For The Children For The Poor
Monday, April 19th, 2010Author Tony DeMaio
As those of you who have been following my odyssey these past few months know, I have been listening to Air America. I have found a wealth of material there. It is somewhat sad to see Air America decline so badly, as I just don’t know what I’m going to do for material when it goes under. (There are just so many poor children from whom they can steal to obtain financing—even fewer now that the word is out. Apparently, Air America is running last in most major markets; it’s moved up to second to last in Chicago. They are now seeking donations from their listeners.)
Today, I heard a classic. The host was stating quite vehemently that we “had” to provide health care (insurance) “for the children” because if we did not, then they either ended up in the emergency room at a higher cost or the problems became pronounced later in life and would cost us even more. (The host was stating the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT should “do something” about childhood obesity.)
I don’t know what YOU call this line of reasoning, but where I come from we call it “extortion”. Basically, we are told, “Pay up NOW or we’ll make you pay MORE later.” It’s like giving a kid a pocketknife as a gift. He takes the knife, opens it, threatens you with it and demands a gun. I tell you, folks, you would be a fool to give him the gun. He will use the gun to demand a howitzer. Instead, take the knife away. In like manner, the “poor” use the fact that we have given them free emergency room treatment and free medical care as a WEAPON against us to demand MORE benefits. I advise, “Don’t give them free health insurance; instead take away the free emergency room care and free medical care.”
After the neighbors came over to determine the commotion and got me calmed down enough so they could go back to sleep, I thought about the situation. I queried myself, “Just what ARE we doing for the poor and the poor children?” I thought about it louder and louder until some shoes came over the fence and I managed to calm down again. Here is what I determined.
First of all, there is the education system. This is a place where the poor send their children for free babysitting so they can go about their lives without interruption. (If the children are not of school age, we fund childcare centers or Head Start.) We provide free public education, and free transportation for the children to get to the school. We provide free books and free supplies. We provide a free breakfast and a free lunch. In some parts of the country, we are experimenting with free dinners. In some parts of the country, we are experimenting with providing three free meals during the summer months. Some places throw in a mid morning snack.
As part of the free public school system, we provide after school programs, including sports programs. We provide driver training. Some companies/schools provide free tutoring. We provide free school libraries. We fund billions of dollars of “research projects” to assist poverty children. Schools have a job placement program for students—tax funded. We continue to fund “Head Start” programs, though it is well known the only worth is as a “baby sitting” service. We give extra money to a school for each student that qualifies for a free lunch.
At the college level, we also provide for the poor. There are Pell and other grants (both government and private), scholarships (government and private) and fellowships, loans, and college “jobs” from the college placement service. ROTC will provide financial help—along with the G.I. Bill. There are educational enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses in the various (military) services. Many companies have established work/study programs, and/or assist with tuition. Many college students qualify for food stamps. Most colleges have tutoring programs for “the poor”.
Outside of education, we also provide some services for “The poor” through our welfare system. The obvious ones are that those on welfare that get cash, rent subsidies, transportation subsidies, free medical care (which they abuse by using the hospital as a free baby sitter), Section 8 housing, food stamps, energy assistance, earned income tax credit, job counseling and training, education subsidies, telephone service subsidies, and grants. We pay for their childcare while they attend school. We even give them free ambulance rides—which they abuse by using the ambulances as taxies.
For those not on welfare, we provide “free” medical care either through emergency rooms treatment or through various programs. No one can legally be turned away from an emergency room because of the inability to pay. There are free clinics where treatment can be obtained for everything from flu to sexually transmitted diseases to vaccinations. There is Medicare. California is considering a “free” $500 bond for every child at birth and subsidized broadband web access.
One of the benefits we provide that the poor can access is “Planned Parenthood”, where folks can get federally subsidized abortions or education. Also, they can get education and some free services from the WIC program. There are the various “Toys for Tots” programs that supply toys for poor children, and various food distribution programs. Libraries (with internet access) and parks are available for recreation. For “the children”, there are various sports leagues (Babe Ruth, Little League, Soccer leagues), Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls, Cub Scouts, Boys and Girls clubs (those that Air America allowed to keep some money) free summer camps, recreation districts/departments, and “midnight basketball”. This is, in addition, the religious and service organizations that have youth programs and youth services (e.g. Shriner’s medical, Ronald McDonald home, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital). We mandated safety belts (the poor couldn’t afford them) be put in vehicles.
To “take care of” our children, we have enacted various laws, ranging from fluoridating the water to prevent tooth decay to bicycle helmets to child car seats to specifying where children must sit. We have enacted various child abuse laws and established foster care programs—paid for by tax money.
Economically, we have assisted the poor in many ways. We have established homeless shelters. We have passed laws forcing employers to pay unemployment insurance and disability insurance. We have established minimum wage laws. We have established unemployment offices where the poor can have someone else find them a job; and affirmative action, where the poor can have someone else’s job—particularly if they are not qualified. We mandated (employer paid) drug rehabilitation programs and have some of the most lenient bankruptcy laws in the world. We have established the Jobs Corps and job training centers—and student loans to pay the tuition at trade schools (Dave’s Trucking School) and small business loans (which are seldom repaid). There is legal aid that the poor can use to sue folks that are not poor.
[One of the more lucrative assists to the poor has been a combination of enterprise zones, small business loans, and student loans. It works like this: An “enterprising” person takes in a minority woman as a “partner”. The minority woman applies for a small business loan to open (for example) a “trucking school”. The school is to be located in an enterprise zone. They open the school and offer “student aid”—which is merely student loans—to the slum kids. A year later, the kids have dropped out (after paying the total tuition), and the “company” files bankruptcy—most of the funds being deposited safely offshore. The “brains” of the scam then obtains a new minority woman to obtain a new small business loan to open a “computer school”, and the cycle starts anew.]
We have established Social Security to provide for income in old age and in case of death or disability. For those poor that do not qualify for Social Security, we established SSI.
If the poor wish to purchase a house, we assist them through FANNY MAE, FREDDIE MAC, or FHA. If that is insufficient, we established charities that will GIVE THEM the down payment. If that is STILL insufficient, we “bend” the requirements for the loan. If even THAT is insufficient, we have built low cost housing—and even subsidize THAT. (In Oregon, we have built a unit of housing for illegal aliens that we rent ONLY to illegal aliens FOR $50.00 A MONTH!)
What is our “gratitude” for trillions of dollars of largess? You guessed it:
GIMME MORE! You greedy b*stards take all the money for yourselves. You made in on the backs of the poor, the black, and the disenfranchised. GIVE IT BACK, you lousy CHEAP Sons of B*tches. GIMME MORE!!
Of the folks deemed “poverty stricken” in this country, 31% owned their own homes and 48% owned a car. Their average net worth was $30,000. Non-cash benefits such as rent subsidies, free medical care, and food stamps are not counted in determining “poverty”. Only in America could such people be termed “poverty stricken”. For some reason, I’m not too sympathetic to their “demands”.
Related posts:
CheriVNB says:
April 19th, 2010
11:33 am
Right on! Why do they get to live for FREE! They drive, walk on the sidewalk, go to the library, interact with law enforcement, and have the oppurtunity for a k-12 education! Eveyone needs to contribute to their life. “FREE stuff has no value to the receipient!” That is why the constant cry for MORE!!!! Also imagine how far the “Rich” peoples contributions (taxes or otherwise) would go if more people carried their own weight? You want Utopia…Now we are talking!~C
***This statement exempts the physically disabled, mentally disable and those who could under NO circumstance care for themselves.***
CheriVNB says:
April 19th, 2010
11:54 am
Sorry for the double post, but I got to thinking about how the emotional buttons of this and many other societies are being pushed so hard, rendering the “public” unable to think rationally, and therefore act rationally; leaving the populace no more than reactive minion sucked into the various political ploys of our times.
Again on MSM (Main stream Media) parallels between “Tea Partiers” and violence were drawn. Madowe actually did a report comparing Tim McVeigh and the offending Michigan militia with the growing “anger” in the US over political issues on the Today show.
I prefer OVERT hostility to COVERT hostility because at least you can see it coming. A good example of covert hostility is in LTB’s essay “Vindictive Uses Of Government”. As long as we react to squeaky wheels, we will get more squeaky wheels. ~C
Steven Foste says:
April 19th, 2010
4:19 pm
After I paid my Federal and state income taxes this year, about 14000 worth, I started trying to figure out how I could live at the poverty level so I wouldn’t have to pay. But I just can’t get past the medicare and medicaid tax unless I don’t have a job at all. This assumes I am and employee. If I could get my home paid for, quit smoking, I could live on 12,000 per year, comfortably, really I could.
If I had the guts then I would not take the mandatory health insurance and just pay the fine. Even with a 13000 adjusted gross income. If my house is close enough to the grocery store and shopping I could then use a golf cart, and would’nt have to pay for much gas or taxes on fuel, I could get rid of the cell phone and get a land line which has minimal tax. I’ll put in a wood stove and pay the added tax for firewood, but get off the natural gas thing, I would like to have electriciy, I can get the box and give up cable TV, but I don’t think I can give up my comuputor and internet service. I can drive my old paid for car and reduce insurance to liability only.
I could probably pick up some minor labor jobs, wash windows, mow lawns be a gardener, stack firewood, dig some diteches, do some clean up work or minor repair work, and have them pay me in cash, you get the point.
Yep, if I can get the house paid for in the right place, collect my social security, which I paid for, I could get away from all the above and just not particpate anymore, or the least I can.
Can I get and uearned credit and have them send me a check?
Steve
Steven Foste says:
April 19th, 2010
4:26 pm
Actually on second thought I could still afford the cable TV
Desertrat says:
April 19th, 2010
4:27 pm
I spent a year in Manila in 1949/1950, and sixteen months in South Korea in 1954/1955. I live on the border with Mexico. I probably have a different picture of poverty than a lot of folks…
Hostility? The history of political violence in the US, these last forty years, has 98% come from the Left. Now the bombers are in positions of influence in our power structure. And it wasn’t right-wingers bombing medical research labs where animals were used. Or throwing blood/paint on some elderly lady’s fur coat or burning SUVs.
Regardless, all this profligacy in the name of compassion for the poor has bankrupted the nation. It remains to be seen who will survive.
Steven Foste says:
April 19th, 2010
4:32 pm
Desertrat, Thank you for your service and your commitment to liberty.
Steven Foste says:
April 19th, 2010
4:40 pm
Tony,
What do you think would happen to all the above if the top 3 percent of the taxpayere decided one day to just cash in and retire. With no income, all their money moved offshore, and just live the lazy non productive life?
Kurt says:
April 19th, 2010
6:25 pm
Now there is a statistic I was unaware of. I should have suspected it, but never thought about it. The average American poor person has a net worth of $30,000, and 31% of them owns their own home? I think I need to sign up for poverty as my net worth is in the negative because of income taxes, and I don’t own anything but my van.
I’m working long hard hours to pay federal income taxes so that they can live off my money, better than I do, without working, and have a higher net worth than I do?????
Desertrat says:
April 20th, 2010
7:39 am
“What do you think would happen to all the above if the top 3 percent of the taxpayere decided one day to just cash in and retire.”
It’s all about one’s commitments to one’s beliefs. By 1979, LBJ’s Great Society spending was in full song, and we had the wild-eyed doings of the Carter era. I looked around and basically said, “To hell with this!” I could have taken an engineering job in Houston for a serious salary. Nope. “I quit!”
I dropped out and figured ways to live quite nicely without doing anything illegal. I refused to generate taxable wealth. I meddled along with penny-ante entrepreneurial bootstrapping and Schedule C. All I know is that it worked for me. I’m living well, and it is truly soul-satisfying to send in that 1040 with the gray mailing label on the envelope.
I didn’t make the rules, but I darned sure learned them…
lynne says:
April 20th, 2010
7:47 pm
Hell, I’m poor by government standards. I’m on SSD $1140.00 I also make 30% VA disability. I make exactly $10.00 per month over the qualification for foodstamps, power assistance, hell any assistance what so ever. If you are paid Min. wage you will qualify for all the assistance I don’t get. I spent 14 years in the military I paid in not only money but blood and bone but I paid in every year and them some. So I figure it’s due me. Well they rob us all. They came as a thief in the night and rob us. So now what? Do we whine and cry about it or do we get busy?
Well I can’t depend on the US GOV so I will depend on myself. I’m not saying I will succeed but it’s my life and I don’t think anyone will care as much about it as I do.
lynne says:
April 20th, 2010
8:26 pm
Sorry, I do pay lots of taxes as you all do as well. The Government is to big. They have nothing to do with my “Salt” content in my foods. They are not protecting me all they want is “Power” I choose not to give it to them without a fight.
Linda Brady Traynham says:
April 22nd, 2010
6:01 pm
Wow. Tony, you never cease to awe and amaze. Sharpshooters (We can’t call you “Ringers!”), did any site ever have such a marvelous group of panelists? You all deserve an individual answer, but I’ve just gotten the alligators down from hip height to knee high and I’m over a thousand e-mails behind. No, not spam. The best I can see to do is what we have consensus on: drop out, refuse to feed the tax beast unless we absolutely have to have an object, and keep on prepping. What is endearing is how many of you I would love to have here, comes TEOTWAWKI, and real frustration is that none of you live near to me. We’re working towards a solution, all of us, and if anything saves America it will be the Internet.
lynne says:
April 24th, 2010
1:15 am
Darnit it would be simple if not easy to fix. Go back to “Original Intent” on the Constitution and use Paul Ryan’s SS and Medicare solution. Hell back in 1995 with welfare reform we did it.
I’d rather have a freeze in all entitlements or even a 10% cut rather than a raise of any taxes. I know we can’t just kill everything all at once but we need to stop this nonsense in D.C. But we need to get government worker’s salary in line with the private sector at least. We need to start cutting whole department like education, HHS, DHS and the Dept. of energy at least. Get out of the mortgage business and cut regulation.
A great example is Consumer Reports did a “Do not Buy” rating on a Toyota SUV and the next day Toyota pulled the SUV. No government involvement at all just the market place.
Desertrat says:
April 24th, 2010
3:10 pm
It’s a free market war of ideas in radioland, and Air America was unarmed.
As far as government goes, aside from staying irate at the compassion of the TSA ( http://www.lewrockwell.com/akers/akers124.html ) I stay fed up with the hypocrisy of that cluster of fools who regard themselves as Anointed. It’s bad enough that at a time when we’re in debt up to our eyeballs that La Pelosi costs some six million bucks a year for her travels each weekend to San Francisco, but we have the media silence about Obama’s jaunt to the G20 conference:
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/42183
Where is the outrage? I guess a better question might be, “Where are the true journalists?” True journalists are supposed to be suspicious of politicos, not their sycophants.
Ah, well. Enough of a rant for a Saturday.
‘Rat
Roseagain says:
April 26th, 2010
12:12 pm
Have read several of the posts here ~ particularly those of Mrs. Traynham. Lots of great wisdom. Btw ~ I’m a nurse who lives north of Houston.
Tony says:
April 26th, 2010
8:41 pm
Folks,
Many thx for all the fine comments.
Steve, if you want the answer to the top 3% “going on vacation”, read “Atlas Shrugged”.
As I’ve sed before, under this new medical care law, if the “old folks” think that they won’t get good medical care, they may well head off-shore where they believe they will get the care–in addition to less taxes. They have about 10 trillion dollars.
In terms of “learning the tax laws”, may I suggest you reference:
http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/starving-the-tax-beasts/
Most folks would consider themselves “rich” if they had an extra $1,000/mo to spend just as they wished. If you had no bills (other than utilities and property taxes) it wouldn’t take much of an income to be “rich”.
always,
tony
CheriVNB says:
April 27th, 2010
7:41 am
I am a cheap date! I am happy with $500. Ran a little short this month. Come on May 1st!
So, this is what oppression feels like…..~C
Tony says:
April 27th, 2010
11:30 am
Cheri,
If you’re serious about being happy with $500, would you marry me?
Before you answer, you should know I’m damaged goods–Linda has already turned me down.
always,
tony
lynne says:
April 30th, 2010
6:20 pm
C’mon Cheri it’s ok for a gal to be easy but never cheap.
lynne says:
May 2nd, 2010
10:30 pm
I’m so tired of this idea of “It’s for the poor or it’s for the children.” It’s only about the power if Obama really cared about the poor why isn’t he giving his own money instead of my taxpayers dollars? I made $17,000 gross, I don’t want anyone’s help. I’d just prefer to keep my VA benefits. I have no children, I get no assitance not food stamps or power or rent subsidies. I can stay the same and keep pace with inflation. I do wish our congress critters would take the same freeze in pay they mandated for me me to control the budget. Now as far as children go you have them you should pay for them. It’s optinal to have kids, we have a farliy good medical establishment and sex education in all schools so you should know how babies come about. I can not think of any higher calling than to raise great thinking adult human beings. I could not do it and I was unwilling to farm out my childrearing to a 3rd party.
SS must be frozen, and a few other items as well in the mandates. But our Public employees must take a cut in pay and a cut in pensions. There is no money to pay for this expansion. Obama wants the best and brightest in government. We need the best and brightest making new companies, new breakthroughs. Opening up new horizons of buisness. We need to grow the tax base and not limit it.
Tony says:
May 3rd, 2010
10:24 am
Lynne,
PERHAPS Obama does want the “best and brightest” in gubbermint, but you wouldn’t know it by he appointees.
Apparently he is as successful acquiring such employees as he is at other pursuits.
always,
tony
CheriVNB says:
May 4th, 2010
9:04 am
Tony,
First I would like to apologize for my slow response, but it is now after May 1 and I am feeling flush and level headed again (less likely to accept the heady opportunity to be a “mail-order bride” at my age). At first blush your “indecent proposal” made me smile. Then I gave some serious thought to the arrangement. Being pragmatic, I made a list of points for possible negotiation. I will get to those later. ; )
Prior to reading your article I had been doing some revaluation of my “budget”-Tax time. One of the numbers I was trying to target was my “mad money”-the amount I could spent relatively guilt free, after earnestly meeting my past, present and future obligations. $500 was the ballpark figure I was trying to make work, playing fast and loose with “wants vs. needs”. I long ago gave up purchases for prestige, but do consider feeding my 5 dogs a “need”.
In reply to a responder you wrote:
“Most folks would consider themselves “rich” if they had an extra $1,000/mo to spend just as they wished. If you had no bills (other than utilities and property taxes) it wouldn’t take much of an income to be “rich”.”
I am happy with $500 to spend without thinking….once EVERYTHING else is taken care of. Which brings me to your proposal. If EVERYTHING were taken care of would I be willing to accept such an arrangement for $500/mo.? (The old punch line “Now that we have established your character, we can negotiate price.” mockingly floated threw my mind.) Then Lynne threw in something about my being cheap and easy…I am taking care of the not being easy or cheap now.
Given your penchant for parable and clever comments to responders, I couldn’t help but think of the article “A Lesson in Redistribution of Wealth/Healthcare Bill, Thursday, April 15th, 2010, Author Unknown”. I would not want to be guilty of accepting a contract without knowing the terms….Certainly there are implied conditions with regard to wifely duties, the keeping of a house, etc. Also, while $500/mo. extra by my hand seems luxurious, by someone else’s I might need that $1000/mo. especially if we are talking in perpetuity…. A la “THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET POORER” Sunday, March 7th, 2010 or “Don’t Call Me Lucky”, Wednesday, April 7th, 2010. I am working on option 2 from the first article, but not quite there yet…
As for being “damaged goods”, as I remember it Linda let you down pretty gently. I do share Linda’s love for lively conversation, the use re-appropriation of some items and her marital status. But thanks for the “out”.
Now that I have been called out for my “Crush”, I will try not to fawn so openly, but continue to enjoy all the postings here and on W&G.
Affectionately with tongue in cheek,
Cheri.
Tony says:
May 5th, 2010
9:03 pm
Cheri,
First of all, when is an offer of marriage an “indecent proposal”?
Second of all, I do NOT consider $500 “cheap”.
Third, given the style, intellect, and tenor of your reply, were I not married, I would take a trip down there to meet you. Since I AM married, would you consider some sort of temporary arrangement until I can work our my problem?
always,
tony