People really need to bone up on their vocabulary skills.
Apparently lots of people don't seem to know or understand what a handout is.
I am not proud of my government.
Far from it.
I believe they serve the best interest of themselves and big business and not the people.
I don't care what side.
That being said, I am tired of all the crap I am hearing and seeing about how so many people in this country are getting handouts and how it is so wrong.
First of all, I get this from a lot of extended family.
My grandparents got what used to be called ADFC(Aid to Dependent Family and Children), now called welfare.
If it wasn't for that aid, my grandparents, father, and his 13 siblings could have starved or frozen to death because they were homeless.
And yet, I have heard some uncles, aunts, and cousins bad mouth it.
Think about where you come from before you bitch about things.
Second of all, anything you get without effort is technically a handout.
If you get more money back than you paid in taxes because of the earned income credit or child tax credit, you are the recipient of a handout.
You didn't earn that money, you were given it.
If you participated in Cash for Clunkers, you got a handout.
The dealerships got the money from the government so a $500 car could be traded for $4000.
Government program that someone benefited from without effort = handout.
I am not saying handouts are bad, but lots of people seem to just count certain things and forget about the rest.
Does anyone say that Social Security is a handout? Or are they too worried about a pensioner poking them with a walking stick?
ReplyDeleteGorilla Bananas, I never do hear that about straight SS. They figure they pay in so it is their money. Even though you only need so many credits to be eligible to draw and many people get more than they ever paid in. SSI or disability is something I hear complained about. A lot of people are able to get on it and some don't really need it.
DeleteMaybe they are worried about the walking stick. Never thought of that angle? Or being hit by their hoveround.
The problem with handouts is that there are some people who absolutely do not deserve them. This muddies the water for the people who absolutely DO deserve them. I have no problem with helping truly deserving people. Where I have a problem is handing over my money to lazy slack asses.
ReplyDeleteAl, I do know that some people deserve it and others don't. What bugs me is how a lot of people lump everyone together into the lazy category. They also think one thing is a handout, but the other thing isn't so they aren't getting one.
DeleteOh, I hate it when I get serious. Know any fart jokes?
ReplyDeleteRevenge Is Sweet
DeleteThere once was an old couple who had been married for thirty years.
Every morning the old boy would wake up and give off an enormous fart, much to his long suffering wife's annoyance.
"You'll fart your guts out one of these days," she always complained.
After a particularly bad week the wife decided to have her revenge and got up early, placing some turkey giblets in the bed next to the old boy's ass.
While making breakfast downstairs she heard his usual morning fart reverberate through the floorboards followed by a scream.
Twenty minutes later a rather shaken man came downstairs.
"You was right all along Missus," the old man says, "I finally did fart my guts out, but by the grace of God, and these two fingers, I managed to push 'em back in!"
There you go!
I promise my next post won't be so serious.
When I figure it out, that is.
Well, thank you for that. I feel much better.
DeletePlus, when I came back and saw the term "bone up" in your first sentence, it made me giggle.
Glad I'm back!
I wondered about my wording when I wrote it, but I couldn't think of another way to put it.
DeleteI applaud you for this post, as a liberal social worker (and proudly so). First of all, they shouldn't be called "handouts." That has a negative stigma from the start. As with your family, it's a support to help people survive when they wouldn't otherwise. Because a few people abuse the system, the homeless and poor as seen as lazy. It's infuriating. You have my vote, Ruth. Thank you. Now, I hope you'll consider running for office.
ReplyDeletexoRobyn
Robyn, thank you. People seem to like to lump things into categories. It not a good thing. Social workers work hard. Good for you.
ReplyDeleteI once saw a homeless guy with no legs panhandling on the street. Some guy walked by and knocked over his coins, so the legless homeless guy stood up (he had just tucked back his legs in his phony wheelchair to appear handicapped) and ran after the guy to yell at him. Screwed up? Yes. But that doesn't mean I'll never help another homeless person, or that all people who panhandle are phonies who don't really need help.
ReplyDeleteABFTS, I hope that guy knew the man in the wheelchair was faking. I think helping others in whatever way we can, when we can makes us better people.
DeleteI wonder if there is a magic portion that will make rich people understand the difficulties and hardships of those who are having it hard in this world. It is very easy for people to judge when they are not in the shoes of those who suffer.
ReplyDeleteMunir, if only the movie Trading Places were real so the rich could understand.
Delete