Social Net
I fully support helping hard-working people who have fallen on ill times, lost their jobs through no fault of theirs.
It is our responsibility to help them support themselves and their families. I have no issue in providing extended (if necessary indefinite) Unemployment benefits and health-care benefits to hard-working people who are willing to work but just can’t find work.
For those who are against the concept of a social net and dub them as “hand-outs,” I suggest looking at Germany and Sweden. Germany, in particular, has an excellent social net and a balance sheet that is much better than ours (USA), and an envy of most of the developed world. Had the Deutsche Mark still existed, it would have been one of the strongest currencies in the world.
However, there has to be what I call personal responsibility.
Let me share a true story.
I was talking to a small business owner who said about two years ago he had to let go of two employees. Over a period of time, one of them found and is working three jobs. The other one is still sitting around, not working, and collecting Unemployment benefit checks. Two people, same skill set, different mind-set. In other words, the hard-working man who is working three jobs is contributing (via his tax dollars) towards the benefit of the other man who it appears chooses not to work. This is unacceptable.
I would propose a show-cause regulation, show evidence of due diligence in looking for jobs order to continue to collect tax payers- funded benefits beyond a certain period of time. Do that and your family is ours – we will support you.
However, we just can’t afford to keep writing blank checks.
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