Of Beer and Food Stamps

This afternoon I was going through my e-mail and someone had sent me a picture of a woman crying and a caption that read, “I just drank my last beer and I’m all out of food stamps”.  I thought it was funny and posted it on Twitter.

A few minutes later I received a reply from @WinyanStaz who said, “No one can buy beer with food stamps…and that photo is totally just wrong.  People are hurting…badly.  Our fellow citizens.”  He then indicated I have no compassion.

And so I thought about that.  I do have compassion.  I feel bad for people who are truly in a bad way.  I don’t mind helping those that are truly in need.  I do realize that I have had hard times and needed some help, and was grateful for help I was given.

Growing up I had my parents and they took care of me and my needs.  I am grateful for that and I realize not everyone has parents that are able to take care of their needs and be there for them.  We were not rich, not by a long shot.  Both of my parents came from pretty extreme poverty, and once they got to a better place they were very conservative and saved and planned and worked and valued every dollar.  We had all we needed but not a lot of extras.  My folks were depression babies and they understood tough times.

While I obviously did not grow up in the depression I too have known some tough times, relatively speaking.  My wife and I got married young and had our kids early and there were times when money and food were hard to come by.  Our kids always had food and clothing and heat and a roof over their heads but there were not a lot of extras.

As I said earlier I have had help.  I have worked all of the last 30 or so years except for part of 1997, when I was out of work and looking for a job.  It was a horrible feeling, and a tough time for us.  I did get a job and then we had some debt to pay off and those kids needed cars and college, etc.  Even when you are working there never seems to be enough money.

I got help from my family.  Not a lot, but enough to keep us together through a tough spell or two.  I hope I can always be in a position to help my family as well, should they need it.  Dad is gone and Mom is aging and may need to come stay with us.  Our kids are “grown” but like many empty nesters we have a couple who came back temporarily.  No problem, that is what families are for.

The problem is that there are some truly needy people out there who need food stamps, and there are some scammers.  I know there are scammers because I have known some of them.  One was an in-law who seemed perfectly able-bodied but came up with “back problems” and could no longer work.  He rode a motorcycle and did odd jobs (none of which seemed to hurt his back), and he collected disability and food stamps and whatever other assistance he could qualify for.  He always had more cash than I did. 

I have known others that were not disabled but who were on government assistance, so there is no question for me that a number of people are getting assistance that do not need it.  I also have to question how it is possible that people are dropped from the unemployment counts because they “gave up” looking for work.  How can you give up on being employed?  Are these folks living in relatives’ basements?  Do they then qualify for food stamps and other government assistance?

We have all seen the figures that in a number of states you can make more on government assistance than you can working a 40 hour work week.  There are numerous videos on the internet of people saying “why work when you can get more money to stay home?”  I don’t believe everything I see on the internet but I have seen enough with my own eyes to know it happens.

Let’s look at the stereotypical single mother with a couple of kids and no job and no education who can’t find work.  Where is her husband?  As someone who has been married over 30 years I understand how hard marriage is, but you do not abandon your family.  The father needs to be there, taking care of those kids.  Often the kids are born without Mom and Dad being married.  There is a reason people used to wait till marriage to make babies.  There is a reason there used to be shotgun weddings.  Fathers need to take responsibility for their children.

Where are the mother’s parents?  As I said my parents helped me and I hope to be able to help my kids.  Family ties do not end when a child turns 18.  Grandparents have a responsibility to grandchildren and vice versa.  Where are her brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles?

Why can’t she find a job?  It may be because she is not educated, or perhaps because she cannot find anyone to watch her children.  Public education is free in this country, with transportation provided.  And yet 50% of our kids in major cities are not graduating from high school.  Let me repeat that.  Half of our kids in inner cities drop out of high school.  This is inexcusable, and one look at India or China will show you that other nations are educating their children better than we are.

This is a cultural problem.  We need to fix our culture of dependency.  Whereas my parents learned by growing up in the depression that hark work and saving and being frugal and responsible were necessary, we are raising a generation that is learning that hard work and responsibility are for suckers and you can do better by living off government.  We have “families” that are broken and no longer feel responsible because government will take care of it.

Also, I have sad news.  This government is broke.  The US is $17 trillion in debt and that is if you do not add in all of the other unfunded liabilities.  Our deficits are still out of control, and pretty soon government will be unable to take care of it’s own bills, much less provide for the poor.  The people who will be most hurt by this will be the truly needy.

Charity used to be the function of families and churches and neighbors and people that knew you and expected you to do the rights things in exchange for their help.  They were there and you had to look them in the eye and show up at church or family occasions, and even (gasp) marry a girl if you got her pregnant.  This impersonal check from Uncle Sam requires nothing from you, and in fact it is touted as an “entitlement”, as though you have some “right” to charity from others.

I have an obligation to help those less fortunate and in need, and that responsibility begins at home but does not end there.  I want to help those TRULY in need, but not the scammers.  Sadly my money goes to both groups without my having a choice.

I may seem insensitive to post a humorous picture implying that food stamp recipients use government assistance to buy beer.  If you are scamming me, I am insensitive to you.  If you are truly in need I do feel for you, but I would like to look you in the eye from time to time and help you stay on the right track.