ENTITLEMENT
“The belief that we are
deserving of or entitled to privileges”
Have we
created a monster? We in America are
guilty of falling into the same trap where the European countries find
themselves. “Social Justice” is wearing
away at our very foundation and the palace is beginning to crumble around
us.
Somehow we
have ended up with a large segment of our population who believe they are entitled
to money or other benefits which they did not earn or pay for. The funds to pay for such programs come from
one of two sources: taxes levied by the
government on businesses and individuals, or from government borrowing. When the money is taken, by way of taxation, it
is paid by those who earned it; and in turn, distributed to those who did not. When the money is obtained through borrowing,
it is a future burden on following generations who must repay the debt and a
current stealth tax because it has a tendency to devalue our currency, causing
inflation (amounting to 26% from 2005 to 2012, per Office of Management and
Budget for the White House – and estimated to be 41% by 2017).
Some examples:
SNAP (food stamp program) cost $72 billion in 2011, which was up $30 billion
from 2007 and the number receiving benefits have continued to rise since 2011,
to now reaching almost 50,000,000. The
total budget cost for “Food and nutrition assistance” for 2011 was estimated to
be $103 billion. Unemployment benefits
cover 99 weeks, which is almost two years.
Unemployment compensation was estimated to cost $194 billion in
2010. Housing assistance estimated at
$77 billion in 2010. Federal aid to
college students amounted to $180 billion in 2012. During the past few years, the Federal
Government has taken over the student loan program. Many expect this loan program to be a bubble
that will burst in the near future, causing a massive loss/cost to the
taxpayers. The EITC – Earned Income Tax
Credit had a cost, in 2008, of $51 billion for 25,000,000 families. The TANF – Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families was $28 billion in 2008. The
budget shows estimated amounts for 2011, of $320 billion for General retirement
and disability insurance, Federal employee retirement and disability, and other
income security (excluding Social Security).
This does
not list all social programs and has not touched on subsidy programs, other
grants, etc. It does indicate a snapshot
of the problem we face. “Social Justice”,
or the redistribution of income, has created an entitlement mentality and is
causing class warfare. Those who have
adopted such a mentality have lost the concept of personal responsibility and
replaced the idea of the “American Dream” with an expectation of being taken
care of by others. Those with class envy
no longer see the rich as an example to follow so as to also become
successful.
This
situation has created a political downward spiral between the two main parties
as they relate to the financial well-being for America. Traditionally, though not exclusively, it has
been the Democrats (or the Left) who have proposed and encouraged the expansion
of the social programs into the modern welfare state. Politically, this has proven to be a
successful strategy for gaining a broader voter base. One of the Founders of our country stated
that a democracy will only survive until the people realize they can vote
themselves benefits from the public treasury.
(This is one of the reasons our country was set up to be a Republic and
not a Democracy. Over the years, we have
slipped away from Republican [not the party] principles and have transitioned
into more of a functioning Democracy.)
As the
entitlement segment of the voting public has continued to grow, the Left has
seized upon the opportunity to gain a more permanent seat of power. They even advertise to get more people in the
food stamp program. When people speak
out against the situation in which we find ourselves, individuals who have
grown dependent upon government to supplement or meet their needs worry that
they will lose their benefits is Republicans ever gain control, again. So they continue to support the Democrats
with their votes. It is estimated that
half of the population is not paying Federal Income Tax and many of those are
also receiving benefits.
This
presents a stacked deck against the Right ever being in power to reform federal
spending. Meanwhile, we are heading
towards national financial ruin due to over spending and excessive
borrowing. The path we are on offers no scenario
where it all works out well in the end.
We are in the fourth consecutive year where there is a deficit of over a
trillion dollars with no relief on the horizon.
We are borrowing around 45 cents out of every dollar being spent by
Washington. We were recently subjected
to a barrage of sound bites as to the “fiscal cliff” we would go over if the
mandated trillion dollars of cuts (over the next ten years) were allowed to
take place. It sounded like the world would
end by the very next day. Reality is
that the “cuts” are not overall cuts at all, but only a reduction in the
projected increase in spending planned for the coming year. Only in Washington do we find that a smaller
increase in spending is a reason for a financial calamity.
Instead of
finding a way to better educate the public as to the negative effects of our
current path and the benefits of self-responsibility, many of the Republicans
are trying to out-promise the Left. This
is a failed strategy if the goal is getting back to financial stability and
saving the country. Abandoning
principles is not a path to victory. The
voters on the Left will not trust that you mean what you promise and will still
vote for Democrats. Those on the Right
will reject the Left-leaning Republicans and support those who are more conservative. This will split the Republican Party and the
Democrats will continue to win elections and further us on this same path.
