame regardless of the reason was a bad thing. This caused a fundamental shift in our attitudes, and so we began to feel that not only was it okay to live off of the charity of others, it was our right. Politicians eager to buy votes from the poor and poorly educated were all too willing to promote this attitude.
To cover all the minute details involved to fix the system would be too unwieldy to put into one blog post. We can begin however, by making some basic common sense rules for people who are receiving welfare to live by.
1. In order to continue to receive benefits, a person must demonstrate that they are actively trying to get out of the system.
2. When a woman comes into the system, the children she has at the time are covered. If she chooses to have any more children then she and her children are kicked out of the system.
3. Any one guilty of drug possession or of being under the influence of illegal drugs is kicked out of the system.
4. Any one convicted of a crime other than minor traffic violations is kicked out of the system.
5. Any one who uses welfare funds to buy alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, or luxury items or services, or uses the funds for gambling (to include lottery tickets) will be kicked out of the system.
6. If an individual or family is living in any form of public housing they will be expected to take care of he property. They will not damage, deface, destroy, or willfully neglect the property or they will be evicted. Those living there who are physically able will be expected to participate in the upkeep and maintenance of the buildings and grounds.
Six simple, straightforward, common sense rules. Are they unreasonable? No. Discriminatory? No. Are they a bit harsh? Well maybe, but they need to be in order to change the attitude from a one of entitlement to one of self-sufficiency. Knowing what the rules are and the consequences for breaking them from the outset could be a good incentive to do the right thing. The taxpayers who are funding the service programs have a right to expect responsible behavior from those who are benefitting from the system. By demanding that people in the social services system make an effort to reduce the financial burden placed on the taxpayers for their care, we make them a partner in their care and help to create an attitude of stewardship rather than entitlement.
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Occupy This
I hope the New Generation Hippies, the Junior Baby Boomers also know as the Occupiers realize by now that any hope of having a serious discussion of their grievances has been quashed thanks to their embarrassing shenanigans. It’s unfortunate because there truly is an intelligent debate to be had. People are really struggling. And not just the spoiled twenty somethings still living on their parents labor, or those living off of the tax payers. There are many of us who work hard every day and still can’t get ahead. Our benefits get cut, and raises are eliminated. Prices for basic needs are getting higher and higher and each week our paychecks are stretched as tight as a fat lady’s girdle. And we feel no one is listening. We hear a lot about corporate greed and class warfare these days. I think both sides have it wrong. At heart I suppose I am a capitalist. I believe that strong businesses free of burdensome government regulation are the foundation to overall wealth in our country. It is obvious however, that there is something fundamentally wrong when a CEO can earn half a million a year at a company that can’t afford to pay its lower level employees a decent wage or even worse has to let them go. Loyal, hard-working employees, deserve to share in the wealth of a company. Businesses that realize that keep a dependable well motivated labor pool who are satisfied with their jobs and work to keep a company profitable. Those who do not create an atmosphere favorable to the labor unions. Companies that choose to do business in an unethical fashion clear a path for government regulation. It all comes down to practicing good stewardship. American businesses need to realize that they have a responsiblity to do what’s right by their employees, customers, community and environment. Pay their employees a fair wage and benefit package, produce a quality product at a fair price, give back to the community they are located in and don’t exploit or pollute unnecessarily. In the town where I’m from, there was a man named H B Zachry. In 1924 he started his company with very little capital. He had a contract to build a bridge and had to finish the job in order to be paid. As the story goes, he didn’t have the money to pay his workers so he told the men if they would stay with him until the job was finished, he’d see to it that they were taken care of. The bridge was finished and Mr. Zachry kept his word. He even took care of men’s widows. Personally delivering bags of groceries to them. This was a man who truly understood the values that make up a good business ethic. The answer to cleaning up corporate America is not in persuading the government to step in and force American businesses to do the right thing. The answer is in changing corporate values. in bringing more men like H B Zachery into play. In a free market society, the real power belongs to the consumers. We need to be smart, do our research and use the goods and services of a business only if it operates in harmony with our values. The Occupiers are fond of shouting “power to the people not the corporations” but the people have had the power all along.
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Who’s Got Who’s Back?
Image via Wikipedia
I am really irritated at those television commercials advertising free cell phones for low-income people. Yes, basic landline service should be provided for emergency purposes. No one should be left without a way to call 911. What gets me about these commercials however, is that they are misleading as to the source of the funding. One commercial practically insinuates that the Government owes you a cell phone if you are on public assistance. A women in another commercial proudly proclaims that she “has her mother’s back.” Who do these people think the Government is? A more truthful commercial would have the woman thanking her friends, family, and neighbors for “having her mother’s back” by providing the tax money that subsidises her mother’s phone. I really feel that this is a program that seriously needs to be reconsidered. Why should my tax money go to provide a luxury that I can barely afford myself.
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No Guts, No Glory
“Support our Troops“. “Freedom Isn’t Free”. We see the words on billboards and bumper stickers, T-shirts and posters. They are the tagline and headline for political speeches and patriotic memorials. But what do they really mean? What is the price for freedom and how do we support the troops sworn to defend it?
I remember as a child hearing the stories of my mother, who, as a toddler underwent surgery on her foot. For years afterward she required special orthotic shoes that had to be replaced every time her feet grew. This was during WWII and rationing was in full force. Everyone was allowed only one pair of shoes a year. Including my mother. The government didn’t make a special exception because she was a child with a medical condition. Her parents didn’t demand that she was entitled to more ration coupons because of a unique hardship. Instead they gave up their ration coupons to get her the shoes she needed and when those ran out other family members, friends and neighbors donated theirs. Why was this necessary? Because the materials that were used to make shoes over here were needed to make shoes for the troops over there. Could you imagine giving up coffee, sugar, shoes and tires and sending them to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq? How many of us who sent “goody boxes” to the troops would have done so if it meant taking the gum, deodorant, soap and Kool-Aid out of our own cupboards to send overseas? Truly supporting our troops requires personal sacrifice. My grand parents knew that. Nobody knows that more that military families. But it is much more than that. To really support our troops we have to support the mission they were sent on.
Ever since embedded reporters brought the horrors of the Vietnam War into our living rooms, America has slowly lost its passion for freedom. Faced with the horrifying reality that the price of freedom is blood, many of us have decided that the price is too high. We would rather give up our freedom than fight and die, and to make our cowardice seem noble we buy into the negative reporting of an anti-war agenda. We believe that our military men and women are merely pawns, highly trained but brainwashed automatons sent by a corrupt government to kill babies, burn villages, exploit oil fields and humiliate Muslims. So we “support” our troops by wanting them home ….now. We think that by demanding an end to the war we show the troops we care about their lives and families and want their deaths to have meaning. But by pulling out with the job undone and the battlefields left unsecured, liked whipped dogs with our tails between our legs we send the opposite message to our troops and our enemies. We say “you have failed” and we no longer belive that anything is worth dying for.
I’m not naïve, I know that politicians have used wars to promote their personal agendas. I also know that the intense mental pressures of the battlefield can alter judgment and atrocities are committed. Yes, there are harsh and disturbing realities to war, but there are very real evils (whether ideological or personified) set to steal our dearly won freedom. To destroy our way of life. To defeat them, you can’t simply make nice, ask please and expect them to comply. There are those who choose to forget that our troops do many good things out in the field. Even in the mist of the enemy they provide medical care, aid, comfort and security.
It is time for us to truly “support our troops” and remember that every war that America has ever fought from the Revolutionary War to today, was fought for a noble purpose. Our military has fought to overthrow oppressive governments, stop slavery, stop the spread of Communism and rid the world of insane despotic tyrants. They did not fight for conquest, land or resources. The image of our country as a “big bully” to the rest of the world is a fallacious stereotype created from the malicious propaganda of our enemies. It is time for us to quit apologising for being American. To not only welcome our troops coming home, but to also remind those still serving that “you did a good job”. More importantly, “you did a good thing”. And we as a nation are proud of you.
Observations and Opinions of a Middle Aged Housewife 