When will we stop?

Arizona cut its welfare caseloads by half. I daresay they still haven't gotten rid of all those who are drawing it but don't deserve it. But, of course, the liberal bleeding hearts are crawling out of the woodwork.

When will we stop feeling sorry for and supporting those who are the creators of their own problems? Jason DeParle of The New York Times laments, "They have sold food stamps, sold blood, skipped meals, shoplifted, scavenged trash bins for bottles and cans and returned to relationships with violent partners -- all with children in tow." 

My first observation on reading that was that if they hadn't sold the food stamps, they probably wouldn't have had to skip meals. My second observation -- are they shoplifters because they live in poverty, or are they living in poverty because they have criminal records? My third observation -- why would anyone of sane mind return to a violent partner? Isn't it better to live in poverty than in fear? My fourth observation -- if the only way they can make a living is scavenging bottles and cans, then they should be the best scavengers they can be. I see a man quite often around our city. He pushes a cart that he has filled with cans. He is making a good enough living for himself and keeping our roadways clean. I have never seen him ask for a handout. My fifth observation -- if these people can't even afford to feed themselves, why do they have "children in tow"? 

Jason goes on to say that statistics suggest that one in every four low-income single mothers is jobless  -- roughly 4 million women and children. My observation (for a great many of them) -- if they didn't fornicate, they wouldn't be single mothers. My other observation -- track down the worthless daddies of those children and make them take care of the children. Many of the mothers have addiction problems. My observation -- whose fault is that? Why should I pay your living expenses just because you're a junkie? And what do you want to bet that 99% of these "poor" single mothers have cable TV, internet access, cell phones, and laptops?

Pictured in the article is Tamika Shelby with her 3-year-old son. She says she lost her $176 monthly stipend. I have some advice, Tamika -- quit making babies you can't afford. Oh -- and aspire to something better than working in a strip club.


Paris News funny for the day.  Here's the headline from a recent editorial page: "$225K better buy a whole lot of competancy." Hopefully, it will buy more competency than the PN headline writers and proofers have.

"Lean times lead 16 states to slash aid to poor." The Dallas Morning News; April 8, 2012; p. 8A.