A lady I work with has seriously considered leaving her job and excepting government assistance. She's a single mom with a college education, working full time, pays for full-time daycare, pays for health insurance, pays taxes, gets no child support, has a small apartment, and after bills she barely has enough money to scrape by some months. Yet she makes [U]too[/U] much money to qualify for any type of government assistance. If she were unemployed, she could receive government assistance for free health care for her and her child, energy assistance, food stamps (which is now a debit card that the government puts around $750 a month for food and for a single mother), housing allowance or even free housing (some of the newer housing projects in NOLA are actually nice condos with a little NOLA architecture flare. In fact, these actually appeared nicer than what my wife were paying $1100 to rent each month.) With all her necessities virtually paid for by the US government, they then would give her welfare payments in the range of $800-$1200 for spending money. She would actually make out better each month than staying and holding her job and paying taxes.
Last year my mortgage broker expressed some political views to me during the purchase of our new house and during our discussion she told me story about something that recently happened to her family. Their 20 year old daughter, who was a full-time college student living at home and a full-time employee, told her mother she thought she was pregnant. After going to the doctor their daughter was contacted by several government assistance programs. These programs offered to cover the daughter's pregnancy and medical costs, give her and her newborn free medical insurance, free daycare, and a food program designed to help single mother's that covered all costs for children. With a tired face, she looks at me and says, "I've taught my daughter her entire life to study hard, work hard, and to earn the things you need in life. She's worked and made her own income and paid taxes since the age of 16. In one phone call, they took all those years of my parenting values and flushed then down the toilet. My daughter was being told by our government that she didn't have to work for any of those things, they'd all be given to her free of charge. Think about a 20 year old struggling to attend college full-time and simultaneously work a full-time job. That's an enticing offer."
One day while checking out in the grocery store, I was standing behind a woman that just happened to catch my attention. I'm a dick, so I was looking her up and down, and some things caught my attention. She's got on what look to be designer shoes, blue jeans with those fancy bedazzled ass pockets on them, a leather jacket, a gold ring on nearly ever finger, a gold necklace with a diamond medallion, this nice looking designer purse with 2 C's on it (whatever brand that is), some pretty damn big diamond earrings, and a leather beret to match the jacket. Even if all the brands and jewelry were fake, she was trying hard to look like she had money. Her groceries were all brand name items, some being expensive brands, like grey poupon type shit. While she's checking out she reaches behind her and grabs several candy bars and a couple cold drinks from the cooler and adds them to her groceries. She then reaches and pulls out her Louisiana Purchase card to pay for her groceries. Not thinking too much about it, I buy my $99 sour cream my wife couldn't have tacos without, and walk out to my car. On the way, I just happen to pass the same lady getting into a brand new Honda Accord. This lady dresses with an intent to look wealthy, drives a newer car than mine, and then uses my tax dollars to pay for her brand named groceries and junk food.
What are situations like these teaching our young people?
Do you feel that families making over $250,000 annually should take on a tax increase that will further fund government programs for the people in these situations?
What impact do you think government assisted programs such as these have on our economy, our national debt, and our strive for prosperity?