As I write these columns about what government has done to us, I mentioned previously that what government has done to us, is to kill incentive. Incentive to care for ourselves, family, friends, and even groups we are attached to, such as churches and charitable organizations. A book I bought years ago, and have recently re-read, is titled, "The Tragedy Of American Compassion.," by Marvin Olasky, and is dated 1992. One of the first interesting quotes in the book is by Benjamin Franklin, who, in commenting about a welfare act passed in Britain in 1766, said, "There is no country in the world in which the poor are more idle, dissolute, drunken, and indolent." (thanks to the welfare act). A hundred years later, in Buffalo, New York, minister Humphreys Gurteen had established a ’Buffalo Charity Organization,’ private of course, whose idea was to help those who would work for their help. Gurteen noted that a wood yard was attached to the charity, and relief was to be given only to those who would work for their alms and nourishment. When work was attached to the help, applicants instantly fell from 160 to 49. Gurteen’s policies were copied throughout America. Women were given sewing to do, and men physical work. "The Charity Review," wrote in 1890, that "Labor is the life of society, and the beggar who will not work is a social cannibal feeding on that life." Second Thessalonians 3:1o observes that ’those who will not work, neither should they eat.’ In 1900, the Salvation Army had over 700 outposts with 2600 officers and 20,000 volunteers who placed 4800 persons a month in a job, sponsored 141 social relief institutions, 52 shelters, plus numerous homes for the proven needy. There was no government or state welfare, and all the needy were cared for by charitable donations, volunteerism, and distinguished organizations such as the Salvation Army, Red Cross, etc.
Beginning with the Presidency of FDR and his "New Deal," the government welfare seed was planted. At first, alphabet soup agencies were established such as the CCC, (Civilian Conservation Corps), and WPA (Works Progress Administration), to name but two of the many, and all of which were fraught with typical government waste at taxpayer expense. The WPA was nicknamed "We Pay For All," and "In New York City, there were 100 warehouses full of work material but no inventory of what was in which, even though relief administrators used 21 tons of paper a year, and employed 16 clerks, who did nothing but make duplicate copies of forms that had been lost." New York Times. Stories are legend about Roosevelt’s spending lavishly for pointless, wasteful programs, which caused good food to be dumped down drains, and endless bureaucracies, many of which are with us to this day. A half century after the New Deal, Journalist John Pearce recalled, "I don’t think it ever occurred to any of us," that the New Deal, "would be a welfare system that today supports millions who have neither prospect not intention of earning their own living."
In July of 1964, LBJ brought forth "A Great Society: A society of success without squalor, beauty without barrenness, works of genius without the wretchedness of poverty." A basic replay of the New Deal, with a "War on Poverty" added. Inequities abounded as happens in all government programs. One administration official put it this way: "The way to eliminate poverty is to give the poor people enough money so that they won’t be poor anymore." Lefties such as Frances Fox Piven, Richard Cloward, and and Obama trainer Saul Alinsky were all for ’publicizing the plight of the poor,’ out of which would result chaos and anger, resulting in "socialism and for the poor, a guaranteed income." These pure socialists helped to organize the "National Welfare Rights Organization," which in its first four years caused over 100,000 welfare recipients to demand payments, not to just ask for them. The NWRO was an instant hit with Democrats and socialists. The HEW (Health Education and Welfare) established the NWRO as an official bargaining agent for the poor and gave it an instant $435,000. The Association of Social Workers gave the NWRO $36,500. Between The NWRO and the OEO, (Economic Opportunity Act), hundreds of billions were spent, government employment blossomed, and all sorts of new bureaucracies were formed to fight LBJ’s "War on Poverty." The poverty rate was 13% at the beginning, and 16 years later, in 1980, the poverty rate was still 13%.
In 2015, poverty is the same, but welfare continues to bloom. In New York City, entire former luxury hotels, have been turned into homes for the homeless, and even an untrained eye, or a totally illogical person, surely can realize that, "The poor always ye have with you," John 12:8. I fail to fault Darwin’s theory of "Survival of the fittest." What welfare and endless handouts of all sorts has done to America, is to foster literally tens of millions of worthless, non-contributors to society. Millions of people who would rather not work, because the dole pays far better than working.. Examples? In Hawaii, to be on welfare, with no work involved, pays $60,590 a year. Washington D.C. welfare recipients receive $50,540. Connecticut dole recipients receive $44,370, and why should they work? The welfare state, begun by FDR, greatly elaborated on by LBJ, and which disastrous economic policies have continually enlarged ever since, are like previously mentioned Social Security and public education. Welfare has been around now for over 80 years. The first public housing unit was built in 1937, and millions of units have been built since. Tens of thousands have been destroyed by their occupants, and to such a great extent, that the life span of a public housing structure is not much more than 30 years.
It requires no effort to get something for nothing. Whatever you tax, you get less of, and obviously, what you give away, you get more of, which includes public housing residents, welfare recipients, welfare cheats, single parent ’families,’ criminals, and all sorts of people who destroy neighborhoods in which they live, and where public housing has been built. When more get handouts than work to provide them, a nation and economy are doomed. This is exactly the situation America and even parts of the world find themselves in at this time, and it’s getting worse. Millions now living, obviously, should not be alive. Do I advocate murdering welfare recipients? Of course not. Merely not allowing any more entrants, not increasing benefits, and letting nature take its course. Welfare recipients have a notoriously short life span because of obesity, murder carelessness, ill health, drugs, alcoholism, prison, etc. As they die off due to no increases, and no new entrants, within a generation there would be no more, and they would have themselves to blame. When you don’t allow new entrants, regardless of situation, and allow friends, churches, and charity to care for them, if they would, the tax cost would constantly decrease, public housing would be demolished as it became useless due to vandalism, and America would be on the way to a healthy population, low crime rate, and improving economy. Would anyone in Congress vote to do this? Don’t hold your breath. America will continue to harm its useful citizenry by placing the albatross around its collective necks of criminal, worthless, lazy welfare recipients and public housing residents. These recipients of welfare have no incentive to work, have no work ethic.
P.S. Last column for a couple of weeks. We’re going to Nashville for a week or so, ands going to the Grand Old Opry, among other places. The Opry has been broadcast over WSM for about 75 years. Original radio stations had but three call letters, and eastern stations began with "W" and western ones with a "K," and they still do. Many stations’ call letters stood for something, and WSM’s stood for "We Serve Millions," which is an insurance company. Other three letter stations, all of which still exist are KOA in Denver, WRC in Washington D.C. WLW in Cincinnati, KOB in Albuquerque, KSL in Salt Lake City, WLS in Chicago. KFI and KNX in Los Angeles, etc. Useless information? Probably, but I’m full of it!