| |
A Nation of Fools
By Peary Perry
I “Send in the clowns……”
I really must make it a point next week to
run down (not literally) my postman
(post-person? postal employee?) and ask him
(her? or whatever) what happened to my
application for benefits under the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Family Program. Surely
it must be stuck in their (his, hers,
whatever) mail sack or bag or whatever they
call the thing they use to carry the mail.
Forgive me if I am not PC enough to get all
of the terminology correct, I’m doing the
best I can.
You didn’t get your notice either? What’s up
with this? Maybe we were absent the day the
notice went out…..you think?
Not surprising, no one in our neck of the
woods has heard of it either. It must be
some sort of regional program.
A little bit of explanation. The Temporary
Assistance….let’s just call it the TANF
program was part of the stimulus program
enacted last year. It was designed to
provide some benefits and assistance to our
citizens who were attempting to obtain
government jobs. So, included in last years
stimulus package was this little noticed
program which has doled out over 4.3 billion
bucks to some 120,000 of our citizens. Lucky
them.
Don’t bother to get your calculator out,
I’ll do it for you, it comes out to a little
over $40,000 per person.
Here’s what the money was to be used for:
Basic assistance- (I could have used this
and you probably could as well) I suppose
that’s for food, gasoline, tires, clothes, a
new flat screen TV…you know all of the
things that we need to live on….doesn’t seem
to be many restrictions or definition as to
exactly what the word ‘basic’ actually
means…but those are detail and who cares
about details when you are handing our free
money?
Emergency expenses-(I could have used this
and you probably could as well) this money
was to go for such things as rent and
utilities. I have those. I could have used
money for this. Especially if it was free.
My electricity bill is way too high, and if
the Queen of England is trying to get her
light bill partially paid for by the
government, why shouldn’t I? I wonder if she
remembers to turn out the lights in her
castles as she moves from room to room?
Probably not.
Subsidize payroll on jobs- (I could have
used this and you probably could as
well)...this is a great way to spend
government funds. You just go into the
private sector and pay for a certain portion
of an employer’s payroll. Talk about a boost
to the economy. Why the governor of
Mississippi (a republican... no less) says
it helped his state keep 3,200 jobs. All an
employer had to do was keep the person on
the payroll for at least six months. What a
deal. I really like this one the best. Let’s
say I’m in the construction business and you
own another company and we are both bidding
on a contract. You, poor fellow, did not get
notice of the subsidy program, so shame on
you. If some portion of my labor costs are
being subsidized by this government program,
whose bid is probably going to come in
lower? I know you readers, you can figure
this out. Why… it would probably be mine
since I have lower cost associated with the
project. I win; you lose…thanks to Uncle Sam
and this wonderful free money.
Free money….? Would someone, anyone be kind
enough to explain to me where this free
money actually comes from in the first
place?
Is this the model of efficiency we need for
economic growth in this country? Unfair
competition for some, but not all? Federal
programs being instituted to a select few
who just happen to be on the inside and
being made aware of what is available?
I know, the naysayers will say that we all
can look for these programs, they are open
to everyone. You just have to know how to
look.
Sorry, but I don’t have time to look…I’m too
busy working to pay my utility bills, my
mortgage and taxes so you guys in congress
can give away more money or pay for clowns
like Steven Colbert to entertain you for a
day. At least he is honest enough to admit
he is a clown, none of you people will do
so.
Comments go to www.pearyperry.com
|
|
Archives .
Biography .
Books .
Editors Sign Up Form .
Letters from North America
Nation of Fools . Newspapers
.
Bet You Didn't Know .
Recipes .
Send Your Comments to Peary .
Subscribe to Feed
|
