Our welfare system has gotten way out of hand. There needs to be a halt to generation welfare fraud. However, at the same time, it is critical that we recognize that there are people who truly need the temporary help of welfare. Temporary is the key factor in this.
Many of us have driven through some of the saddest reservations in our western most states. And, maybe we've stopped at the roadside stands and looked at the beautiful things they made, and maybe even bought something. It's really sad to see the hovels they live in out in the desert; especially after having visited the lush cities and towns. These people have to haul water to their homes.
Our forbearers stole the land from the American Natives, corralled them in the most inhospitable parts of the country. They took the land along the most beautiful and hospitable of parts of the country along the rivers and lakesides. They killed buffalo for sport. And, because the American Indians had no more food, and they wanted their land back, our forbearers gave these Native Americans fire water and guns to pacify them. Many people scoff at them and label them incompetent, lazy and dirty. This isn’t the only culture in our United States that is in this shape.
Africans were brought over to this continent for the purpose of slavery; that was just as deplorable. They were taken from their own continent and stripped of any identity and dignity. The black slaves were eventually set free to fend for themselves in a land that was hostile to them. Great waves of discrimination and violence have resulted in this.
It doesn’t stop there. Irish and Chinese immigrants were “employed” as slave laborers. As most of these immigrants stepped off the boat at Ellis Island on the east coast or Angel Island at San Francisco they immediately sought work. Many started working as indentured slaves just to pay for their transport into the United States. Men worked on railroads, in the fields and in mines. Women worked as maids, cooks, launderers and even as prostitutes when they could not find other work.
Many of these descendants of these immigrants that ended up as slave laborers are only slaves to themselves. They seem to want to hang on to all of that as an excuse for bad behavior or just not working. Our present government feeds into that, which, in turn, encourages a culture of people living off of other peoples’ endeavors. I don’t personally owe them that. Do you?
Here's the deal. We contemporaries were brought up in a world of societal discrimination and distrust on both sides of the coin. We are all descendants of immigrants. I didn't personally endorse slave labor or discrimination, and you didn't personally do it, either. I don’t believe that any of us personally believes that any of that was right the right thing to do
Some of us fail to recognize the American citizens that have brought them selves up from deplorable circumstances to make valuable contributions to our communities and societies. They have pulled them selves up and reached out and taken the education that is given, used it to get ahead and thrive. These people have pride in their education, their work and their country. This is what we have always called The American Dream. I think we have lost sight of that. It needs to be re-established.
Circumstances can hold down smart, intelligent people of all race, creed, color and origin. It's a matter of what you do with what you've got. If someone just needs a hand up, or a foothold to get to where they are going, I am happy to help; but if they just want a handout or a free ride so they can continue living off of the blood, sweat and toiling of others, I don’t feel a bit sorry of them. Those are the ones that give the others a bad name, and they are the ones who make the most protest … “Unfair!” “Look what you’ve done to our people.” The truth is they don’t want to do anything for themselves. They will hang on the shirt tails of people who will swim them to shore, but they won’t swim a stroke to do it alone.
These are generation welfare people from all walks of life that have been taught from infancy that someone else owes them a living because of our past history, or our government is keeping them in poverty. These are the people who have the attitude of "If it's good enough for my mamma, grandma, great-granddaddy, etc., then it's good enough for me. They owe it to me.” These people don't work and don't want to. They don't pay taxes, and never have. They don't pay for anything with anything but their welfare checks, and they are actually paid more money with each baby they pump out. They use their welfare checks to buy lottery tickets, lease luxury cars, and buy beer and or drugs. Our tax dollars pay for all of this, and now it is being proposed that the people who have worked hard for their money will be taxed even more to help take care of these people who don't work and don't want to work.
I think that if we have to have spot testing for drugs and alcohol in the work place, then welfare recipients should be tested for drugs and alcohol to receive their welfare checks. I believe that would make a tremendous difference.
Welfare is for people who are sick or physically unable to work, homeless children or for people who just need a bit of help to get to where they need to go in life. These generation welfare people have to stop wallowing in their own self-pity and self-righteousness and quit blaming others for their plight, expecting someone else to give them a free ride. Stand up and put one foot in front of the other, carry your own weight and do something for the good of all.
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