A Neighbor "Blogs" on Welfare in the US...

Yesterday’s item that spoke to people quitting the work force had a tiny nugget of merit. The poster was right in his/her belief that quitting the work force is often a personal decision. The poster was wrong in suggesting that Mr. Obama and our government have no fault in the matter. They do. While acting good faith, with good intentions, they have morphed our societal safety nets into comfortable hammocks. That governance has resulted in many families being on welfare for several generations. I personally have interacted with families that have been on welfare for 4 generations. Liberal governance now provides fairly comfortable compensation for those who are capable of work, but who choose not to work. Currently people can collect u/e compensation for nearly 2 years. The number of persons claiming disability payments from Social Security has skyrocketed. Food stamp usage is at record highs, and the Obama admin is advertising food stamps so as to increase the number of people who claim them. All forms of welfare have become so comfortable that many simply choose to take the hand out rather than work.

Our welfare/safety net has become far too comfortable for far too many people. For many the lure of “free” living is irresistible. We have spawned generations of people who have become completely convinced that the government owes them a living. Free food of all kinds, free housing, free telephones, free medical care, free dental care, free vision care, “supplemental income” checks which are rebates on income taxes that the recipient did not pay to begin with. The freebie menu is long and varied: free college grants, free Internet service, free school lunches, free cash — they all beckon to a “poverty” lifestyle unlike any in the history of mankind.

As Americans, we have come to consider prosperity and freedom as our birthright. But in an amazingly prescient quote, Thomas, Jefferson is reported to have said, “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”

Currently, more than 40 million people in the U.S. receive food stamps, that’s more than the population of many nations. 57 million are on Medicaid, and about an additional 30 million will be covered by Obamacare. Virtually none of the above will contribute even a single tax dollar. We are getting dangerously close to having a majority of our voters as wards of the federal government. When that day arrives, sooner rather than later, our “birthright” of prosperity and freedom will be only a memory

"It seemed like a good idea at the time".

WHL wrote:That kind of sums it all up, doesn't it!! It's so sad that our country has come to this. What do you think it will take to change it, if anything?

"This is the latest from the CRS (Congressional Research Service). 'First time in our history that they are referring to you and me...

In last Friday's Federal Register the Department of Defense published a final rule on "Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies." The rule specifies and defines the support that DoD may provide to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, "including responses to civil disturbances."

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2013/04/dsclea.HTML

"The President is authorized by the Constitution and laws of the United States to employ the Armed Forces of the United States to suppress insurrections, rebellions, and domestic violence under various conditions and circumstances," the new rule states. "Planning and preparedness by the Federal Government, including the Department of Defense, for civil disturbances is important due to the potential severity of the consequences of such events for the Nation and the population. The employment of Federal military forces to control civil disturbances shall only occur in a specified civil jurisdiction under specific circumstances as authorized by the President, normally through issuance of an Executive order or other Presidential directive authorizing and directing the Secretary of Defense to provide for the restoration of law and order in a specific State or locality."

The new rule, which forms part of the Code of Federal Regulations, is almost identical to DoD Instruction 3025.21 on "Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies" that was issued on February 27, 2013 (noted by PublicIntelligence.net on April 11).
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/DOD/i3025_21.PDF

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one.”
― Charles MacKay, 150 years ago...