What to do About Entitlements | Restore the Constitutional Republic

What to do About Entitlements Apr 17, 2015 15:57:27 GMT -5

Quote

Post by TomLine on Apr 17, 2015 15:57:27 GMT -5

WHAT TO DO ABOUT ENTITLEMENTS
by Tom Lineaweaver

Who better to come up with a plan to deal with Entitlements than a Constitutionalist who benefits from those Entitlements? Well, I am. I collect SSI, Food Stamps, Housing Assistance and Medicaid, and I hate it. But if I want to live I have no choice. There are no alternatives. You might say, "get a job." I've heard that a lot. In fact, I have a good acquaintance that owned a business. So, one day I ask him for a job. I mean, come on, if the guy wants me to get a job, he owns a business, he should have given me one. Well, he didn't give me one. Do you know why? He said, I don't believe you can handle it." You see, I thought the guy should put his money where his mouth is. But he knew of my health problems. And, he never again told me to get a job.

If you would like me to have a job. Would you help me find job? I will tell you what I am good for. Radio talk show host. I've been told I'm intelligent. I am rather articulate. I have experience in broadcasting. And I was good at it. I am told I still have that golden voice. In fact, people I haven't seen for 40 years tell me they recognized me by my voice.

Why am on Entitlements? That's explained in the quoted article. What is my plan to deal with Entitlements? That's also below. So, continue reading.

ENTITLEMENTS
by Tom Lineaweaver

My understanding of Entitlements you could say is the difference between "now and then."

Does anyone remember what this nation was like before entitlements? Parents took care of their children, and when the parents got old, the children took care of their parents. Parents were not shoved into a home and forgotten about, paid for by some entitlement. In times of trouble, communities helped one another, and churches helped people as well.

Even during the "great depression," THERE WAS NOT ONE ENTITLEMENT THAT HELPED ANYONE. I wanted to make that point plain. If you can find one entitlement that helped one person through the great depression, I would like to know about it. There was no cash assistance, no food stamps, and no Social Security. By the time any government program started, the depression was pretty much over.

You might wonder where I get my facts. I talked to people who lived through those years, like my dad, my mother, aunts and uncles, and older people when I volunteered at a nursing home. One lady was very specific. While the government would have us believe that if it weren't for the government people would not have made it though the great depression. But, older folks that lived through those days had a different story. That one lady at the nursing home pretty much hated the government for their lies. She was upset with her children for putting her in a home. "This didn't happen when I was younger," she said. "We took care of our parents." She had a lot to say about those days. I will never forget her.

If you want to see what life was like in this country before entitlements, simply read or watch "Little House on the Prairie." When the Ingalls suffered through a tornado that destroyed the entire crop, and killed their cow, there was not one government program to apply for aid. It was the people of Walnut Grove that helped the Ingalls family. And that is what life was like in this country before entitlements. "People helping people" was more than a slogan, it was a reality. Of course, to make things interesting, Walnut Grove had Mrs. Olson, their resident capitalist. If redistribution of the wealth is evil, it seems the people of Walnut Grove were very evil. Because, to help the Ingals family, they, at times had to redistribute the wealth. And that is the way it was. People helping people by distributing to anyone who had need. And it was all done without some Government Control Program.

This country survived very well without Federal Entitlement/Government Control Programs for about 150 years.

That was then. What about now? For that part of this discussion, I will draw on personal experience. And I hope I do not lose any respect from those who hate Entitlements, because I hate them too. And I wouldn't be on any if I didn't have to be.

In 1977 I developed something in my left ring finger that was very painful. Bumping that finger felt like being hit by a sledge hammer. I had to really protect that finger or suffer excruciating pain every time I bumped it. It is really hard to work with your hands when you only have one hand that you can use. So, I went to see a doctor. He said I needed surgery. Well, I didn't have the money, neither did my family. So I went to the church I was a member of. The preacher told me to go to the government for help. I had no choice. About 15 hospitalizations later I am still on Government Control Programs. And that is what they are.

I hate it. Federal Entitlements have ripped the heart and soul out of the nation. My church telling me to go to the government for help is just plain wrong. But, that is a symptom of a greater problem. People don't help people anymore, not like they did. Why should they when the government does it? But these government programs are not about helping people, they are about government control.

Because of my situation, I understand both sides of the Entitlement issue.
The reason there are so many people on entitlement programs is because Government has created and atmosphere where they have to be. Overtaxation, overregulation, free trade agreements that do nothing but send jobs overseas, have all created this atmosphere. The economy is being destroyed by the Government, as a result, people are losing good paying jobs, being forced to to get jobs that do not pay as well, if they are fortunate enough to get a job at all. My conservative friends know these things to be true, but fail to see the connection between the government destruction of the economy and the need for people to collect from the government. It seems to me that everytime we have economic problems in this country we place blame on poor people, instead of blaming those that have created these economic problems in the first place, which is Congress. Congress has been whittling away at our economy and our freedom for at least the last 50 years, and it's time for that to change.

If we want to do something about Entitlements, we must first change the direction of our Government. Therefore, I propose we end all business taxes, end all OSHA regulations, create a minimum wage system that is based on the cost of living. No one should be denied a living wage. I further propose that we end our participation is job stealing treaties, such as NAFTA. I further propose that we once again collect tariffs. These steps would once again allow businesses to earn a decent profit, while at the same time hire American workers, and pay them a living wage.

In the 60s and early 70s, there were all kinds of factories. Shirt factories, undergarment factories, etc. But, today, even the "Great American Chocolate Bar" is made in Mexico. We need to bring those jobs back to America. When we do that, then we can do something about Entitlements.

I use to be a radio announcer, but because of national shows like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, etc., and radio stations being controlled by computers, or satellite hook up, people like me are no longer needed. So we can't just simply say we need to get rid of Entitlements. It would be inhumane to all of a sudden take people off Entitlements when they are dependent on them.

I hate what Entitlements have done to this country, and if we could just end them without hurting anyone, that would be great. But that is not reality.

By the way, I don't remember this country having a homeless problem before Entitlements. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks for your time.

This article was written in 2010. While my understanding and disdain for entitlements has not changed, I did not have a plan to eliminate them. I do now. The pertinent part of my current economic plan is this...

You may ask if Social Security and Aid to the Poor are Constitutional. Not really. But, it would be inhumane to just yank people off programs they are depending on. That's why I have a plan to wean the United States off these programs.

People should have the option to opt out of Social Security. If they take that option, they will no longer pay the Social Security tax, nor will they ever receive Social Security benefits. Besides, a younger worker could opt for their own retirement package, such as a 401 K. You can work with your bank or other financial institution, including insurance companies to have custom retirement plans. In this day and age, Social Security is not really necessary. There are other options, and the American people should have the right to use those other options.

How will we fund Social Security benefits of those that do not opt out? Fair question. The way they are being funded now, through the General Fund. There is no Social Security Trust Fund. Social Security is being funded by a note. The Federal Government has taken every penny from Social Security and unwisely spent it all.

We will not accept new applications for Housing Assistance, or Food Stamps. Eventually those programs will come to an end. We will not remove any current recipient. But we will not accept any new recipients.

However, there is one group of people that the Federal Government should always take care of. The Veterans. Whether it be in retirement, housing or food. So, aid to the poor will not go away, it will just be limited to our veterans and their immediate families.

So, in essence, entitlements will not go away, but who the qualified recipients are will change. We must always take care of our veterans. As I said in my article about veterans....

When I hear about how our Government is treating our veterans, it makes me wonder how they sleep at night, and if they have a conscience. This Government has sent them off to war. And sometimes when they come back, they have problems, either with their health, or financially, unable to get a job.

The way our Government treats our vets is just unconscionable. Well, when I am President, I will fight for the vets. There is just no reason why a vet should be homeless, without food or proper healthcare. If anyone deserves Government Assistance, it's the vets. We should do everything in our power to make sure the vets are taken care of. line2016.freeforums.net/thread/20/veterans

I believe my approach to entitlements is a common sense, Constitutional approach. It's plain that entitlements have been a drain on our economy. We have to end that. That's not to say I believe people depending on entitlements should just die as Ayn Rand might have believed, whose philosophy is taking over conservatism. We need an alternative to Federal Government entitlements. The Constitution is a restraint on the Federal Government not on the States or the people. It is the States and the people that should come up with how they wish to give aid to the poor.

Personally I'd like to see the church follow the teachings of Christ and take care of the poor, instead of being the capitalistic industry Christianity has become in America. The church in America is wasting billions on huge buildings, television ministries, amusement parks, etc. If the church in America would obey the teachings of Christ instead of their man-made doctrines, we would not need Federal entitlements. The church in America is largely to blame for the economic mess we are in regarding entitlements.

Congress and the President should work with the States and the people to seek a solution to the entitlement problem. The Federal Government can not continue the way it's going, and we can't just yank people off entitlements without an alternative.

The Federal Government must get their fiscal house in order, and this is part of doing that. We have a mammoth debt that must be dealt with. If we don't, the entitlements will eventually go away anyway. My solution is to get alternatives before that happens.