You'll have to forgive me, it seems as though the crotchety old man who lives inside me has a lot to say. For the sake of simplicity, we will call that my "Kenny" side...(For those of you who get that reference, good work.)
Anywho Kenny is pissed. Kenny is wishing we could go back to a time where people had respect for each other. A time where your word meant something. A time when people had pride and ambition and accountability. But unfortunately, accountability is hiding in the same black hole that common sense is hanging out in.
What has triggered Kenny's rage? Well, nothing in particular, Kenny is just an old asshole who likes to bitch about things and today, he's going to bitch about government hand outs, which in a round about way leads back to accountability. We, as a society don't hold people accountable like we should, with the exception of criminals and even then, the ground is shaky there. We make excuses and put asterisks next to their names. We say, "His mommy didn't love him enough, his mommy loved him too much, he has a mental defect, he started hanging out with the wrong crowd." Bullshit, Kenny says. Why can we not just say, "He made a bad decision, he needs to own up to it and live with the consequences."
Not following me yet? Think of the 16-year-old pothead named Janelle who gets pregnant. Do we hold her accountable for a poor choice? Nope, we put her on MTV, throw cash at her and call her miserable life entertainment.
Here's one more for you and this example, we (as in Kenny and I) think this will help you understand where we are going here...Miss Thing drops out of high school at 15 because she, like Janelle, is with child. Instead of making the best of her situation and attempting to get a GED and a job, she shits out four more kids with three different baby daddies and signs up for every government hand out she can get, because we didn't hold her accountable for her first bad choice. We said, "There, there, here's some food stamps and some rent assistance." Meanwhile, she sits on her front porch all day in her pajama pants smoking Pall Malls waiting for her government check. And we ALLOW IT!!! If we try to change it or speak out against that behavior we are called heartless cretins with no compassion. I have plenty of compassion. I also have a job and a diploma. Two things Miss Thing has never bothered to get, because we don't make her and that is the root of why the system is broken. (Yeah, I know, broad generalizations, not everyone is like that, there are people who truly need help, blah, blah, blah...I know, but I am getting damned tired of busting my ass and working more than one job so I can pay for other people's Grape soda and cheese curls.)
Here is how Kenny would fix this problem. Assistance would be given to the elderly, the ill and families with kids aged five and under capped out at three kids. (If you can't feed 'em don't breed 'em.) Gone are the days where your check shows up in the mail or your card is automatically reloaded. If you want your assistance, you show up and meet with your counselor on a monthly basis. While at that meeting, you will be required to take a class. Parenting, nutrition, financial management, typing, anything that can teach you a little more about how to take care of yourself. You will undergo an annual physical. You will be subject to random drug testing. You will get a high school diploma or a GED if you do not already have one, within three months of signing up, or your benefits are suspended until you get it done. If you are under the age of 60, we won't give you rental assistance or government housing, but we will pay for your childcare and you can find a job. Any job. You will show us you have work ethic. It doesn't matter if its flipping a burger, mopping a floor or driving a cab. No job is beneath you if you want MY tax dollars. You now have a diploma and no children at home to take care of since we are paying for your daycare, so you can go ahead and find a job. You can have some skin in the game. You can have some accountability.
You will be subject to surprise in home visits. Your school aged children will be required to attend school regularly and if little Junior starts skipping class in 7th grade, we will put him in a special school and your ass will get charged with child neglect or allowing truancy. Behavior is learned. If alcohol or cigarettes are found in your possession, we will cut your benefits. If you have $10 to buy your Pall Malls and your Old Mill, you have $10 to buy milk, bread and peanut butter to feed your family so I don't have to. You want your smokes instead? Fine, don't take the handout.
Sounds harsh doesn't it? But here's the thing...if you are never held accountable, if you never invest anything in your future or contribute to society, you will forever be standing there with your hand out.
I can hear people screaming about how much more a system like this would cost because you would have to employ so many more people...(um, isn't unemployment still pretty high?) I would gladly pay more taxes for a program like this because maybe, just maybe, people would see assistance for what it is, a TEMPORARY help, not a lifestyle. I can also hear people screaming at me begging me to have a heart. I get tired of that argument. I have lived paycheck to paycheck. I have maxed out credit cards buying diapers and milk. I have taken a job washing dishes. I have even taken government assistance. Go ahead, call me a hypocrite. I was on Title 19 when pregnant with Drew. As soon as he was born, I GOT OFF OF IT! Temporary assistance, it lasted less than 7 months.
As many of you know, Drew is going to Haiti this summer. The group he is going with is teaching Haitians to be self sufficient. Seventy percent of Haitians live on $2 or less a day, 80% of them are unemployed, yet these people line up to learn how to take care of themselves. They want to learn to feed themselves and grow their own crops and maybe learn a trade. If we can teach people who don't speak a lick of English and reside in the poorest country in the western hemisphere to provide for themselves instead of relying on others, why can't we accomplish it in our own backyard?
(Disclaimer: As previously mentioned, Kenny is an asshole, so don't go blaming me entirely for this rant. I do realize that the good and decent thing to do is take care of one another and love one another and help one another and give. But it just seems like the givers are always giving and the takers continue to take...)
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