| SpongeOsophy Essay Hand Out or Hand Off? The Danger of Government Programs |
There are many wonderful government programs that mean well. By wonderful, I
mean that the intentions behind them are noble. However, in the end going on
the programs carries so many restrictions that they are, in fact, a trap. These
restrictions usually start because of abuse of the system.
Take for instance, welfare, or AFDC as it is called. The idea behind it was a
pretty good one. So many women in the 60s had found themselves abandoned
by their husbands. Enforcement of child support payments was rare and
sporadic. Many women and their children lived in poverty. It was thought that the
poverty led the children to crime, poor achievement and poor health. The idea
was to give just a bit of financial help to these single moms, be it food or transfer
payments (AFDC). However, very soon some women learned that if they tried to
get better jobs, they would lose the bit of support they got from the government.
Many chose not to work at all. Then some women (not all or a majority) found
that if they had more kids, they would get more money without having to work at
all outside of the home. Their “profession” was to have more children. Of course
we know the stigma this gave to the decent people who were trying to improve
their lives.
There was a case Paul Harvey spoke of about a mother who saved a few dollars
out of each AFDC check to put towards her son’s college career. When the
government found out about this many years later, they not only ceased her
AFDC, they fined her and made her pay back much of what she had received.
This is what I mean by the trap of going on the programs.
In my own case, I would like to ease back into the work force. There are times my
health is pretty good and I would like to go back to work full time. Heck, I have
gone OFF of disability three times in the past to try to make it on my own. But
then soon enough the disease comes back and then not only am I out of work, I
have to wait sometimes a year or more without income OR the ability to work. So
sometimes I want to see if I can ease back into it. Start out part time and ease
into full time. If my body starts to fail while I am still part time, then I know that
working is not for me at that time. (Please keep in mind that in 2001 I was told,
“retire or die” by a doctor). The problem is, as soon as my income reaches a
certain level for a month, POOF, the disability is gone and I am on my own. The
on my own part I don’t have a problem with, except that when (not if) I get sick
again, we have to go without income for many months. Imagine having no income
and needing 15 medicines. Meanwhile, other bills keep coming in. One should
not be penalized for trying to improve their lives.
When Raine first took unemployment insurance this year, we knew it was just a
temporary situation. We thought that if she worked temp jobs until she found full-
time work, we would be okay. The state told her that they simply reduced the UEI
check by the amount that was earned during that cycle. Raine wants to work.
She took a 3-day assignment for her own dignity. Plus, we thought, we were
saving the taxpayers a bit of money. When she took the pay stub to the
unemployment office, she was told that she had to reapply and that her
unemployment check for the remainder would be delayed two weeks. Things had
already been tough and our savings were gone. This two week delay was
devastating, I assure you. So now she is only accepting interviews for full-time
work. While she would like to make it on her own, the dangers of accepting temp
work to our finances are all too real to try to pull ourselves out in that manner.
We trapped ourselves again.
This again shows the danger of putting your hand out. You are so restricted in
what you can do that any attempt at self-improvement results in financial ruin.
Oh, there are programs to improve your lot, but they have to be done by an
arbitrary set of rules. For instance, I was offered vocational rehab. If I were able
to sit in a classroom every day for a few years, don’t you think I would be able to
work at my old accounting job? This illness is very unpredictable, and there are
many days you wake up unable to function; vocational rehab does not take the
particulars of each case into account.
For me, I try to stay off of government programs. Each one carries a burden.
Right now I grudgingly have to accept Social Security disability, we would starve
without it, I assure you. Imagine what the world might be like if their wasn’t such a
federal program. Perhaps the state governments might create their own
programs. Better yet, we might find that private employers and insurance plans
would be there instead. But no, we all want the government to solve our
problems.
Perhaps we need to realize that with each dollar of “help” we accept, we are really
signing on to a form of indentured servitude. The ways out of these programs
(for the disabled) is a convoluted mess of rules and arbitrary conditions. Heck,
one might lose their pension if they are found to be running the vacuum. One
might lose his or her pension because someone in Washington no longer thinks
that particular condition is “disabling.” I know of several who have lost their
disability because of a rule change. Some of them were truly disabled and had
not found a way to provide for their families yet. They had the fun of a whole
appeals process. Instead, we have created a system that encourages
stagnation, sloth, and laziness.
Those of you who read this, please turn to the private sector whenever you can.
If you are healthy, please try to find jobs that offer disability insurance. If you are
having trouble making ends meet, find a way to add some string rather than
looking for a hand out to the government.
For as soon as you reach out an empty hand to the government, the government
will take some rope and tie it behind your back.
Be well,
Sponge
07/04/2005
mean that the intentions behind them are noble. However, in the end going on
the programs carries so many restrictions that they are, in fact, a trap. These
restrictions usually start because of abuse of the system.
Take for instance, welfare, or AFDC as it is called. The idea behind it was a
pretty good one. So many women in the 60s had found themselves abandoned
by their husbands. Enforcement of child support payments was rare and
sporadic. Many women and their children lived in poverty. It was thought that the
poverty led the children to crime, poor achievement and poor health. The idea
was to give just a bit of financial help to these single moms, be it food or transfer
payments (AFDC). However, very soon some women learned that if they tried to
get better jobs, they would lose the bit of support they got from the government.
Many chose not to work at all. Then some women (not all or a majority) found
that if they had more kids, they would get more money without having to work at
all outside of the home. Their “profession” was to have more children. Of course
we know the stigma this gave to the decent people who were trying to improve
their lives.
There was a case Paul Harvey spoke of about a mother who saved a few dollars
out of each AFDC check to put towards her son’s college career. When the
government found out about this many years later, they not only ceased her
AFDC, they fined her and made her pay back much of what she had received.
This is what I mean by the trap of going on the programs.
In my own case, I would like to ease back into the work force. There are times my
health is pretty good and I would like to go back to work full time. Heck, I have
gone OFF of disability three times in the past to try to make it on my own. But
then soon enough the disease comes back and then not only am I out of work, I
have to wait sometimes a year or more without income OR the ability to work. So
sometimes I want to see if I can ease back into it. Start out part time and ease
into full time. If my body starts to fail while I am still part time, then I know that
working is not for me at that time. (Please keep in mind that in 2001 I was told,
“retire or die” by a doctor). The problem is, as soon as my income reaches a
certain level for a month, POOF, the disability is gone and I am on my own. The
on my own part I don’t have a problem with, except that when (not if) I get sick
again, we have to go without income for many months. Imagine having no income
and needing 15 medicines. Meanwhile, other bills keep coming in. One should
not be penalized for trying to improve their lives.
When Raine first took unemployment insurance this year, we knew it was just a
temporary situation. We thought that if she worked temp jobs until she found full-
time work, we would be okay. The state told her that they simply reduced the UEI
check by the amount that was earned during that cycle. Raine wants to work.
She took a 3-day assignment for her own dignity. Plus, we thought, we were
saving the taxpayers a bit of money. When she took the pay stub to the
unemployment office, she was told that she had to reapply and that her
unemployment check for the remainder would be delayed two weeks. Things had
already been tough and our savings were gone. This two week delay was
devastating, I assure you. So now she is only accepting interviews for full-time
work. While she would like to make it on her own, the dangers of accepting temp
work to our finances are all too real to try to pull ourselves out in that manner.
We trapped ourselves again.
This again shows the danger of putting your hand out. You are so restricted in
what you can do that any attempt at self-improvement results in financial ruin.
Oh, there are programs to improve your lot, but they have to be done by an
arbitrary set of rules. For instance, I was offered vocational rehab. If I were able
to sit in a classroom every day for a few years, don’t you think I would be able to
work at my old accounting job? This illness is very unpredictable, and there are
many days you wake up unable to function; vocational rehab does not take the
particulars of each case into account.
For me, I try to stay off of government programs. Each one carries a burden.
Right now I grudgingly have to accept Social Security disability, we would starve
without it, I assure you. Imagine what the world might be like if their wasn’t such a
federal program. Perhaps the state governments might create their own
programs. Better yet, we might find that private employers and insurance plans
would be there instead. But no, we all want the government to solve our
problems.
Perhaps we need to realize that with each dollar of “help” we accept, we are really
signing on to a form of indentured servitude. The ways out of these programs
(for the disabled) is a convoluted mess of rules and arbitrary conditions. Heck,
one might lose their pension if they are found to be running the vacuum. One
might lose his or her pension because someone in Washington no longer thinks
that particular condition is “disabling.” I know of several who have lost their
disability because of a rule change. Some of them were truly disabled and had
not found a way to provide for their families yet. They had the fun of a whole
appeals process. Instead, we have created a system that encourages
stagnation, sloth, and laziness.
Those of you who read this, please turn to the private sector whenever you can.
If you are healthy, please try to find jobs that offer disability insurance. If you are
having trouble making ends meet, find a way to add some string rather than
looking for a hand out to the government.
For as soon as you reach out an empty hand to the government, the government
will take some rope and tie it behind your back.
Be well,
Sponge
07/04/2005
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