Can Someone Please Hand Me The Scissors?
There are times when you have to wonder what has happened to good old-fashioned common sense. Or a good old-fashioned sense of civic duty. Or a good old-fashioned work ethic. I am really tired of lazy people sapping the goodness out of programs that were meant to be helpful to those in dire need, not those who were trying desperately to dodge lifting a finger. Here are a couple of examples, taken from real life.
One time, when our children were all young, and my husband was working very long hours at two jobs to make ends meet, I was in the store picking up a few groceries. There was a woman in front of me checking out. I could tell by her groceries she must have had children. I smiled at first, but then realized what I was looking at. Sugary cereal, boxed dinners, soda, cookies, and some fruit, peanut butter, cheese, and milk. I watched in amazement when she paid the cashier. She reached past a wad of greenbacks and paid her food bill with food stamps. Then she bought cigarettes and beer with cash. What I should have done was say, “Excuse me, but please don’t purchase those things with my tax money.” That is the game that is played. People can get WIC, get groceries, then the cash goes to cigarettes, booze, and who knows what else. There is no accountability for the cash that they save and spend elsewhere. Why do we let this continue? Here’s a novel idea. How about you spend the cash on healthy food for your kid and never mind your addictions? How about you don’t squander the tax payer’s money on crap that will ruin your health, which means you’ll have to go to the doctor’s more? That bill is also paid for by the taxpayers.
Another instance was just last week where my husband works. A man shuffled into Sheetz and mumbled something about being down on his luck, and would my husband (who was working at the register that day) buy him a pack of cigarettes. At first, my husband thought the man was asking the store to just give it to him. He said he was homeless, had nowhere to go, blah, blah, blah.
“We can’t do that, it’s against store policy,” my husband tried to explain.
“No, no… I mean would you buy it? I left my wallet at the motel.”
Um, didn’t he just say he was homeless? Yeah… my husband was born in the morning, but it wasn’t yesterday morning.
It didn’t take long for the man to figure out he was smoker coughing up the wrong tree. But the situation smacked of a major problem in welfare and Medicare. People are working the system. No one wants to work for what they want. They want it now. So, again, here’s a novel idea: GET A JOB and stop mooching off people who are working two jobs to support families and trying to make ends meet without being a burden on society. Oh yes, that’s right. A. Burden. On. Society.
Don’t get all high and holy about this. I do believe in helping the poor, but I think it should be a voluntary act, and not with money stolen by our greedy Uncle Sam and handed over to parasites who don’t want to work. Unfortunately, this isn’t a new problem either. We are looking at 3rd generation moochers now. Isn’t it time to stop it? The safety net has been turned into a hammock. And right now the strings are straining from the weight of everyone who wants something for nothing, unwilling to work, but more than happy to take from those who are holding down one, two, and sometimes even more, jobs.
We really need to get out some sharp scissors and cut the rope of the hammock. Maybe everyone needs to tumble out for things to be reestablished properly.
Recently one of my children accidentally stepped into this issue. I have college students home this summer, and they have been home for over 5 weeks. They put off getting a job until they got their licenses. They had an out of state opportunity, which ended up falling through. Both these dear children of mine have jobs at a local McDonald’s, which is what really gets me. But they won’t call to ask for hours. I finally encouraged them to start filling out applications online for other jobs if they didn’t like McDonald’s. One offspring did, and the other didn’t.
My husband talked with said offspring. I asked him why that child didn’t want to fill out applications. Why? Oh, that child didn’t want to work at Sheetz, or Dollar General, or the local grocery store, or the pizza place…you get the idea. Just then that child was walking through the room.
“Hey, Snobface, come here a second,” I called. Yes, I actually called my darling child that. The culprit stood in front of me. “Here’s the deal, you will get a job, and that is that. You are saving for college, and you will soon have insurance to pay on a car. And since you are a 19-year-old, with NO experience, yeah, you will have to accept an entry level job. Get over yourself; get employed.”
Now, this may seem a little harsh, but let me assure you that I am short, and the child is very tall. It makes for a comical scene. I really don’t think it’s fair that I have to throw a lecture so high upward to be received, but that is too bad, so sad for me.
This is a perfect example of the mentality these days. Get over yourself. Get a job… whatever it takes. My husband works two jobs. He is a pastor, and he works a low-paying position at Sheetz. I have offered to go to work to help with expenses, but right now it is better for me to stay home with the kids.
The bottom line is that if you can afford to support a gross, unhealthy and very expensive habit like smoking, you can afford your own food. Get off WIC. Provide for yourself and your family. It will build confidence. Get over your laziness, get over yourself, and resign yourself to the fact you may have to take an entry-level job. A low-paying job. Social Security is already an endangered species, what makes you think your hammock will hold? If it doesn’t rip open, Uncle Sam will use scissors. In fact, I believe I hear him sharpening them now.
