Rant of the Week: The Greed of the Welfare State

Capitalism, like democracy, is a great system when it works. To make it work, people need to take action and develop both themselves and their business.

Currently the Left in this country have been assaulting rich people and corporations for their greed. I admit that in capitalism the possibilities for greed are good but greed is not limited to any one type of economics nor is it limited to any social class.

One thing no one talks about is the greed of the welfare class because apparently because they are on welfare they can't be greedy. Greed is a spiritual state that results from the relentless pursuit of your own wealth or pleasure at another's expense. It is when you use your position to take somethings that does not belong to you to further your own agenda and selfish desires that one becomes greedy

What can be more selfish that to deem yourself so important that because you live others should take care of your basic needs and you shouldn't have to do anything to earn that support but fill out paperwork. But, I can't work I have 'X'. It is amazing how many 'X's are accepted these days. It is also interesting how many families all have these 'X's in the entire family. For three generations even. Sorry, the I have looked for a job excuse doesn't work for me either. I have seen applications these people fill out -- they sign their name but there are a lot of blank spots or they give false information that actually drives an employer away from them. Or they claim some medical condition or injury. Now I have seen people who are legitimately hurt at work and need help and I have no beef with them, but many times it is not legitimate. It is just excuse

I am now personally convinced that poverty is not a state of economics, it is a state of mind. To be rich you have to do a few Biblical things:
1. Save your money, sacrificing a few things of comfort to get to larger goals. It is amazing how many poor people when they do get some sort of windfall waste it by buying junk entertainment items. Thus, they waste any opportunity to better themselves long term -- it is a pleasure now mentality in the poor.
2. Stay out of debt. I can't count the number of people I have heard that are poor that have both a credit card and are on a first name basis with the telemarketers on the shopping network. Many elderly poor and struggling are of this class. But also you do have those who run up cards and then bail on the debt on purpose.
3. Work hard: There is no shortcut to success -- you have to work hard to get there. most poor folks are just plain lazy and they will blame it on fate or other people who have done them ill. I have seen it. The people that are successful in life have one thing in common -- a good work ethic. Yeah they have nice things and enjoy them but they have earned them.

It wouldn't be so bad but I hear social workers complain that they need more money for programs or the rich don't do their fair share. I hate that. One, I once asked a social worker where in their office they have a board where they show the numbers of people they have helped off welfare into a productive state. She stared at me with a blank look on her face. Sorry folks, the system is not designed to do this. Social workers do not really help people become better people, they are mainly distributors from the haves to the have nots. Any person who leaves the welfare rosters often does so because they have decided to change not because of anything a social worker did. It is also not in the best interest of a social work to get a person off welfare. The more welfare recipients their are the more job security they have.

The odd things is the sense of entitlement the welfare state has. 'We deserve better than this and someone else should pay for it' is the mentality.

Another thing I hate as a pastor is when people use the church and the Bible to try to justify this. They point to all the passages about rich people for ammo. But the Bible is not silent of why poverty exists either. Read Proverbs sometimes -- poverty has a willful cause, the mindset of those who are poor. I would also point out the welfare in the Bible that is provided for in the law required the poor to work. 1) The rich were to leave the corners of their fields and leave grain that fell behind for gleaning by the poor, but the poor still had to go out and harvest it themselves. 2) Every third year, an additional tithe was given for the poor but it was distributed by the priests and that required the poor to come to the temple an ask a priest for it -- personal connection. There is nothing personal about the current welfare system. 3) As much as Jesus talked about helping the poor, when the disciples yelled at Mary for anointing the feet of Jesus his response was one of 'the poor you have always'. Indictating the problem of poverty will never end but it is not an economic problem. It is a question of which expression of greed you can see. 4) Much of the Biblical message is about taking personal responsibility for yourself so you are not a burden to others. It is a message of helping one another to be sure, but the best help you can be to others is to limit how much of a burden you are to others. 5) I also find it interesting in how many people I have helped with church money or programs who complain about how much or the quality they receive. Isn't it a form of greed to think you deserve more when your getting a freebie? It did cost something to someone else you know?

I have been on welfare, when I was in school and in the early days with a young family. It was a hand up to me because I didn't look at it as permanent -- there was a little shame to it for me and I have worked very hard to not need it. Now I am making too much money but it takes two jobs. The one thing I see with many however is generation after generation who have a system of gaining support and money for doing nothing. That also is a form of greed. It is gain at someone elses' expense. I leave you with some famous words that more need to take to heart:
'There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch'. (TANSTAFL).