Mooching

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/opinion/krugman-moochers-against-welfare.html?smid=FB-nytimes&WT.mc_id=OP-E-FB-SM-LIN-MAW-021712-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/even-critics-of-safety-net-increasingly-depend-on-it.html?pagewanted=1&gwh=C936D2209D3A66F6E62DB42157E85370

I know- it's halfway through February and I haven't posted a thing. I guess the news was making me too mad to blog (I'm looking at you, Komen...and you too, Catholic Bishops).

I randomly came across the first link. It's short and sweet, much like an editorial should be. The second link is much longer and much more interesting and is referenced in the editorial.

It's really interesting to read of this new trend, where area where majorities of people receive some sort of government assistance are turning more Republican. I don't quite understand it. Reading a quote from one man who depends on Medicare says that the problems with these entitlement programs is on the shoulders of the younger generations (yay us?) because he was paid what he was told and wants what he was promised. Baby boomers. Sometimes I don't understand them. Mostly because my parents are baby boomers, but a little more hippie-ish and life long Dems. They didn't have the burdens of past generations on their shoulders while trying to make a life- so they have no idea what it's like to grow up in what's considered the "prime" of your life knowing that if things don't change, you will be paying a lot for a program that will be sucked dry when the time comes for you to use it. Yes, the Boomers paid their dues- and I haven't? I will pay as much or more into Medicare and Social Security and I honestly don't know if they'll be around when I'm 65.

As a society, when did it become ok to feel such entitlement? When did it become the norm to use government programs yet criticize them in the next breath?

If it weren't for government programs- I don't know if my family would have been able to get by the way we did. We didn't prosper by any means, but we got by. Social Security and the VA were a huge part of it. And what I really respect in my parents (or any person) is that they recognized the help and want to make sure others can benefit from these programs. The second story has many Minnesota residents who use government programs and are very ashamed and think they could get by with less...but they don't. And apparently won't unless the government cuts funding (they dislike government involvement, yet won't make personal changes until the government mandates it so. This makes no sense to me). I understand that these government programs are around as a safety net- for unexpected happenings. Yes, there are people that abuse the system.

I wonder if we need to become ok with the fact that there will always be people who will try and sometimes be successful at abusing the system. Maybe we should focus on an overhaul that closes some of these loopholes- instead of just slashing and burning.

I have benefitted from government programs. I'm ok with that. Social Security gave money to my parents for as long as I was their dependent. And trust me, if you knew how much they give...it ain't much. When I was in college my parents used those Social Security checks to pay for my books. I think they got the better end of that deal...and when I did AmeriCorps- serving my country for $700 a month- I used food stamps. I didn't want to at first, but couldn't make it. And I was very happy to find a job and not have to use that program, knowing that the $$ could be passed on to another person needing some help. So it's really hard to wrap my mind around that there are people who use government programs and benefit from them, but would rather that others don't get the same benefits they do. Is it noble to read that there are those who would pledge to make do within cuts to govt programs? Of course. But why aren't they doing so already?

Ok...I could keep going, but I think a point has been made.