Morality101.net

I am always in favor of helping anyone who needs help.  I am in favor of supporting them until they can get on their feet.  I would prefer this were done privately whereby it would be voluntary giving out of love rather than by force of law.  But even I, a person who opposes big government, have no problem with the NEEDY receiving the help they need, from whatever source until they are able to make it on their own.  And they must be allowed to try to make it on their own.

I have been accused of being cold-hearted, mean-spirited, selfish, self-centered, spiteful, heartless because I call for the government to clean itself up and fly right.  The issue in question last time I was accused related to the welfare programs, the feel good programs.
I find myself hard-pressed to explain a concept that is so natural for me to someone who has never thought along the same lines, but I do it anyway, albeit rather poorly.

Our government has been explanding, probably since time for it began, but has exploded in scope in the last 50 years to the extent it bears little resemblence to my younger days.  Some of that expansion may have been good, but I perceive most of it as bad.

I contend that many people who initially get on welfare do so illegally – I’ve had social workers say they’ve had mothers borrow children from a neighbor to show how many kids she had, I’ve known some who have scammed the system, and I know it is done regularly.  I have no reason to think government actually tries to get anyone off welfare because to do so loses a certain degree of control it will then have over that person.  Welfare is a two headed monster.  It serves both the recipient and the politician.  The victim will, if he votes at all, definitely vote and defend the politician who promised him the moon, especially if he delivers on the promise.  The politician will always promise the moon in order to get the votes.   I’ve heard others tell about when bird food is made available, the birds flock around, and once the bird food is gone, the birds leave too.  As long as it’s there, the birds will stay and eat rather than look for more.
There are people who milk the system, and some believe that is rare.  I don’t. I think  it is horribly abused – and I correctly translate that into abuse of the taxpayer who provides the money to take care of those people.  It isn’t just the “welfare system” – it is all the other “feel good” programs designed to create dependency on government, such as subsidized transit, meals on wheels, senior citizen discounts, Medicare, Medicaid, free clinics, etc.

One example.  I once was director for the senior citizen centers, meals on wheels, and transit for my county.  One woman had been having meals delivered to her home at taxpayer expense for months and one day ran into the center to tell me not to have that day’s meal delivered because she was “going shopping with the girls”.  She ran up the 5 steps to the front door rather than take the ramp.  I stopped her delivered meals that same day as she was obviously not qualified to receive home delivered meals.   She was scamming the system, and everyone who knew it was helping her scam the system.  She is one example of many, many I could list.  If the government could bring itself to actually clean house and straighten out things once in a while I would not be so antagonistic, but that has never been done and will never be done.  Someone somewhere must draw the line – otherwise the scammers and cheaters will destroy the system and people who champiion these government handouts will be sorely upset.

I have to ask myself, as possibly you do, how needy is a person who walks around with ipods and cell phones?  How needy is a person who swills booze all day?  How needy is a person who always seems to have cigarettes?  How needy is a person who drives an expensive car?  How needy is a person who goes to the shop for manicures?  How needy is a person who takes illegal drugs?  How needy is a person who uses the money to have her ears (and other parts) pierced, to have fake nails put on, etc?  How needy is a person who has 3 TVs in their home?  How needy is a person who is so important that they wear a pager?  How needy is a person who wears designer jeans?  How needy is a person who gets free medical care, but ignores the medical advice?

I don’t blame the poor person nearly as much as I blame the government.  Maybe not all citizens, but certainly legislators should understand that tax dollars are finite.  What is so hard to understand about one family going without something so that the their taxes will pay for the exact same thing for some other family?  Do people not understand that when a person works and earns a day’s pay, that pay is HIS, NOT the government’s, and not anyone else’s.  If it is HIS money, how does government have the legal right to FORCE him to give whatever percentage of it the government deems necessary?  This constitutes neither caring nor compassion – this constitutes force to steal from one to give to another, primarily for votes.

Our government is becoming increasingly socialist, to the point that some even ask what is so bad about socialism.  Our government schools aren’t doing such a hot job with education if civics and real history are no longer being taught.  Maybe they are still being taught, but slow students get a passing grade so as to not be made to feel badly.

To those who question conservative’s compassion and caring, I tell them the truth about what I do – hours and hours of volunteering at nursing homes and churches for senior citizens, fund raising for Child Protective Services, financially support 4-H, the high school band, food baskets for Christmas, donations to local charities, churches, and schools.  Perhaps this doesn’t impress the critics, but it isn’t meant to.  Do they assume if there was no government help and I found a family in need that I would cheerfully watch it starve to death?  What goes on in these people’s minds?  Anything?

Am I perfect?  Goodness, NO, I am NOT.  Is the critic perfect?  NO, he is not.

I feel I am compassionate.  Stupid, I am NOT.  Wasteful, I am NOT.  Naive, I am NOT.
I will do anything, go to almost any limit to help someone help himself, but when he expects me to do it all for him, I assume I am being scammed.

Edward Kennedy Serve America Act
H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13
This bill has been signed into law, but still requires funding to the tune of 5.7 billion dollars over 6 years.

An annual luncheon is held in Waco, Texas each year honoring volunteers through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, a nation wide program authorized by the federal government. Approximately 600 volunteers from six counties with a combined population of 339,784 were in attendance May 30, 2009 for the annual recognition luncheon. Most of them have been volunteering service, time,energy, and money for many years.

Congressman Chet Edwards always attends this event, ostensibly to show his support for the senior citizens who do the volunteer work, but I have no doubt that he has no interest in senior citizens volunteerism aside from the political capital he hopes to earn by attending the annual luncheon as well as the votes he can get from these seasoned citizens who believe he is merely grateful for their service.

This bill would “reward” this service by awarding, in the volunteer’s name, a scholarship of $1000.00 per year to a college student per volunteer who donates at least 325 hours of volunteer work within their community.  Please bear in mind that these scholarships will not be paid for by Rep. Edwards nor Sen. Kennedy.  They get the publicity, the taxpayer gets the bill.

No one thinks scholarships are bad things. No one thinks volunteerism is a bad thing. No one thinks rewards are bad things.

On the other hand, this bill, on its face, is a horrible bill, all pork, all to get democrats elected and to assure they stay elected. There is no other rationale for this pitiful attempt at pork gouging.

Part of the explanation of the bill states that:
the goal of expanding 75,000 government-supported volunteers to 250,000, and would increase education funding and establish a summer volunteer program for students, paying $500 (which would be applied to college costs) to high-school and middle-school student who participate. Need I explain how much this might cost us, the taxpayers? It will be a bundle, accomplishing nothing, dumbing us down even farther than we already are, and a disincentive for some of the best volunteers, who see this as I see it — POLITICS and nothing more; politics which work against my best interest and which I will not support in any way.

It is not about volunteerism — there are already numerous volunteers who cheerfully donate time and energy — I DO!  Actually these “rewards” are an insult to the sincere volunteer. I am a volunteer. I do it for the clients and I do it for me. I do not want taxpayer’s dollars for doing this volunteer work, even if the US Treasury were fulll  I certainly don’t want it now that the nation is broke, bankrupt. We all know the only money the government has is what it takes from us, the taxpayers. Tying these scholarships to RSVP is nothing more than a ruse to make it sound good from all sides, dressed up somewhat like a pig with the lipstick on. It strikes me that this is a simple ruse to fool simple people, and that makes me even madder. If the goal is to pass out taxpayer money for kids to go to college to learn collectivist propaganda, let it be known that as a volunteer I refuse to give them the cover for stealing your money by “giving it away in my name”. I assure you I WILL be talking about this with everyone I meet.

It is way past time these crooks in Congress are totally exposed for what they really are — greedy narcissists with the whore’s mentality of always having the hand outstretched … not to shake, but to accept money. They don’t care about the ‘children’, the aged, the infirm, the minority, their own constituency, or you or me. WAY PAST TIME FOR TERM LIMITS. One term only. One term only. One term only.

Our region’s RSVP offices are housed at McLennan Community College and the staff is friendly and helpful.  Unfortunately, I am afraid they are not seeing this for what it is.  This luncheon for volunteers is every bit as much about Chet Edwards and the Democrat Party as it is the volunteers.  This is a political function disguised as a “thank you”, but I don’t really believe the local RSVP staff realizes that.  Surely someone at the college realizes it.  I, for one, resent it.  How tragic that our country has come to this.