Tax day observations
One of my daughters (I have four…) works for a large convenience store chain. May not sound like much, but it’s really a pretty good company, they take care of good employees, and I’m proud of her. In any case, this really isn’t about my daughter, but about some observations she’s been making, on the subject of those poor souls who are dependent on government assistance to get by.
Pardon my ignorance on the subject; I’m afraid I don’t know much about the rules under which you can get government assistance. All I really know on the subject is that when my wife, prior to our marriage, needed some temporary assistance while she was (a) undergoing a divorce, and (b) giving birth to one of those four daughters, she was denied. They told her that she’d have to quit, or be fired, before they could give her any help. It was difficult, but she managed, with the help of her family.
Apparently, you can’t purchase ‘restaurant’ foods with food stamps, and that seems to include microwave burritos and such from stores like the one my daughter works at. Easy work around, these poor folks just buy the burritos (with food stamps), and _then_ microwave them. No problem. Also, you can’t purchase alcohol or cigarettes with food stamps. These poor folks seem to have enough cash for that type of purchase, using the food stamps for soda and snacks, while buying the booze and smokes with cash. I personally have been approached by food-stamp recipients, offering to buy me fifty bucks worth of food at the grocery store for twenty in cash. My daughter tells me it’s a regular event, for someone to come in and purchase fifty bucks worth of snacks and soda on food stamps, while buying a case of beer, a bottle of liquor, and a carton of cigarettes with cash… sometimes adding a few lottery tickets to the mix. Sounds like a party to me!
Folks, I’m not rich… nowhere close. I have worked hard to get where I am in life, and I’m firmly entrenched in that ‘middle class’ that President Obama says is disappearing in our nation. I could, if I really wanted to, spend that kind of money on booze and snacks without blowing the budget… perhaps a couple of times a year. I wouldn’t buy my party supplies at a convenience store, of course… have you seen the prices at those places? Still, according to my daughter, the same people come in and make this kind of purchase every week!
Let me share another personal story about government assistance. My oldest daughter, who might well be upset with me for sharing this, is on government assistance. She decided, upon turning 18 that she was going to try and do everything that I’d ever told her not to do. She’s 25 now, not working, not married, with two young children, and living with the father of one of them. I understand, from my wife (my daughter won’t talk to me about this sort of thing), that the only reason they’re not married is that they would lose much of their government assistance if they got married. Now, keep in mind, this is a young, single income family… I’m sure it’s a struggle to make ends meet, just as it was for me when I was that age. They’re getting $700 per month in food stamps, plus WIC stuff for the two kids. That’s the stuff I know about, I’m sure there is more that I am unaware of. Heck, from what my wife says, she and her live-in eat better than I do. When tax season started this year, she was all excited that they were going to be able to buy a car (and an X-box) with the money they’re getting back on taxes. Now, as you might guess, they’re not paying any taxes to speak of… but they’re going to get thousands of dollars back? Back from where? From my back pocket, and yours, if you want to know the truth.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my daughters… all four of them, and those two grandkids I mentioned, with all of my heart. Still, their situation serves to point out to me just how far gone the current system really is.
Welfare is a trap. I have no doubt that my daughter would love to get off of government assistance, but she simply can’t. If she gets a job, and the only job she’d be qualified for would be minimum wage, or something close to it, she loses $700 a month, tax free, in food stamps, plus WIC for the two kids, plus whatever other assistance they are getting, and add on child care expenses to top it all off. There is no way she can make enough to offset that loss, at least not right away. She is well and truly trapped in the system. A system that we’re supposed to believe is a helping hand to the poor is actually a set of chains, binding people into permanent reliance on government aid.
Welfare needs a major overhaul. At the minimum, folks who need a little temporary assistance should be able to receive it, and people entirely dependent on the system should be encouraged to work their way out of dependence, rather than being trapped by it. My views may be a bit draconian for many, but that doesn’t change the fact that the current system is broken. Even if you disagree with everything I say from this point forward, the fact remains, something needs to change.
Here’s my vision for a perfect welfare system… none at all. Let the billions of dollars that we’re paying in taxes for this broken, fraud riddled system stay in the hands of those of us paying the bill. Heck, if I got to keep a bit more of what I’m making, perhaps I could have helped my daughter out myself! America is the most generous country in the world… we’ve proved that over and over. Let those billions stay in the hands of the people, and private charities could assist those who need it, through increased donations. Let church groups, private charities, and individuals decide who is deserving of assistance, rather than some cold, bureaucratic system. And those who are in the system simply because it’s the easy way out? Stop the payments. Now. They’ll either go get a job, or they’ll end up in jail, which is the only place where our taxes should pay to clothe, feed, and house our citizens.
To head off the first round of outrage, yeah, I know, our jails are already full. That can be fixed as well… decriminalize drug use, and those jails will empty right out. Take away the foundation on which gangs are built, that of drug sales, and the gang related crime that is filling our prisons will drastically fall. At the same time, you would be creating a multi-billion dollar legitimate industry, with all of the associated job creation and tax benefits, overnight. Don’t believe me? Look at what happened in 1933, with the end of prohibition. Virtually overnight, the immense criminal apparatus surrounding the illegal distribution of alcohol simply collapsed, and violence in our city streets fell dramatically.