This man has the right idea!
Can we elect HIM to be president
Letter to the Editor,Waco Tribune Herald, Waco , TX
Letter to the Editor,Waco Tribune Herald, Waco , TX
Nov 18, 2010
Put me in charge .....
Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; 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.
Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations.
Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.
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 anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.
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."
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.
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.
Alfred W. Evans, Gatesville
Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; 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.
Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations.
Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.
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 anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.
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."
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.
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.
Alfred W. Evans, Gatesville
Now that's what I call socialism. Like that dude will get elected.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you support this man's sentiment. As xhyanghwa pointed out, these concepts are still, at their roots, socialist in nature--a system I had understood you to be fully against. Guess I'm still not exactly clear on how your ideal America is intended to function.
ReplyDeleteI felt that some of his examples could be construed as demeaning, and that some of the measures he suggests might be a bit extreme. For those legitimately dependent on government relief, some of these efforts become exceedingly apathetic, but beyond his potential lack of compassion for those genuinely suffering, he has valid points. The last paragraph sums up his basic concern pretty well, and I completely agree with this statement.
If this man wants to get elected, he would have to court the very people he will force these regulations on. His ideas may work on paper, but it won't work in practice, given how he knows little of human nature. If he was to be in charge of medicaid, what do piercings and tattoos have with his regulations. How would this affect the disabled, who can't find work anyway? He's to little more research in what he's going to be in charge of.
ReplyDeleteHey xhyanghwa: It's a letter to the editor not a campaign platform. Try to keep up!
ReplyDeleteThat's the point, the guy thinks he can make the changes overnight, he was in charge.
ReplyDelete@anon 8:10
ReplyDeleteThat was criticism on the man. Even if Mr. Evans was only writing an editorial to newspaper, the man doesn't understand human behavior too well. Simply put, I was just being critical, that's all. I don't expect anyone to agree with me on it, I was just voicing my opinion.
I do agree with you xhyanghwa that this man would never be elected--he'd need to earn the trust of the very people he aims to bring the hammer down on, and I, too, feel he lacks the political savvy to dupe enough people to vote for him. This is much the same problem facing the KKK in their apparent bid for political power--they alienate too much of the population to ever gain any control over them. Are you listening, Thomas? You could learn for this (though I doubt your pride will allow it)!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have to agree with the other poster that pointed out that this is an emotionally charged letter to an editorial, not an (dis)honest campaign attempt. While it may not make him popular in every circle, it does point out some clear issues facing our nation.
I feel we cannot entirely do away with relief programs, not only because there are those that, for legitimate reasons, cannot find sufficient employment, and do honestly rely on this aid, but because a certain degree of incentive is necessary to maintain social order. Our economic structure necessitates that a foundation of lower classes support those of the lofty upper classes. Nobody wants to be at the bottom, and those that find themselves there are likely to feel deserving of something more than what they have been allowed to achieve. If they can't achieve their ambitions (or believe they can't) through socially acceptable means--and there is no initiative to help them get by--then these individuals will stoop to criminal means to satiate their sense of entitlement. While this may be frowned upon by the general public, it remains a real--if bitter--aspect of our society, and our nature as human beings.
ReplyDeleteI feel that if we intend to maintain the redeeming qualities of our democracy, then political, economic, and social conditions must be calibrated to keep these unsavory, unethical acts at an absolute minimum. In my opinion, the only way to do this is to continue some level of government aid to those unable to provide for themselves legally. With that said, I am not satisfied with the current system. I don't think the right demographics are paying these dues, and I feel programs currently in place require more effective structuring to ensure that these funds are not misused, and to better equip those who rely on them for independent futures.