Poverty~~Will We Ever Learn

I hear the words 'war on poverty' and get very depressed. Humans have been fighting this war since they first appeared on Earth and losing. We lose when governments get involved and turn us into government dependent zombies with little incentive to climb into the middle class.

"I am for doing good for the poor. The best way is not making them easier in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. The more public provisions are provided the less they provide for themselves and of course become poorer."  Ben Franklin, Founding Father

Ben Franklin understood the value of living free of the governments handouts. The incentive to work hard and achieve is what puts value into ones life. Achieving success is what pulls people out of poverty and into independence.

I do believe that a government safety net is needed to help those that fall on hard times but this should be a temporary solution. Government assistance, in whatever form, needs to be spearheaded by a return to meaningful work. Re-education, job placement assistance and job search education should be the cornerstone of any assistance program.

Never ending food stamps, free cell phones and housing assistance without an attempt to foster independence is criminal.

Rewards of more assistance for children produced rather than the quality of life for those children already in the home is criminal.

The disintegration of the family unit through any assistance program is criminal.

"An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind." Buddha

Government assistance is the evil friend and he has injured the minds of those in poverty causing them to exist on handouts and never strive to improve.

Randy