Tag Archives: welfare

“Gimme” Something, Anything, and make it NOW!

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The deal that purports to solve the Fiscal Cliff….at least for a few months…..is really no more than yet another “gimme”  package.

Spending cuts?  Ho hum.  What are those?   Real tax reform?  Ho hum.  Who needs it?  A bill actually read, in its entirety, BEFORE signing?  Ho hum.  Who reads those things anyway?

We have become so accustomed to handouts from the Government that no one questions where the money truly comes from…or bothers to read legislation before passing it.   And, certainly, no politician trusts the American people to read what is being proposed.  Oh, no.  We are supposed to trust them to do the right thing!  Unfortunately, neither  Obama nor the Congress are prepared to do the difficult job of creating a fair economic environment for everyone.  A fair economic environment would create more equal opportunities than this mumbo jumbo mix of ridiculous programs funded by our tax dollars.  Let individuals make decisions on where to spend their own money, not politicians in Washington.

Let’s admit it.  I, and my fellow taxpayers, and our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, have become little more than a handy source of money for Obama’s arcane projects and public giveaways.  Remember Solyndra and GM?  It’s sad that few people who are on the take care about where the welfare money comes from.    Surprised?  No matter how Obama talks grandly about “doing” for others (as if his trip to and from Haiwaii helped the economy), the hard fact is that ALL Government  largesse is from OUR tax dollars!  Oh, yes, Virginia, those dollars did NOT come from President Obama nor his cronies in Washington.  And, whether admitted or not, those tax dollars taken from taxpayers will actually result in LESS jobs and a HIGHER DEFICIT.  Extending unemployment benefits means that people become ever more dependent on Government and less likely to accept that they might have to make adjustments in order to survive.  This welfare mentality is pervasive throughout America now.

And, it’s not just individuals begging in Washington.  EVERYONE expects the U.S. Government to bail them out of emergencies.   Even Governor Christie is begging for money to solve his state’s economic problems.  (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/02/lawmakers-outraged-after-house-gop-scraps-vote-on-sandy-aid/).

He is irate, as usual, that Congress didn’t just wave the bill through and begin paying through the nose.  As Bill Crystal mentioned last night, on FOX News, the total amount demanded far exceeds the New Jersey state budget.  And, the Congress was in the midst of dealing with a highly contentious, and unfortunately misguided, bill to avoid the Fiscal Cliff.  But, Christie doesn’t care about that either!  He sees a chance to use public guilt as a source of funding to make HIS budgets balance.

It’s pathetic that Christie and other welfare addicts don’t stop to think of the resulting chaos that their selfishness has caused for our economy.  Welfare benefits and entitlements are destroying us financially, with little possibility of cutting those welfare addicts off.  And, for those of us who have religiously paid into Social Security and Medicare, our benefits are being indexed, based on our current income.  Social security and Medicare were state-mandated pension funds for us and yet, due to the welfare society syndrome, they are now considered entitlements…………if you are too “rich”.

The sad fact is that “takers” seldom care where the money comes from.  They are all too ready to follow anyone who promises them more free money and, that is what Obama does best.  He continuously harps that everyone should pay their fair share.  Well, those of us in upper income brackets have ALWAYS PAID OUR FAIR SHARE.  In fact, we pay the majority of the taxes.  Not only are our tax rates higher, but there are very few deductions allowed to us.  Our Social Security and Medicare premiums are raised and the payouts reduced.  We cannot deduct insurance premiums, and on and on.  AND, if we happen to have a deduction that would help lower our tax rate, why then, the Alternative Minimum Tax cuts it down to size.

The “gimme” society is determined to make everyone the same, even if everyone is NOT the same.  Remember, America’s promise was the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, NOT the guarantee of Happiness.  That means that everyone should have equal opportunity, not equal pay, equal living standards,  and, definitely not “equality” based on taxing the stuffing out of others.

It’s definitely time for individuals in the  “gimme” society to start earning their own way.  And, it’s past time for Congress and Obama to stop politicizing issues and begin acting like responsible statesmen!

The “gimme” society is failing us, themselves, and our heirs.

 

A New Generation?

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My father and mother started life together so poor that their only asset was a one room cabin which my father had built on land his father gave him.  Yet, through many years of scrimping and saving, and desperately hard work, they became quite wealthy.  Not in the same category as Hollywood stars nor as Bill Gates, but quite comfortable financially.

But, others of their generation, the supposedly Greatest Generation because they won world wars,  decided that someone, somewhere, owed them a great deal.  Social Security was meant to be a supplemental aid to poorer people.  Now, people consider it their “due”.  Pretty soon, that generation formed groups such as the Silver Foxes, or AARP, to lobby for even more.   Seniors routinely expect a cost of living increase to their social security.  They want guarantees for their pension plans.  Almost every store accommodates them with a senior discount.  And, they demanded, and got, Medicare to cover their health expenses.

Is it any wonder that the 20/30/40s generations are demanding the same benefits from “Big Daddy”, a.k.a. Big Government, or us taxpayers?  “They” want to pay less taxes — who doesn’t? — but more payback.  They are demanding:  maternity leave for both parents;  fewer work hours;  higher unemployment;  job security, yada yada.  And, they are demanding that their families be covered by governmentally run health care, too.

The problem is that more and more people are getting money from the government in one form or another and fewer and fewer are being taxed to pay for these payouts.  Where does it end?  Do we really want America to become the land of moochers and not workers?

If this trend of governmental give-aways continues, will anyone work hard for a family business when they know that it will have to be sold to pay estate taxes when the parents pass on?  Will anyone start a new business when they know that the odds are against them because of governmental regulations and taxes?  How do you explain the benefits of hard work to this age group when they see the greed that drove an older generation to morph into a generation with their hand constantly out for more and more “free” benefits?  Somewhere, somehow, we have to stop penalizing those who have succeeded!

Everyone likes to think that they are unique and, in some ways, we are.  But, are our children a new generation?  I think not.  They have learned the lesson of greed and how to use politicians to get more and more of the “good life” at somebody else’s expense.   How sad that a new generation is just more of the same old, same old!