Alotta Monkey Business

Gas, Grass, or Ass — No one Rides for Free (WC 304 R-E)

P17. Is government assistance just allowing people a free ride not to work?

Growing up through the 70s I heard this used a lot, but at the time would have never guessed I'd be learning an important life lesson. But it is true; not so much the gas, grass, or ass part, the free ride part.

In life, there are no free rides, someone has to pay. Who? In the case of shoplifting, the customer pays for the stolen items but most times it's the taxpayer who picks up the tab.

It's the same for assistance, here in the United States, it's we the working people who pay assistance through elevated taxation. Now, before you go blowing a gasket and ripping into me, I'm not saying that assistance is bad, it's just expensive and someone has to pick up the bill.

Does providing assistance give people a free ride? Damn straight it does. However, some people need a free ride for a short time to get back on their feet. Others aren't riding for free, they just earn too little to support their families. But, there are those, and I've known quite a few, who just take it as the easy way out because they are lazy.

I would say the system needs fixing so those who are in need can get help, yet those who are able can provide some kind of work, or service, to help pay for assistance. I'm not talking about putting them out mowing ditches or removing roadkill from the side of the highway, I'm talking about having them do something they can use to get off of assistance. Then, it would not be assistance for a free ride, it would be investing in our future.

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