I applaud those that have spent their time helping those that may/may not need help. No need to ever apologize, nor defend good deeds. Perhaps if we all had spent more time doing it, there might be less social problems today. Myself included.
However, the other side is well worded. It's criminal to squander resources on those whose sole intent is to do just that. Where accountability is something they think tax people encounter and will never apply to them.
While I am sympathetic to those in need, my sympathies can be quickly tempered and overwhelmed when I see the fat lard-ass spending his government money on beer and cigarettes.
But, most notably, as my Father used to say, "they can't cut the damn umbilical cord". I grew up in the rust belt. In my case, Akron Ohio. The unofficial capital of West Virginia. Quite a few families moved there generations ago to escape coal and get a "better job" in the rubber plants.
If you can believe it, they were better jobs. Regardless, they all had the sense to leave a bad situation. When I got out of High School, I enlisted in the Marines. Why? I didn't know what I wanted at 18 but, I knew very well what I didn't want, I didn't want to grow old and die in Akron Ohio!
Same holds true in West Virginia. LEAVE......let me repeat that L E A V E. There are marginal opportunities, at best in West Virginia. Staying home for the sake of staying home can be a very, very expensive decision we must all pay for if one is so stupid they can't seem to understand that if there is NO job, you MUST leave.
I did. I got out of the service in 1981. No welfare, no subsidies, nothing. And I didn't care. I packed two duffel bags of clothes, a beat up 74 Monte Carlo with a peeling Landau roof (remember these things?) and a hole in the floor behind the driver's seat. I put a rug over the shredded carpet covering that hole to help keep fumes and water out.
I moved to Houston. I arrived with exactly $900 to my name. Timed it so I would arrive on a Sunday and could look at the considerable want ads back then. 100 pages long. Found a bench technician's job in 2 days. I was thrilled! I had a JOB! I was going to make a whopping $8.17 per hr! I had to go 1,500 miles for THAT job.
Slept on the floor for 2 months, bought a used waterbed, a dinette I kept until recently (I kept it to remind me of how quick one can be there again). Moved on, moved to Atlanta in 83 and basically, never looked back.
I went to College for awhile, worked my way into outside sales and during the dot-bomb days, made over 1/2 a million in salary, commissions, and stock options. Even during that I bought a modest car, kept my debt ratios low, always paid my bills, LIVED WELL BELOW MY MEANS....
Dot-bomb hit, 1/2 million dropped to a 100K annually, if I'm lucky, and by age 44, had to start a side landscaping business to help make ends meet.
I have a wife, 4 kids, and live comfortably, albeit stressful as of late, in North Atlanta.
Here's what I learned:
- YOU and only YOU are responsible for your success
- Any failures are NOT George Bush's fault
- YOU and only YOU can pull yourself up
- If one job doesn't work, take on two
- Never, ever give up
- Do not believe everyone around you is doing all that much better
- Stay FOCUSED
I had to move to 3 states over the last 25 years to "make it". If I can do it, believe you me, ANYONE can. While my life has been less than interesting, I can tell you I never bounced a check, always paid my bills on time, drove modest cars (driving a 10 year old Camry....I've driven two camry's for the last 17 years) have a beacon score over 820 even in bad times.
I'm not exciting but, then again, I'm NO load on society, either. It's EXACTLY what you should expect from me. It's what I expect from myself. All on a High-School Degree with little support or direction.
Take my path? I wouldn't recommend it. Not even to those I do not like. However, if it comes to sitting around Huntington West Virginia and wondering who's wife to pluck next or, letting your kids go hungry, bet on my way.
It's not fun. It was/is hard all the way. But you know what, I am NOT going to grow old and die in Akron Ohio! Mission accomplished.
I am in the process of leveraging another side business for the exact same reaons. So what. I'll do it as long as my heart holds out and kids need me.
You can too. LEAVE your squalor behind. TRY to achieve something...anything. It HAS to be better than living on the dole. Have some pride. Some dignity. ALL work is honorable.
Cut the umbilical cord? You bet. I did and I would do it again with little notice and probably, entirely without. It is something I would highly recommend to ANYONE seeking a better life. BE MOBILE.
Sympathy for those in good health and capable of working? Better keep walking before you ask ME that question. You are probably going to get a very articulate, crafted, and lucid response from me and it's going to make you think.....
Semper Fi.
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Excellent Points all the way around
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