Let me try to correct some misconceptions.

Food stamps - this is a Federal food program from the Department of Agriculture (USDA), but it is administered by the individual States. It is not welfare, per se, but a program that helps low income people and families buy food. Some time ago, the benefits came to the recipient in a coupon book, but this system was rife with fraud and some people felt it placed a stigma on recipients, most of whom were single women with children. Today, the benefits come in the form of an EBT card which can be used in just about every other state.

Unemployment benefits - this program is most definitely not welfare or public assistance. It is funded entirely (like 100%) by employers. Employees do NOT pay into this insurance fund. It is meant as a temporary assistance for those furloughed or separated from their jobs while they look for another job. Do a search on the forums for my long, drawn out discourse on unemployment benefits.

So, having said all that, and being a small business owner right now, I say that the real problem is not the unemployed collecting benefits or the old collecting Social Security or the disabled collecting SSI. What this country needs is jobs creation. I am not sure how to achieve that. As everyone knows, I did hire a barista, but had to lay him off because daily revenue was not enough to pay him, let alone pay for the cost of goods, utilities, rent or a salary for myself. Olympia (WA's capital) threatens to increase taxes, including sales tax and payroll taxes. This will result in more layoffs as business will not be able to meet those higher taxes.

I will be the first one to hire 2 or 3 people if the revenue justifies it. But as it is, the few customers I have are either unemployed, underemployed, retired or disabled, and therefore do not have two dimes to rub together. The really sad thing is that many of my customers do not even have paper money; they pay me entirely with coins they scrounged from sofa seats.

Check out this article (Aging boomers face stark economics - CNBC TV- msnbc.com) about boomers falling into permanent hard times. I worry about everyone's future, particularly the young people. What is this world coming to?

Sometimes the temptation to blame others for the problems we experience may seem overwhelming and quite reasonable, but ultimately we are each accountable for our own destiny. It is always true that we have to deal with external forces, but these exist in a general sense for everyone.
The real battle is fought inside each of us and saying that the blame lies outside of ourselves is an escape.


Erich Fromm- philosopher, psychologist and student of the human condition thought about this at length:

Fromm believed that freedom was an aspect of human nature that we either embrace or escape. He observed that embracing our freedom of will was healthy, whereas escaping freedom through the use of escape mechanisms was the root of psychological conflicts. Three main escape mechanisms that Fromm outlined are automaton conformity, authoritarianism, and destructiveness. Automaton conformity is changing one's ideal self to what is perceived as the preferred type of personality of society, losing one's true self. The use of automaton conformity displaces the burden of choice from the self to society. Authoritarianism is allowing oneself to be controlled by another. This removes the freedom of choice almost entirely by submitting that freedom to someone else. Lastly, destructiveness is any process which attempts to eliminate others or the world as a whole to escape freedom. Fromm said that "the destruction of the world is the last, almost desperate attempt to save myself from being crushed by it" (1941).


Just something to think about.