Today we move from Social Security to Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. Founded under good intentions, it became one of the most abused and fraud-driven programs in America's history, consisting of many different elements. These included the Social Security Act of 1965 (Medicare and Medicaid), the Food Stamp Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. To date over $15T has been spent on these programs.
I'll hold off on Medicare and Medicaid until tomorrow since they are an entire world of their own, particularly now that we face another disaster, Obamacare.
Food Stamps. Originally intended to insure that no one in America went hungry, this program has turned into a major boondoggle with approximately 50 million Americans now enrolled. Go to any food store on any day and you'll see the check-out delays by recipients of food stamp items while the rest of us have to watch our budgets ever more tightly while we pay for their largesse. There is something critically wrong with a welfare program being used by one in seven Americans and something is even worse by noting the lack of restrictions on what is purchased. Didn't Michelle want people to eat a balanced diet? Not at the local market in the food stamp basket.
And there is a sidelight issue that we probably don't think about but adds to the cost. Kids can now get free breakfast, lunch and in some cases even dinner at school. In my local area, this remains a viable option for anyone eighteen and under even during the time when schools are closed. In the food department we are rapidly becoming a case of the have nots taking all of the food from the haves who have to pay top dollar buy it. There is something dreadfully wrong with a society that works this way and it surely won't end well.
Economic Opportunity. This is a catch all for practically anything the government wants to dream up. Make work jobs, training programs, etc. etc. that accomplish absolutely nothing are the rule rather than the exception. And since the minority population was a major focus of the program, take a look at the unemployment of young black males and you'll see that it is truly a disaster. Unemployment is some areas for this group is over fifty percent and the rest of the population is closing in as well. You see, give away and make work concepts don't work. Only through productive free enterprise with a well educated workforce can we hope to attain full employment.
Elementary and Secondary Education. We have spent billions and bilions of dollars on education programs and have literally been throwing our money away. Kids are taught to specific tests, not real subject matter material, and the result is that they remember nothing when it is over. Oh, they can tell you about having sex and birth control techniques and condoms but they can't solve basic math problems, read and write poorly and lack reasoning skills. Of course, the real reason for the tests is so that politicians can brag they have improved our educational standards. Really? All we have done is to dumb down all to the lowest common denominator. Talk to any employer and he'll tell you about the poor quality of young job applicants.
Ironically there is one major exception: kids who attend private schools and are home-schooled. Not only are they showing good results, but they are also being inculcated with good moral foundations for life, unlike what is taught in our now godless public schools. The trend is for more and more kids to be home-schooled or to attend private schools and, because of this, the government is now in the process of trying to do everything it can in its power to halt this trend. Remember, we are supposed to believe that Professor Obama knows best. Kind of ironic that both of his girls attend a high cost private school, don't you think? Oh, but that's good for him, he doesn't care about what's good for you. After all, his interest lies with the leadership of the teachers unions, not the students stuck with mediocrity or less.
I could go on and on regarding these subjects, but I think you get the drift. The Great Society helped us turn another page backwards in America and we are reaping the consequences. I didn't even mention the problem of children being born without daddies which is tied directly to welfare payments, but that is just another example of politicians buying votes. It is really what this is all about and the mothers quickly learn that they receive more support if daddy isn't around and, believe me, that information gets passed generation to generation. Is it any wonder we are broke?
I hope we will ponder these problems carefully because we can't sweep them under the rug if we want them solved and the old liberal dogma won't cut it. We need real change, God centered and honest if we want to bring America back.
Tomorrow we will discuss another burden that government has created which has the potential to implode our society: Medicare and Medicaid and the advent of Obamacare. I hope you will join me. In the meantime, God bless you and God bless America. If we will turn to Him and seek His guidance, He will show us the way out of this mess.
Have a wonderful and productive Monday.
I'll hold off on Medicare and Medicaid until tomorrow since they are an entire world of their own, particularly now that we face another disaster, Obamacare.
Food Stamps. Originally intended to insure that no one in America went hungry, this program has turned into a major boondoggle with approximately 50 million Americans now enrolled. Go to any food store on any day and you'll see the check-out delays by recipients of food stamp items while the rest of us have to watch our budgets ever more tightly while we pay for their largesse. There is something critically wrong with a welfare program being used by one in seven Americans and something is even worse by noting the lack of restrictions on what is purchased. Didn't Michelle want people to eat a balanced diet? Not at the local market in the food stamp basket.
And there is a sidelight issue that we probably don't think about but adds to the cost. Kids can now get free breakfast, lunch and in some cases even dinner at school. In my local area, this remains a viable option for anyone eighteen and under even during the time when schools are closed. In the food department we are rapidly becoming a case of the have nots taking all of the food from the haves who have to pay top dollar buy it. There is something dreadfully wrong with a society that works this way and it surely won't end well.
Economic Opportunity. This is a catch all for practically anything the government wants to dream up. Make work jobs, training programs, etc. etc. that accomplish absolutely nothing are the rule rather than the exception. And since the minority population was a major focus of the program, take a look at the unemployment of young black males and you'll see that it is truly a disaster. Unemployment is some areas for this group is over fifty percent and the rest of the population is closing in as well. You see, give away and make work concepts don't work. Only through productive free enterprise with a well educated workforce can we hope to attain full employment.
Elementary and Secondary Education. We have spent billions and bilions of dollars on education programs and have literally been throwing our money away. Kids are taught to specific tests, not real subject matter material, and the result is that they remember nothing when it is over. Oh, they can tell you about having sex and birth control techniques and condoms but they can't solve basic math problems, read and write poorly and lack reasoning skills. Of course, the real reason for the tests is so that politicians can brag they have improved our educational standards. Really? All we have done is to dumb down all to the lowest common denominator. Talk to any employer and he'll tell you about the poor quality of young job applicants.
Ironically there is one major exception: kids who attend private schools and are home-schooled. Not only are they showing good results, but they are also being inculcated with good moral foundations for life, unlike what is taught in our now godless public schools. The trend is for more and more kids to be home-schooled or to attend private schools and, because of this, the government is now in the process of trying to do everything it can in its power to halt this trend. Remember, we are supposed to believe that Professor Obama knows best. Kind of ironic that both of his girls attend a high cost private school, don't you think? Oh, but that's good for him, he doesn't care about what's good for you. After all, his interest lies with the leadership of the teachers unions, not the students stuck with mediocrity or less.
I could go on and on regarding these subjects, but I think you get the drift. The Great Society helped us turn another page backwards in America and we are reaping the consequences. I didn't even mention the problem of children being born without daddies which is tied directly to welfare payments, but that is just another example of politicians buying votes. It is really what this is all about and the mothers quickly learn that they receive more support if daddy isn't around and, believe me, that information gets passed generation to generation. Is it any wonder we are broke?
I hope we will ponder these problems carefully because we can't sweep them under the rug if we want them solved and the old liberal dogma won't cut it. We need real change, God centered and honest if we want to bring America back.
Tomorrow we will discuss another burden that government has created which has the potential to implode our society: Medicare and Medicaid and the advent of Obamacare. I hope you will join me. In the meantime, God bless you and God bless America. If we will turn to Him and seek His guidance, He will show us the way out of this mess.
Have a wonderful and productive Monday.
RSS Feed