Subtitle: What is happening to our culture?
Our Federal government has done a good job of creating dependency in our country. And we have let them. We have helped in many ways. We have voted for it and we have supported it. It’s good to help the poor and needy. It’s especially good to do it with someone else’s money. Some people choose to do it with their own money (I do and prefer it that way), but ask any good Progressive. It’s far better to do it with someone else’s money. That money being the taxpayer’s money. But the Federal government, because they live in Washington, D.C. and we live thousands of miles away, cannot distinguish a person’s situation. They can’t determine if someone is scamming them, because they live so far away and don’t KNOW the people.
In small town America, people know people, and they know if you are a scammer or not. Because generations live in the same area, everyone knows everyone else. They knew your grandpa and your grandma; they knew your parents, and brothers and sisters. The police know you, maybe some more than others! It’s plain hard to get away with cheating on your spouse in small town America, because everyone knows stuff. There’s just not that many people to keep track of! My point is, small town America is better at taking care of its poor than Washington, D.C. But that’s not the way things are working out right now.
I happen to know a little bit about township government. You’d think that when people need help at the local level, the money that is taken from the taxpayers and put in a local fund for that very purpose would be used to help them. Nope. I’ve been told by credible township supervisors that, if the person qualifies for state and federal assistance, the township can’t use that money. Really? Then what is it for and why is it building up into incredible amounts? (I see state confiscation in our futures.) The state and federal government know the situation better than the local government?
But I digress. The question is, Where does money come from? (Besides printing presses in Washington, D.C.) We currently have a culture where, last figure I heard was, 49% are dependent on the Federal government in some fashion. I am not sure that figure includes the Social Security recipients, but it may. I am not begrudging them getting back what they paid in, because they have paid in specifically for it. At some point in our history, we decided it was a good idea to let the government plan our retirement accounts for us. I disagree with that concept, but nonetheless, it is what it is.
Back to dependency. Our current Progressive administration has done its utmost to increase dependency on government. I could go in to all the ways they’ve done it, but for the sake of time and space, I won’t here, because I need to tell my story.
This whole cultural dependency-on-other-people’s-money thing was revealed to me in a big way recently. And at the local level!
A local 4-H club wanted to do a charitable project for the summer. It was a great idea. You see, when children are home for the summer, their parents still have to go to work. The club wanted to make sure the kids got a meal at noon and weren’t just left to fend for themselves. Apparently, they knew of some local kids in this situation. They made a deal with a local food place to put some sack lunches together for a certain price. But the 4-H club had no money to do the project with.
The project was printed in the local paper and the 4-H club went about applying for GRANTS for their project. I heard about the project (I, being a private citizen with my own money that I have earned by working a job) and decided to jump on board. Little did I know…I decided I would kill a few birds with one stone. I made the club an offer they couldn’t refuse! They needed money, right?
The downtown area of the small town where I work can get pretty trashy on the weekends. We have some, ahem, irresponsible types, who thrown their trash out on the streets and sidewalks instead of in the trashcan that is placed there for that purpose. I decided to offer the club a, wait for it…JOB, picking up the trash on Monday mornings. It would probably have taken a handful of kids an hour to do it. In return, I would pay them the handsome sum of $25, which, by the way, would cover the cost of that day’s lunches. And I would do it for at least a month, perhaps for the whole term of the project. I would also make the mayor happy, because the downtown would be cleaned up of trash. It was a brilliant idea.
Only thing was, the club couldn’t do it. They were waiting on their GRANT money. The leader had all kinds of reasons why they couldn’t do it, but they appreciated my offer of a JOB. I’m not saying the leader’s reasons were not legit. I know people work. But there is a principle at work here, and I think an important teaching opportunity was lost and another one was definitely taught to those kids. Let me tell you the rest of the story…
The village (the government) where the kids lived, came through with a CHECK to help them get going! And everyone got their picture in the paper. Then another government agency came up with a CHECK also…and everyone got their picture in the paper. (See how this is working.) And then last week, the private sector (one business) came up with a CHECK. And everyone got their picture in the paper. So you see how this looks? Hey, the tin cup method works way better than a job. And you get your picture in the paper every time, because, everyone loves the feel good story. Rewards, right? And yeh, it would have just taken too long to, ahem, WORK for that money because, golly gee, that would just take too long and we don’t have time for that! I was heartbroken that they did not accept my offer, but I was determined that I would not just give them the money. (Hard-hearted of me, right?)
Kickstarter is another thing I don’t understand. I know a lady who went on there and started a project to raise the money (from other people) to publish her book. She got the money. I don’t know if they are supposed to repay or not, because I don’t know that much about it. I got a JOB and EARNED the money to publish my book. (Shameless plug for it right here…it’s a children’s book call A Tale of Two Lambs. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.) In the process, I gave someone else some work for several months because I needed illustrations for it. And she earned money. That’s how private enterprise works.
To sum up: where does money come from? What do you think those club kids think now? What did they learn? They learned if you want to do something nice for someone, ask the government and private businesses for a handout. You will be funded. THAT is what they learned. Oh, and you get your picture in the paper when you are successful. Who can compete with that?
Watching The Nation 