9 replies to this topic

[dreamwalker]

There is no doubt that America is becoming the land of government handouts and entitlements. The Democrats have long believed that they can enslave the American people by making them dependent upon the government for their survival rather than to depend upon themselves.

But the problem of government handouts is not a new problem as Benjamin Franklin wrote about welfare back during the foundation of America.
“In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries that the more the public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.
However, it appears that our government, over the past 100 years, has forgotten Franklin’s warnings and instructions. He told us then that the more the government hands out, the more dependent the people will become and instead of actually helping the poor, we end up locking them into the system and creating more poor.

A friend of ours posted something on his Facebook page that I thought spoke volumes to the wisdom of government handouts. It was the image of a small newspaper editorial that someone tore out of the paper. After a little research, I found the editorial was published by the Miller County Liberal on June 13, 2012. It was submitted by Billy Fleming and reads:
“The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and food stamps ever. Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to ‘Please Do Not Feed the Animals. Their stated reason for the policy is because the animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves. This ends today’s lesson.’”

source:http://www.sodahead.com/living/do-we-need-the-national-park-service-to-take-over-food-stamp-program/question-2763545/

[Mudpuppy]

Here is an interesting article by a man who grew up in a family who made their living off of entitlement programs. It is encouraging to see that not everyone who grew up that way turns into a carbon copy of their parents. It makes me wonder, however, if there is a happy medium between helping those (who will help themselves) in need and just allowing people to turn the social safety net into a hammock.

MP

Long Hard Road


As the government continues to give away our future in the form of checks, food stamps, and other entitlement programs, our debt continues to grow. With the upcoming generation being named by many as the Entitlement Generation, there is need for greater concern, more brash action to eliminate or greatly reduce these programs, and to protect ourselves. Failure to do so would result in a defeat of America by her own people.

Though I am conservative, I grew up in a family who survived on a weekly basis on food stamps, welfare checks, disability checks, and whatever else my family could get while having to do as little work as possible. My mother complained every day about the lack of child support that she was receiving. It seemed, sometimes, like she was working to put the weight of their debt on our, my brothers’ and I’s, back, causing us more stress than any children of those ages should ever have to deal with.


Meanwhile, this money (obviously not the food stamps) that she was receiving was being used to purchase things such as cigarettes, alcohol in some cases, and other items that weren’t essential to meeting the needs of the family to get by. My mother never truly knew any better because the household that she came up in wasn’t any better. I am still constantly in combat with her with regards to my youngest brother who still lives under her roof and also happens to have some mental disabilities which they also cash in on. My father, outside of child support/cigarette funding, has never really been in the picture until recently.


This isn’t a side of these programs that many people speak of because they don’t really know about it. The people who fall victim, yes victim, to these entitlement programs never have the confidence to stand up and be represented in these discussions, or, beyond that, they don’t see that these supplements from the government are providing a negative impact on their lives. Giving this money to these people doesn’t encourage them to try to better their lives.


When I look at these entitlement programs, it is extremely difficult for me to see anything but people like my family; people who depend on the government to make their ends meet and gives them a reason to have a defeatist attitude. This attitude causes her to slide down into the hole of dependency even more.


I, literally, remember standing in welfare lines for food and eating that terrible off-colored cheese as a youth. I remember being part of the free lunch programs. I remember wearing clothes that were donated by Christian Ministries and other programs. I don’t say this in celebration of the fact that they helped me to grow and develop into the person that I am today. I had to work extremely hard to get over the mind frame that was instilled in me, that someone would always make sure that I was provided for and THAT was the reason that our country is so great.


If we want to build America so that it is able to stand on its own two feet without loans from China, without supplementing oil from other countries, without depending on other countries to providing our goods, we have to build our own individual foundations. If you want programs that help people, develop programs that help people to get jobs, not in the government, but in areas of the private domain. Don’t provide them with a check that will help them to last until next week. That doesn’t develop the individual. That only meets their immediate needs. We MUST start planning for the future if there is going to be one.


I don’t think my family is too far from the norm with regards to those who are tied down by these entitlement programs. When my stepfather would get a job and keep a job for a little while, my family would start to pull out of the position that they were in. The conditions would improve, there was food on the table and plenty of extra money for all of the cigarettes that they needed. After a short period, he, seemingly, would just get tired of working and would do something to lose his job, whether that was quit or get in an argument with a supervisor or coworker, whatever. Instantly they would side back into total dependence on the government and other people to meet their needs.


This isn’t a satisfactory way of living. Because of the amount of time that they were able to survive sitting around, cruising the internet, and watching satellite channels that were being paid for by someone else, they had grown stagnate and no longer had the motivation to achieve more than they were at that exact moment.


I am extremely happy with who I am in life, despite of all of the garbage that surrounded me, trying to trip me up on my way to achieving my goals. I am graduating college in December, and will begin law school shortly thereafter. I intend to potentially run for office one day and try to provide myself as a tool to the people to achieve their goals. I am constantly moving forward and developing myself so that I will never be in a position at all similar to the one that my parents have put themselves in. I hope to one day be able to get my brother out of that household, to teach him some fundamentals of budgeting (which he already does better than my parents do), work ethic, and showing him that that life isn’t truly a life at all.


I also hope to one day start a nonprofit organization where I can use my education in professional writing to help hopeless and unemployed individuals to create an attractive resume, cover letter, and reference sheet in effort to help them get employed as well as working with organizations to get them professionally dressed for upcoming job interviews.


There is no call to action here. All of these circumstances can only be rectified by the individual who is in them. The only initiative that we can promote is one of awareness to these individuals who are in these situations, encouraging them to realize that these entitlement programs harm them more than help, and hope that they will work to get themselves out of these dependencies.

http://www.redcounty...lure-true-story

Edited by Mudpuppy, 30 June 2012 - 07:04 AM.

[StarLord]

Feed people and they stay complacent and at your door.

Teach them how to feed and work for themselves, you may very well never see them again.

For some, being responsible is too much work. Cut them off, and suddenly, working to be responsible becomes a fact of life.

[dreamwalker]

Not yet an "animals and humans are different" reply. I'm a little shocked. I and the other two who have replied tend to run across the political spectrum. Wonder if common sense should cheer in a brief moment of victory?

[Firesong]

It's annoying how so many people glorify the welfare system. There's nothing glorious about it. I know people on welfare, lots of them, and it's not because they enjoy being there.

What also pisses me off that in a time when unemployment is high and the middle class is dissolving complaints about the poor increase.

It's not because the poor are happily living off your tax money. It's because the corporate elitists would rather starve poor children than pay their fair share in taxes.

It blows my mind the number of fucktards that buy into the welfare queen myth.

[dreamwalker]

Firesong, out of curiosity how many of those that you know are on welfare use illegal drugs? I've known quite a few in my life as well and I have to say the percentage was well over 50% of those I knew. I've also known my share of dealers. It was pretty standard at the time that two dollars in food stamps was worth one dollar towards whatever you wanted. I don't know how much that has changed over the years. I'm willing to bet not much.

Edited by dreamwalker, 17 August 2012 - 02:00 AM.

[Mudpuppy]

It's because the corporate elitists would rather starve poor children than pay their fair share in taxes.

I just heard on the news tonight Romney defending his stance on not showing anymore of his tax returns by saying in the past 10 years he's paid at least 13% in taxes each year! How does he get away with 13%? I'm being taxed 30% and I don't have any money. That was his defense? I'm not trying to bash the guy before he gets into office....I'm just saying...he thinks that's his fair share? And the rest of you want to slay Obama for saying "spread the wealth around"? How is it that Warren Buffet paid less in taxes than his secretary? How is it that Romney has paid less in taxes than all of the working middle class?

Firesong, out of curiosity how many of those that you know are on welfare use illegal drugs? I've known quite a few in my life as well and I have to say the percentage was well over 50% of those I knew.

And what exactly do drugs have to do with people on welfare? People are on drugs everywhere....not just people on welfare. The rich do drugs....our former presidents were potheads and cocaine addicts? Why do only those on welfare get crucified for drug use?

Edited by Mudpuppy, 17 August 2012 - 04:13 AM.

[StarLord]

I get what Dreamwalker is pointing at. But it's nothing new, the "drugs" of yesteryear, 40's of Malt Liquor, have morphed to Painkillers, Crack & Speed.

Technically, if food stamps are traded for money or drugs the bottom line is that the State/ Government is supporting their drug habit. People hooked on drugs will use what ever funds are at hand regardless of where it comes from, their own money they worked for or the assistance given to them.

The worst situation that I can think of, a house full of kids, each one having a different father as their "mother" uses them to milk the system for thousands of dollars each year. The children become her cash crop, another child means more money each year. 25 years ago while riding a bus that went through the projects, I overheard some mothers bragging about how many children they had. Very Sad.

[Firesong]

They have credit card-like food stamps now, so they're much more difficult to sell.

[aliced]

Give a man a fish and he will feed himself for a night,
Teach a man to fish and he will sit on the rocks all day drinking beer