JDN

The folks in 1927 would have a hard time believing that the government has grown as much as it has with most of us becoming government dependents. I have given up and know that I will never be as free as I was when I was born. Each decade has eroded our freedoms more. The more we rely on government to solve our problems, the less freedom we enjoy. Less governement, more freedom.

UUronL

While I don't find any of the original post offensive, many of the ideas put forth are just as utopian in their naivete as the left-wing arguments and solutions. The only thing I'd add as clarification is that a good portion of the money G.W. is allocating is going to people just like you and me. A friend of mine is actually housing his friend who evacuated, he'll be a recipient of aid along with countless others who made it out with the barest minimum of their possessions.

kscarrol

Very true! I happily took my $2,000 in assistance from FEMA.

Bimmer32

In Texas, common law has it that if you let someone stay at your home for more than 2 weeks, and they refused to leave, you have to get a court order. The police will refer the issue to civil. That's why you don't hear much about people taking in strangers in Texas - only relatives.

Here's goes my short 2 cents: People will need help at points in their life because nature is indiscriminant. It's good for gov. to help its citizens because we all pay taxes. Government provides education, and that's good too. Education is the remedy to major society pains, but education is also an individual effort.

The problem exist when people take advantage of the help and critize it (both people and politicians for their own gain). Those who are "educated" can recognize this problem. Some people are not capable of certain levels of IQ and that understandable too.

The problem is prominant in a class of people who "chose" to be uneducated, ignores the free education, takes advantage of the system, and resorts to illegal activities to survive. This class is also indiscriminant. They lack self dignity and respect for others. Yes, these are crimminals and borderline crimminals. While poverty is not the cause of crimmal acts, it is a fertile ground for crimmals to thrive.

My fortune comes from family and hard work (going to school and working hard) not to mention a strong Faith. If tomorrow comes and I have a misfortune, I will need all the help I can get. BUT, I will never sit on my butt or lay dozens of babies and expect the government to provide for me while I'm out with my boy/girlfriend and ignoring my children's future.

My biggest annoyance is people walking around consciously and unconsciously always think that the government owes them something based on past mistreatment of their ancestories. If I did that, I would never get over the average mark. If the Indians did that, we wouldn't have those entertaining casinos. If the Japanese did that, we wouln't have Japanese cars. If we held grudges against the Germans, we wouldn't have E60s to drive. Though, we still need to work on the Cuban cigars.

In response to this thread, consider aid from the government as BLESSING. For the majority of us who are capable of learning, the most useful help is helping ourselves.