SWGA Politics

Look to yourself, not the state

Once upon a time, people looked to themselves. They stepped up and did for themselves and their communities, and looked no farther than their neighbor when they needed more. They never expected a handout either, but expected their neighbor to come to them for help when it was needed. The idea of a government program to do anything was ludicrous to these folks.

Despite all the hardships of that era, those were the days.

Today, we find that the morality of America is long sense gone. It isn’t something that can ever be mandated by government order, and frankly I don’t know that it can ever come back. But it is gone. The idea of families, of responsibility, are long since a thing of the past.

I remember a conversation with my mother just yesterday. My Mom, who I love in spite of her liberal leanings, called to tell me an interesting fact. We were discussing how so many children born in Albany are born to what appears to be unwed mothers, and what that means for the future. She called to tell me that of the twenty-something babies born in Albany, only a small few where from obviously married parents. There were 22 who weren’t. Now, the practice of a woman keeping her maiden is more common now than it used to be, but it isn’t that common.

For years, women on public assistance have been paid more for having more children. It seems humane after all, more kids means more need. No one likes the idea of kids going hungry, so we haven’t opposed this practice. However, the government stepped in a long time ago and took the place of neighbors who had always helped the less fortunate in their community, and this is the result. Give people a program, and they’ll game it until they bleed it dry.

When assistance came from the community, people knew that the charity would eventually run out, so they didn’t push it. They busted their butts to get back on their feet, if for no other reason than to not end up starving down the road. Those days are long gone unfortunately.

Some time back, I heard someone decry a program that they took part in themselves. Their argument was that the money was going to be spent anyways, so why not get their share? Maybe it’s just me, but I see a flaw in this thinking. The law of supply and demand is a two way street. If there is no demand, then the supply will eventually go away. This is one market force that even Uncle Sam can’t do anything with.

Now, I’m not silly enough to think that this will ever happen. One constant in this nation is government programs. Once they start, they never seem to go away, they just morph into a bigger and bigger program. Our tax dollars continue to be siphoned off for various types of welfare, both individual and corporate, and we’re told it’s for our own good. We’re told that we need it.

No, we don’t. We just needed to look to ourselves, not the state.