Welfare abuse

I was reading something on violent acres that reminded me of something I've been going off on for years. To preface things I'll let you know that, yes, when my girlfriend and I had an unexpected pregnancy, we did use resources like W.I.C. and the pregnancy care center, and no, we did not take free crap like milk, eggs, cheese or formula.

What we did use those things for was the counseling, We went to child birth education classes, parenting classes, and just about anything else you could think of. We learned that breast-feeding is not only better for your child but that it's much cheaper. The one thing I can say we did use was W.I.C. offered a program that rented breast pumps for $50 bucks for as long as you'd like to use it. It still wasn't like I was having the government buy formula for me.

With the background information out there about me I'll continue with my rant, most of it stems from what I saw while I was working as a cashier in a little market in Logan UT. I can't count how many times people would come in and buy candy, soda, cookies, all kinds of crap with their food stamp card. If you've noticed lately they've gone to a system, where they use a card, that's discreet, and kinda looks like a credit card. If you ask me; I think if you're taking money out of the pockets of everyone around you so that you can buy crap like cookies and candy and what not, it should be obvious what you're doing.

The worst things I remember seeing was people who I know were better off than me; (at the time I was being paid 7.25 an hour to cashier at a market, and I worked as a cook in a bar and grill at nights.) using food stamps to come in and get their hourly fountain drinks and bags of penny candy. I also remember seeing people come in buy a bunch of frozen dinners and other random crap with their food stamp card, then buy beer and cigarettes with cash.

NEWSFLASH: if you have money for beer and cigarettes, then you have enough money for food and other necessities.

I used to wonder how I could ever afford a kid, Ya know what it's not so hard. I don't make a ton of money, but guess what I figured out. If you stop smoking and limit yourself to a couple of six packs of sam adams instead of a constant flow of beer in the fridge or if you just don't go out to the bar anymore, you have more than enough money for diapers and to buy your own food and formula.

While I do understand that there are people who genuinely need help, I also understand that if you're an able bodied male with average mental capacity, you're not one of those people. I don't care who you are. If you want to work, you'll find work. I've had more than one job for much of my adult life. When things got a little tight I got a second job or I cut back on things I didn't really need, i didn't get food stamps so that everyone else can pay for my food while i spend my money on beer and cigarettes.

If I ran the world, I wouldn't eliminate welfare and I certainly wouldn't eliminate W.I.C. because they have so many programs other than just the free food and formula that people can take advantage of. What I would do, is make welfare more like a second job. Yes, you'll get food stamps, but no, they won't be free, you'll work a government job. You'll help road crews, you'll clean public buildings, or anything else that needs to be done. I can't count how many friends have had to take a second job to support their families, this program will, in essence, be a state sponsored second job. You can work any time you're not at your primary job. You know you've all seen road crews working in the wee hours of the morning. I think this will do two things, it will weed out the people that don't really need welfare, and it will save an already strained goverment program millions of dollars.