To: neolib who wrote (229279 ) 8/14/2013 8:15:12 AM From: epicure Read Replies (2) | Respond to Your relative sounds about as representative as Reagan's welfare queens. If this person actually exists, it's no wonder you feel the way you do, but most people don't know people like that. And depending how disabled this person is, their life actually might be pretty sad and horrible- although there definitely are some people on disability that should not be there- however you realize, you were talking about welfare moms, and now you've segued to folks on disability- some of whom are retarded, some of whom have serious mental health problems, and some who are quite severely handicapped. There are so many working poor- working 3 jobs; working without healthcare, trying to do right by their kids the best way they can- that while you can bash welfare, it's not very generous in this country any more, and the incentive really is to get out and work. I am not sure you are right that the seeds for becoming fat and lazy are in most people. That might be projection on your part. I find enforced idleness makes me nuts- and I would work for free (and have done that in the past) if I didn't have a job . I am up at 5 am even when I'm not working, and I can't stand sleeping in. My projection is that most people are like me- they like to work, or at least they like to make their own money. I've no reason to doubt this, since most of the poor people I know work- and I know a lot of them because I teach at risk students. When you do anything to help people, there will be a minority that will exploit it- but I pity them. It's very empty and sad living off other people- whether you are a welfare queen, or a medicare and social security queen. At the end of your life, you need to be able to look back and see the things you built and the things you changed, not the parasitic life you lived off other people- if you can't look back on the good you've done, death will probably be a pretty traumatic experience. Of course some people do seem to be able to wallow in government swill quite happily, but it's a minority. Most people on government benefits want to get off- as the stats show. Short term use is much more common than long term use- except in the aged, who are a problematic group- especially when you look at the aged and the amount of health care they end up using, compared to the amount spent on the young for even minimal care- like vaccinations. Our image of government largesse spent disproportionately on our citizens really ought to be a nursing home queen.washingtonpost.com
