Tax Day 2013: When Will We Say Enough Is Enough?

April 15, 2013 5 Comments

It’s tax day here in America. We can expect an onslaught of local news stories about last minute tax filers and the post offices that service them. All propaganda to take focus away from what’s really going on today. No tax in the history of this country has been worse for freedom than the income tax. This tax allows government to be involved in our personal lives like no other tax. In fact, there are cases out there that admit that all of our income belongs to the government, it’s only through the benevolence of Congress that we are allowed to keep any. A quick read of the 16th amendment suggests the court interpreted it correctly.

President Obama released his tax returns over the weekend. How did we get to the point where we expect the President to release his personal tax information? Obama’s taxes are really none of our business and he should feel no obligation to share them with the world. Since he did, we can note that despite qualifying for the highest income tax bracket he only paid 18% of his income in Federal taxes. Not surprisingly Obama isn’t cutting a check to the Treasury in order to pay his “fair” share. Like everyone else, Obama paid the most he was required under the law. Rather than lead the way for evil rich people, Obama only paid the bare minimum.

Obama’s 2014 budget is largely dead on arrival. It includes any number of tax increases, he’s back on his corporate jet tax kick again. Obamacare kicks in next year along with its individual mandate tax. Some of the taxes for Obamacare are already in place, including the medical device tax that most of the Senate tried to repeal. (interestingly the media never reported this) This year 80% of the country saw a tax increase, it hit the middle class more than anything else which is why we’re seeing a dip in consumer confidence and spending.

As a nation, Federal tax freedom day isn’t until April 20th. Meaning we as a nation are working for the Federal government from January until the middle of April. That’s before we start working for the state and local governments who all have their hands out and their police force waiting in the wings to take our money by force. At what point do we say enough is enough? Obama and the Democrats clearly don’t think we’ve hit enough yet, the President has any number of tax increases he would like to push through. Democrat governors are passing tax increases left and right. At what point do we the people say enough is enough, especially as we watch the utter incompetence with which government spends our money?

Tax day gives us the opportunity to ask these questions. Unfortunately so long as we have a vast underclass being fed off the government teet we’ll have a significant number of people who don’t think we’re being taxed enough. We have 45 million plus on food stamps, millions on housing subsidies, welfare and other government handouts. We have millions added to the social security disability roles, just in the last few years we’ve seen substantial increases. These people don’t pay taxes in any significant way, for them there is no enough. They’re net takers. FDR paid people with tax money to vote for him, Obama has done the same. It’s going to be very difficult for Republicans to win so long as the vast underclass is being paid by government while not paying anything into the system.

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Record Number Eating Thanksgiving Dinner On Taxpayers Dime

November 22, 2012 4 Comments

With nearly 48 million Americans on food stamps and an economy in shambles it probably should come as no surprise that a record number will be eating their Thanksgiving dinner on the dole this year. But isn’t just taxpayers who are footing the bill for Thanksgiving dinner. Some food pantries are seeing a 400% increase in demand this year. We can debate the merit of food stamps and the massive increase that program has seen under Obama.When food pantries see this type of increase it becomes apparent that we have a major, long term economic problem. Unfortunately Obama doesn’t have a solution to any of this other than raising taxes.

We are seeing the beginning of a major change in American culture. We no longer have a large, robust middle class. We have a struggling middle class and a growing lower class. Government policies  have dictated this over the last four years. It actually pays to move into the lower class where there is more stability even with slightly less money. The Social Security disability roles have increased dramatically under Obama. Under that program it’s possible to live practically a middle class lifestyle without any work. Disability pays an income, you can get section 8 housing which pays most of  your rent and you can get food stamps to pay for your food. If you know how to work the system you can even get an Obama phone.

What incentive is there for some of these people to work? The economy is rough, jobs are tough to come by. In  many industries they’re just as tough to keep. Especially when unions choose 100% pay cuts rather than “caving” to management demands. The policies of the Obama administration have contributed to the tough economy we have. Obama has created tax uncertainty from day one, Obamacare has been a disaster for small business and the President’s regulations have cost jobs. He’s kept energy high by banning offshore drilling and refusing to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. Since the election he’s banned shale exploration on Federal lands.

In short, between the governments actions which have hampered job growth and a serious economic turnaround and the massive welfare state promoted by the Obama administration it no longer pays to work. Work and finding work is stressful, it’s much easier to get on the dole. In doing this Obama is creating an underclass of government dependents. Tax consumers rather than tax payers. An underclass willing to vote for Democrats to keep the freebies coming. But he’s also creating an underclass without human dignity. There is dignity in work.

While we sit down to eat our Thanksgiving turkey today remember there are millions of others eating on your dime. It isn’t that they’re lazy or incapable, most of them are the opposite. They’ve bought into Obama’s welfare state, they’ve lost their dignity. They’ve lost touch with God and his demand that we work. We should have sympathy for those who are truly needy, those who are going to food pantries for example. But for those who are on food stamps, eating on our dimes, we should have much less sympathy. They voted for Obama, they voted for four more years of poor economic growth so they could live off of others.

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Foolish GOP Ready To Cave On Amnesty

November 19, 2012 2 Comments

The Republicans seem more eager after the election to support some sort of amnesty for illegals. Led by radio host Sean Hannity who claims his view has evolved as if by magic the day after the election, the GOP seems ready to cave on the issue. The theory is that if only we would allow all these illegals to remain in the United States and provide them with citizenship then we might be able to open the door for them to like Republicans in the future. It’s pretty hard to believe when Democrats are entrenched in poor Hispanic communities and have been for the better part of half a century. The notion that the GOP is suddenly going to recruit in poor Hispanic communities is borderline ridiculous.

In fact there is empirical evidence that amnesty won’t do anything for Republicans but give the Democrats millions of new voters. In 1984 President Reagan received 37% of the Hispanic vote. In 1986 Reagan foolishly signed an amnesty bill that granted citizenship to millions of Mexican immigrants who were here illegally. According to the theory espoused by Hannity and others in the GOP, Hispanics should have fallen in love with the Republican Party and they should all be voting Republican now. After all it was Reagan who granted them amnesty in 1986, surely Republicans saw an increase in Hispanic support.

Unfortunately the theory being pushed is wrong. In 1988, only two years after Reagan’s amnesty, George Bush could only muster 30% of the Hispanic vote. That’s a decrease of 7 points off of Reagan’s pre-amnesty total. In other words, amnesty didn’t make Hispanics fall in love with the Republican Party. Not only did they not fall in love with the GOP, they joined the Democrats. California is now practically off limits to Republicans, largely because of Hispanic voters who were given amnesty by Reagan. The state is a wasteland for the GOP, it hasn’t gone Republican in a Presidential race since 1988. Only the most liberal Republicans like Pete Wilson can get elected statewide and even those guys are largely verboten in California these days.

Amnesty will serve little more than the Democrat Party, which will gain votes via welfare patronage. This isn’t an issue of not liking Hispanic people, this is an issue of law. We have millions of people who are here illegally. They had to break our laws in order to get here and they continue to break our laws by staying here. Such law breaking cannot be rewarded with citizenship or amnesty. To do this makes a complete mockery of our laws. Even worse from a Republican standpoint, amnesty and citizenship for illegals does little more than dig the grave for our own party.

We cannot over react to a 2 point defeat to a bad President when our candidate was dreadful and couldn’t even get his whole party behind him. It’s one thing to reach out to citizens who happen to be Hispanic. We share similar family values, we share a similar work ethic and so on. That’s how we appeal to Hispanics, especially middle class Hispanics. Going along with an expansion of the Democrats party membership by giving people here illegally citizenship is not how we appeal to Hispanics. The empirical data shows this, we lost Hispanic votes after Reagan’s amnesty. There is no doubt we would lose votes again in the future should amnesty be passed. If we want Hispanic votes we have to work for them and that means not handing out freebies from the government and citizenship to law breakers. Unfortunately the GOP establishment never learns its lesson.

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Another Recession Is Right Around The Corner

November 16, 2012 2 Comments

The fiscal cliff is just around the corner. New jobless claims increased 78,000 last week despite Obama’s re-election. Inflation is on the rise. Poverty has increased. Europe is in a recession. McDonald’s is seeing their sales decrease. Don’t be fooled, this doesn’t mean people are eating more nutritious lunches or that they’re spending money at higher end restaurants like Applebee’s. (did I just say Applebee’s is high end? oy) It means that people can’t afford to eat at a restaurant that historically performs well during recessions. It’s not like they’re running over to Burger King or Wendy’s, their sales don’t make up for McDonald’s losses.

At least one restaurant chain owner is going to charge an Obamacare surcharge. We’re beginning to see what’s going to happen thanks to Obamacare. Taxes are going up for thousands of middle class families thanks to Obamacare. Businesses are cutting back on employee hours in order to not be subject to Obamacare. Many small businesses are making sure they don’t have 50 employees and thus aren’t subject to Obamacare. They’re laying off employees and refusing to hire. All of this while stocks are dropping into recession territory, the dollar is falling, unemployment is going up and historically strong companies are losing sales.

We face a major tax increase on January 1st. Odds are that Congress and the President aren’t going to agree on much, if so middle class families will see a major tax increase. Meanwhile high income earners are pulling their money from investments so as not to subject themselves to higher taxes next year. All of this money is going to be taken out of the private sector, furthering a brewing recession. Nothing can be worse for an economy in recession than removing money from the private sector. How does Obama and the Democrats think businesses will hire people if they have no money?

But of course that question assumes Obama and the Democrats care about Americans working. The last four years suggest that they really don’t. Obama won re-election on food stamps and welfare. Voters on food stamps account for nearly 75% of Obama’s votes. So let’s not pretend like Obama particularly cares about jobs. In fact, the fewer people who are employed the better it is for the Democrats. After all jobs, especially good jobs, remove people from the welfare and food stamp rolls and thus those voters are less likely to vote for Democrats. All you’ll see from the left is more food stamps, more welfare, more handouts and fewer jobs. It’s their pathway to re-election.

For the rest of us, we’re looking at a looming disaster. The middle class is facing thousands of dollars in tax increases on January 1st. If we don’t have health insurance, there are thousands of middle class Americans facing the Obamacare tax. Our jobs are threatened as our employers cut back with Obamacare and upper class tax increases looming. We have nowhere to turn. We make to much to go on welfare and we actually want to work, lessening our will to join the ranks of welfare recipient. The country is facing a disaster and we have a President who just doesn’t care. He doesn’t have to, welfare and food stamps got him re-elected. Not even his dismal economic performance could overcome the freebies the government handed out.

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Reasons To Fire Obama

October 19, 2012 2 Comments

According to President Obama when four Americans get killed it’s “not optimal.” This our President said on Comedy Central. Words cannot even begin to express how callous this statement is. Not to be outdone, Joe Biden decided to get on the callous bandwagon. He told a group of Democrats that House Republicans “have their bullets aimed at you.” Because of course Republicans want to kill everyone who disagrees with them. It’s obvious isn’t it? Desperation seems to be setting in for Obama and his campaign. Obviously during a long campaign odd things are going to be said by both candidates. But calling the killing of four Americans “not optimal” is pretty dreadful.

Bill Clinton clearly isn’t happy that President Obama threw Hillary under the bus for the “not optimal” deaths of four Americans in Benghazi. As such, he threw Obama under the bus at a campaign event wherein he basically agreed with the premise of the Romney campaign. Clinton agrees that things aren’t better off under Obama, he so much as acknowledges that Mitt Romney is right. Clinton has pulled this stunt before, saying positive things about Romney before walking them back. My guess is that he doesn’t walk these comments back. Why should he? Obama has already thrown Hillary under the bus and it doesn’t serve the Clinton’s anything politically to save Obama.

At Tuesday’s debate Obama was set up with a softball question about equal pay for women. I tire of these “women’s” issues as though women are only interested in babies and faux equality issues. There isn’t a frilly pink politics just for women. In any event, Obama brags about the largely meaningless Lilly Ledbetter equal pay law. What Obama didn’t tell us and what Romney foolishly didn’t point out is that Obama pays women in his White House 18% less then men. More than one woman coming out of the Obama White House has complained about discrimination. So while Obama is pointlessly demanding equal pay in the private sector, when he has the opportunity to lead the way with equal pay he chooses not to.

Welfare has soared 32% over the last four years. The total cost of welfare is now over $1 trillion annually. For every $7 the Federal government has taken in under Obama the government has spent $11. The problem here is that for the last four years the economy hasn’t gotten any better. If the economy had picked up the Feds would have taken in more in tax revenue and spent less on welfare. It’s not like Obama has added welfare programs, with the exception of Obamacare. Certainly over the last two years he hasn’t been able to pass anything. The problem is the economy, which Obama has failed to turn around. His policies just haven’t worked. As a result, welfare rates have soared, we spent $1 trillion annually on welfare and we spend $11 for every $7 of tax revenue. Obama has failed.

One final thought. We’re going to hear a lot over the last couple weeks how it would be racist to fire the first black President. Let me offer a different perspective. Considering what a failure this President has been, it would be racist not to fire him. A sure sign of equality is when we’re willing to hire someone on their merits and then fire them if they don’t do a good job. Obama was, for all intents and purposes, hired on his merits. He’s failed to turn the economy around, he should be fired. If we don’t fire him because we fear being called racists, that itself is racist. If we would fire any other President for doing a poor job, Obama should be treated no different. We fired Carter, we fired Bush 41. Why should we be afraid to fire Obama?

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Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Obama Phone!

September 28, 2012 4 Comments

Is there anyone out there who hasn’t yet seen the crazy Obama phone lady? She’s an outspoken example of the 47% problem Mitt Romney faces. She clearly doesn’t pay taxes and she’s a net receiver of government handouts. Apparently everyone in Cleveland has an Obama phone. (they must not be interested in Banana Phone’s in Cleveland) Or at least everyone on food stamps, disability or other welfare as Obama phone lady suggested. She isn’t completely off in that statement. Obama phones have been around his entire administration. What the Obama phone lady essentially admits though is that she’s being paid to vote for Obama. After all, if he gets re-elected she gets to keep her phone.

The program Obama phone lady is getting her free phone from is called Lifeline. In 2008 Congress decided to expand the program to include cell phones. Under the Obama administration the cost of Lifeline has more than doubled to $1.6 billion. With the new Obama phones, fraud has predictably increased. An audit on the program showed that nearly 270,000 Obama phone recipients had two or more Obama phones and/or two or more cell carriers. It must be a lot harder to scam the government with land lines.

Of course Obama phone lady is only part of the story. She’s being paid by SEIU to protest a Romney appearance in the Cleveland area. SEIU paid people $11/hour to protest Romney’s appearance. No doubt the sight of 25 paid, Astroturf protesters shouting “Romney go home” made him think twice about his appearance. The protest was a staged event, it wasn’t authentic in the least. No one in the Cleveland area came to protest Romney because they really hate him or really support Obama. The only people who came to protest were paid to do so. The local media didn’t report that of course but the Internet allows citizen reporters to capture the truth anyway.

Romney has a number of problems heading into October. He’s clearly down in this race, at least at the state level. Even though several of the polls show a ridiculous bias, even the unbiased polls like Rasmussen show Obama up in most of the swing states. The Obama phone lady highlights every problem Romney faces. She’s on welfare, she can only find temporary work and the government is taking care of her with an Obama phone. She has no incentive to vote for Romney, she has no reason to dream of a better future. She’s actually sad in a way, completely beaten down by government dependence to the point where the only thing worth fighting for is a free cell phone.

The country can’t go on like this. We cannot hand out free cell phones to people just because they’re poor. We can’t be surprised when 270,000 people are scamming the free cell phone program. Our nation has a $16 trillion debt, we’ve had annual deficits of $1 trillion or more every year since Obama took office. We’ve increased the debt over $5 trillion just four years of Obama. Yet Obama is buying votes with free government cell phones paid with tax money from our grandchildren. It’s absolutely insane and yet half the country appears ready for more free stuff and more debt. Pretty soon we’ll all be eligible for Obama phones. I wonder who will pay for mine.

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Media: GOP Uses Super Secret Racist Code Language

August 31, 2012 2 Comments

The Republican narrative this week is that Obama had failed as President and it’s time for a change. The media narrative is that the Republicans are a bunch of racists using super secret code words. Whether we should be outrage or rejoicing remains to be seen. No doubt the accusation of racism is an outrage. But if the left has gotten to the point where the only way they can defend Obama’s failed record is to call everyone in the GOP a racist, that may be cause for rejoicing. After all, such an argument shows everyone with even a little sense the failure of Obama.

The media claimed everything at the GOP Convention was racist. Rick Santorum’s hand’s speech was racist. The word Chicago is racist. Indeed, no one can suggest we send Obama back to Chicago because obviously only black people live there so that’s racist. We’ll pretend Obama doesn’t live there and we’ll have to forget about all the Democrats wanting to send George W. Bush back to Texas. Did I mention that Rick Santorum’s hand speech? The overplayed metaphor is super secret code language about black people on welfare. Yep, Salon made that argument. Why does the left always assume that people on welfare are black? Don’t they know the majority of welfare recipients are white?

Not to be outdone by Salon, Ron Fournier of National Journal breaks down Republicans super secret code words. Fournier went back to his hometown of Detroit and talked to one of his old pals who lives in Macomb County. He takes his white friend out to breakfast, which itself is a sign of racism because we all know how cliche white people like breakfast. Fournier loves to take his white friend out for breakfast because it gives him the opportunity to break down super secret racist code words which Fournier then writes about during Republican Conventions. That’s right, he’s pulled this stunt before.

Unemployment in the city of Detroit is 30%, which Fournier’s white friend thought was 40%. What a racist! His friend points out some of the major problems with welfare. It breeds laziness and dependance. People cheat the system and as a taxpayer he finds it outrageous. He’s a fireman in the city of Detroit, so not surprisingly he largely comes into contact with black welfare recipients. He never suggests all blacks are lazy, he likely knows better in light of the fact that he works in the city of Detroit. If 40% in his mind are unemployed, that means 60% are hard working and doing the right thing. Why we should punish this guy as a racist when the overwhelming majority of welfare recipients he’s come into contact with are black is beyond anyone’s understanding. I’ve come into contact with welfare cheats of all races, they’re one in the same. They all pull the same stunts, they’re all lazy. The white ones are exactly the same as the black ones.

But of course Fournier extends his friend’s alleged racism to the entire Republican Party. You see, the GOP uses his friend’s super secret breakfast code language. Thus when Romney spoke last night in code, because of Fournier I now know what a racist he is. Do you see the absurdity here? Nearly 45% of the country religiously votes Republican. That means not only is 45% of the country racist but it means we all know the super secret code language. If we all know the code language, why are we speaking in code? If we know the code language and Fournier knows the code language, don’t you think everyone knows the code? Again, why speak in code?

I suppose when Chicago is a racial epithet and having black and Hispanic speakers is a sign of racism then it makes perfect sense that Republicans would speak in super secret code. Sure, why not? Anything goes with the left. They’ll say anything to attack Republicans no matter how absurd. The intellectual bankruptcy of the left has been on full display in their racist attacks on the GOP. They’re losing the argument, they cannot defend Obama’s results so they’re going to attack the opponent as racist. It isn’t going to work. No one hears the super secret code but racists on the left who desperately want to hold onto their power. The sad thing is that the media is the one pushing all of this, showing their bias once and for all.

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Obama Government Whines Too Few On The Dole

August 28, 2012 2 Comments

The Federal government recently declared that “too few” Americans are on the government dole. The government apparently conducted a poll which discovered that only 15% of Americans turn to the government during tough times. Apparently during difficult financial times Americans are more likely to dip into personal savings (44%) or rely on help from family (21%). This is an outrage according to the bureaucrats in the Federal government who believe you people need to be relying on them for your every need. This sort of nonsense coming from the Obama administration provides Romney with the perfect argument against Obama’s policies. Obama wants us dependant on government, Romney needs to make the case that we should continue to depend on ourselves.

Of course the numbers from the government poll are questionable. Nearly 1/3 of Americans receive some sort of check from the government, thus implying we aren’t completely relying on savings and family. Granted, much of that is social security which people continue to believe is some sort of trust account. Still, nearly 50 million Americans are on food stamps. Obama has increased the number of people on social security disability by nearly 4 million, many with questionable permanent disabilities. Government dependence is still astronomically high and it has only gotten worse under Obama.

Nevertheless the government poll does suggest that Americans don’t run straight to the government. They do what’s right first, they look to their own savings then to family. This is how it should be, though I would add people should look to the church as well and the church must be there to help. The biggest mistake the church has made in the last century is ceding their duty to aid the poor to the secular government. Considering though all the people on food stamps and other forms of welfare, even if Americans didn’t run to government first we have a massive problem on our hands.

The welfare system we have right now isn’t sustainable. We cannot continue to have the bottom 50% not pay anything in income or capital gains tax but suck up billions in welfare and food stamps. We need those people working again. Under Barack Obama unemployment has been above 8% for his entire administration. Long term unemployment is at its highest since Jimmy Carter. Middle class salaries are down 5% during the Obama administration. The top 1% pay 60% of all income and capital gains taxes yet Obama wants them to pay even more and is willing to increase taxes on the middle class in order to get it. The system we have right now isn’t sustainable and is headed for collapse if Obama is re-elected.

Romney needs to be making these arguments. He needs to attack the Federal government’s admonishment that Americans don’t look to government for assistance first. He can do it in a positive way, praising Americans for looking to themselves and their families first. The government’s poll in the least suggests that we still believe in individualism. Romney can contrast that with the collectivism of Obama and his administration.

Getting the economy back on track will result in increased middle class salaries and decreased reliance on government welfare programs.Romney needs to make the case that Obama has failed in the last four years to get the economy back on track and he further needs to make the case that his plan will work and bring the economy roaring back. The economic numbers during the Obama administration are damning but Romney has got to make the case that he has an alternative that will work. The choice must be between a failed economy plus government reliance and an economic comeback and self determination. If Romney can successfully make this argument, he’ll win.

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Record Number On Disability; America Has Become Europe

July 4, 2012 2 Comments

We have in the past attacked the welfare state, particularly the number of people on food stamps, WIC and other forms of government assistance. It is our contention that many of these people don’t really need food stamps and are in fact using them to live a middle class lifestyle by freeing up food money for other consumer spending. There are other welfare problems out there, today we’ll look at Social Security disability. There are no doubt some people on disability who are truly disabled and cannot work. They aren’t of interest to us here. What is of interest is the massive increase of people receiving disability payments.

Over 8.7 million Americans have been declared “disabled” by the Social Security Administration. This entitles them to a monthly disability check. In 1992 we had about 35 workers for every 1 disabled worker. Today it’s down to 16 workers per disabled worker. Considering that there are less manufacturing jobs today than in 1992 and we have far fewer dangerous jobs as the years go on, the number of disabled shouldn’t be going up. In fact, the number should be going down. That it isn’t leads one to conclude that the government is allowing people who aren’t truly disabled to receive social security benefits.

Since Obama took office the number of disabled has increased by 1.3 million. Anecdotally I’ve never met a single person receiving disability who was truly disabled. As an attorney I run across people injured all the time. I’ve net dozens of people who are on disability and none of them have the sort of injury that would prevent them from actually working. Perhaps they cannot stand for 8 hours a day but that doesn’t prevent them from working at a job that doesn’t require standing. What disability does for these people is make them state slaves, completely dependent on the government for their existence. Make no mistake, when someone is on disability they’re also on food stamps and any number of other government programs.

By telling people they’re disabled and cannot work, the government is taking away people’s self worth. It would be one thing if we were talking about someone who became a quadriplegic and can truly no longer work. But people with a knee injury or chronic back pain are not disabled. Sure there are some jobs they cannot do, but there’s no reason they cannot find jobs that don’t bother their injuries. What government tells these people is that they don’t need to bother being independent, government will take care of you. In short, you’re worth nothing on your own and you’ll never amount to anything so become our dependent.

Is this the sort of country our Founders desired? A nation where the government views itself as a gigantic taxing charity that makes people dependent on it rather than dependent on themselves? We have moved so far from our founding, this nation barely has ties to it anymore. Even the Constitution’s original meaning has been neutered by amendments and Court interpretations. The hope has always been that the people would cherish their independence and freedom. But with 8.7 million and counting dependent on government with largely fictitious disabilities or disabilities that should not prevent someone from working, you have to wonder if we as a people have simply given up on independence and freedom.

Add in the tens of millions on food stamps and WIC, the millions receiving government cell phones or receiving section 8 housing, millions on Medicaid and we have a nation where a large percentage of society is dependent on government. The self worth of the individual has fallen by the wayside. In the span of 110 years, we’ve gone from a nation that loved the Constitution and individual freedom which rejected the paternal governments of Europe to a nation dependent on government for everything. We have become what our founders rebelled against.

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Why Aren’t Americans Receiving Food Stamps Ashamed?

May 31, 2012 6 Comments

There used to be a time in America when it was shameful to be on welfare or other forms of government assistance. (think food stamps, WIC, etc) These days we have tens of millions on food stamps but of course if you point out the massive increase since Obama took office you’re a racist. The problem in part is that it’s far to easy to get on food stamps. The bigger problem though is that there isn’t any shame in being dependent on a government welfare program. People flaunt being on welfare, even the government encourages people to take advantage of all the tax money available to the “poor.”

That’s right, the government is encouraging people to get on welfare. There have been a number of ads encouraging people to take advantage of food stamps. This includes an obnoxious ad aimed at seniors which glorifies food stamps as something not only acceptable but something that will make one fit and healthy. In short, the government is telling seniors and anyone else listening that it’s perfectly normal, even noble to be on public welfare. There are several other similar ads, aimed at different groups of people. Food stamps aren’t the only Federal welfare program with radio ads. There’s a free cell phone (with 250 free nationwide minutes per month) ad that’s been running locally the last few weeks.

Food stamps cost taxpayers a fortune. We’ve seen about 20 million added to the food stamp rolls since 2007. The problem with all of this is that we know the poor aren’t living poor. In other words, they’re still consuming consumer luxuries like cable television, cell phones (when government doesn’t provide them) and other non-essentials while receiving handouts like food stamps. The state tells us we’re subsidizing their food but in reality we’re subsidizing their creature comforts and other middle class goods. Make no mistake, most of the people on food stamps would buy food before they bought luxury items. So if we took away their food stamps, they wouldn’t starve. They would simply be without the Real Housewives, a text messaging cell phone and a handful of other consumer goods.

What’s most galling though is that Americans seem to have lost the shame that should be associated with being on the public dole. People almost proudly declare that they’re on public assistance. That the government runs ads glorifying welfare, taking away the stigma from it should disturb us all. It’s becoming almost normal to be on the dole, something that isn’t shameful in the least. That should concern everyone.

If you’re on the dole, you shouldn’t be talking about it like it’s something wonderful you’ve done. The government shouldn’t be promoting welfare. We need to return to a time when it was shameful to be on public assistance, when it was something people did silently and in secret. It was also something reserved for people in truly dire situations, whether the charity was being handed out by government or the church. These days we have middle class people, even with jobs and a home, qualifying for welfare. It’s far to easy to get on the dole and once dependent on the state it’s very difficult to get off. After all, the state isn’t subsidizing these people’s food, they’re subsidizing their consumer lifestyle. Shame is a good thing and if you’re on welfare you should feel it. The feeling of shame should be strong enough that you’ll do anything to get off.

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