This is a little extreme in some respects, but relateable. I would say I agree with about 75% of it. But for the record, no citizen should ever be denied the right to vote.
UPDATED-My comments are in red
PUT ME IN CHARGE...
Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards (SNAP); no
cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice
and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul
away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.
(Food stamps are a necessity for some families, just as much as free lunch programs are to some kids. The problem lies in that anything edible you want can be bought with food stamps as long as it's not "ready to eat". What can be purchased needs to be really belted down to nutritionally dense foods and packaged foods with less that XX% of calories from sugar or fat (and NOT Lobster, Crab, Steak, etc...). Companies would have healthier alternatives on the shelf in months if they lost a good part of their market share. If you want the Ding Dongs or HoHo's, Coke or Pepsi, get a job to pay for it)
(Food stamps are a necessity for some families, just as much as free lunch programs are to some kids. The problem lies in that anything edible you want can be bought with food stamps as long as it's not "ready to eat". What can be purchased needs to be really belted down to nutritionally dense foods and packaged foods with less that XX% of calories from sugar or fat (and NOT Lobster, Crab, Steak, etc...). Companies would have healthier alternatives on the shelf in months if they lost a good part of their market share. If you want the Ding Dongs or HoHo's, Coke or Pepsi, get a job to pay for it)
Norplant birth control implants or tubal legations. Then, we'll test
recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine. If you want to reproduce
or use drugs, alcohol, or smoke, then get a job.
(You can't force an invasive procedure on women simply because they bear the children. If you want to give them tubal ligations, then you need to make the men have vasectomies also. However, if either sex wanted to have these procedures and could not afford it, it should be subsidized.
Testing should be done for drugs, alcohol (within reason) and nicotine for government assistance programs.
Socialized medicine will eliminate the need for Medicaid and as the only civilized country without it, it's about time we caught up to them.)
Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military
(You can't force an invasive procedure on women simply because they bear the children. If you want to give them tubal ligations, then you need to make the men have vasectomies also. However, if either sex wanted to have these procedures and could not afford it, it should be subsidized.
Testing should be done for drugs, alcohol (within reason) and nicotine for government assistance programs.
Socialized medicine will eliminate the need for Medicaid and as the only civilized country without it, it's about time we caught up to them.)
Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military
barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of
repair. Your “home “will be subject to inspections at anytime and
possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360,
then get a job and your own place.
(Public Housing & Section 8 participants already consent to inspections at any time with notice.
Not barracks, but just like the Sheriff in Arizona that created the tent cities for inmates, government housing could be made much simpler. Air Conditioning is a luxury. Cable and Satellite TV are luxuries. Smartphones=luxury. We have had so much for so long we have lost touch with what is a luxury vs. what is a necessity. Two generations removed the depression and anything learned back then is lost. Kids don't "have" to each have their own room, bunk beds were invented for a reason. All children under 10 can share a room, older than 10, each sex gets a room. Single parents don't need a room of their own unless they are opposite sex of their children. One bath is fine. Our grandparents were raised in large families with simple homes and a single bathroom. If you feel that each of your children needs their own room, get a job that will pay for it.)
(Public Housing & Section 8 participants already consent to inspections at any time with notice.
Not barracks, but just like the Sheriff in Arizona that created the tent cities for inmates, government housing could be made much simpler. Air Conditioning is a luxury. Cable and Satellite TV are luxuries. Smartphones=luxury. We have had so much for so long we have lost touch with what is a luxury vs. what is a necessity. Two generations removed the depression and anything learned back then is lost. Kids don't "have" to each have their own room, bunk beds were invented for a reason. All children under 10 can share a room, older than 10, each sex gets a room. Single parents don't need a room of their own unless they are opposite sex of their children. One bath is fine. Our grandparents were raised in large families with simple homes and a single bathroom. If you feel that each of your children needs their own room, get a job that will pay for it.)
In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week
or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the
roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we
find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and
your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the "common
good".
(All citizens should be required to perform 2 years of compulsory service after high school to receive some sort of training, be it military or peace corps. Once that service is up, you should have at least a rudimentary marketable skill and hopefully a certain maturity level to enable them to function in the real world. After that if you do not have a full time job, community service should be required (and offered), part time job = more hours of service, no job = even more hours. Of course there are always exceptions for elderly and disabilities (based on ability).)
(All citizens should be required to perform 2 years of compulsory service after high school to receive some sort of training, be it military or peace corps. Once that service is up, you should have at least a rudimentary marketable skill and hopefully a certain maturity level to enable them to function in the real world. After that if you do not have a full time job, community service should be required (and offered), part time job = more hours of service, no job = even more hours. Of course there are always exceptions for elderly and disabilities (based on ability).)
Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all
of the above is voluntary. If you want our money; accept our rules.
Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self
esteem", consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone
else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered
self esteem.
(Food stamps, welfare, housing doesn't carry the same stigma it used too. It is more acceptable within the communities because there are large concentrations of poverty in cities. The government housing needs to be spread out and randomized in regular "middle class" or "blue collar" neighborhoods. Only by doing this will those in less fortunate circumstances see what can be accomplished and aspire to that. Keeping everyone grouped together only re-enforces the behavior and culture that got them there in the first place. Assistance needs to be for emergencies, not a way of life.)
(Food stamps, welfare, housing doesn't carry the same stigma it used too. It is more acceptable within the communities because there are large concentrations of poverty in cities. The government housing needs to be spread out and randomized in regular "middle class" or "blue collar" neighborhoods. Only by doing this will those in less fortunate circumstances see what can be accomplished and aspire to that. Keeping everyone grouped together only re-enforces the behavior and culture that got them there in the first place. Assistance needs to be for emergencies, not a way of life.)
If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at
least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current
system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.
(People do make bad choices, but not everyone's situation is caused by their bad choices. There should be required workshops on budgeting, basic money management, nutrition, how to shop healthy, getting GED, etc... in order to keep receiving assistance. Maybe they will learn how to avoid making some of these mistakes in the future.
I also think assistance needs to be capped. If you are already in housing, receiving food stamps, Medicaid, etc... then if you have 2 kids, that is the rate you get. If you keep having kids, that's fine, but don't expect to get paid more. If you're receiving food stamps for 2 kids and have 2 more, then you'll have to stop getting frozen pizza and switch to beans and rice to make the same dollars stretch farther. The kids will still receive free lunch at school because it's not their fault. And maybe if we held people a little more accountable for their choices, they would think a little more responsibly over time. Of course, the morning after pill must be available at a low cost as well as abortions, so Planned Parenthood must be in the communities)
(People do make bad choices, but not everyone's situation is caused by their bad choices. There should be required workshops on budgeting, basic money management, nutrition, how to shop healthy, getting GED, etc... in order to keep receiving assistance. Maybe they will learn how to avoid making some of these mistakes in the future.
I also think assistance needs to be capped. If you are already in housing, receiving food stamps, Medicaid, etc... then if you have 2 kids, that is the rate you get. If you keep having kids, that's fine, but don't expect to get paid more. If you're receiving food stamps for 2 kids and have 2 more, then you'll have to stop getting frozen pizza and switch to beans and rice to make the same dollars stretch farther. The kids will still receive free lunch at school because it's not their fault. And maybe if we held people a little more accountable for their choices, they would think a little more responsibly over time. Of course, the morning after pill must be available at a low cost as well as abortions, so Planned Parenthood must be in the communities)
AND while you are on Government subsistence, you no longer can VOTE!
Yes, that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest.
You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are
receiving a Government welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a
job.
(This is total crap! Everyone legal, naturalized, permanent resident has the right to vote. I don't even agree that because you're on parole you should lose the right to vote.)
(This is total crap! Everyone legal, naturalized, permanent resident has the right to vote. I don't even agree that because you're on parole you should lose the right to vote.)