One Trick Pony

Money put into the pockets of people who want to better themselves is an investment that will bear fruit. However, money put into the hands of those who are satisfied with their status quo will just squander it.

Poor people are poor for only a few reasons, but the majority of the poor are in that status because they choose to be. The poor I am talking about never get beyond a minimum pay job at the best, and survive on welfare and handouts at the least. Low achievers are fully equipped with the 'wants', but never put forth the effort to realize their dreams. Whenever they have money, it flows from their hands like water through a tea strainer.

Please don't confuse those poor with the low wage earner just starting out in entry-level job positions or those who are having setbacks due to divorce, or suddenly find that medical expenses have cost them all of their savings. This category of low-income earners will either get the help they need or learn and go on to advance in life. These groups of poor whether just starting out at entry level jobs or down on their luck will find a way to progress. The first group will not.

The majority of our poor fall into the first category. This group of poor, for reasons known only to them, cannot and will not achieve independence.

That is why I call them a 'one trick pony'. They don't look beyond today and will spend the money given to them by the Government, but when the money ceases to come into their hands, they will not have advanced from where they were in the beginning. This class of poor will remain on welfare because they haven't the desire or motivation to move up the ladder. Please don't get me wrong; I am not against welfare and helping the poor, just against putting a lot of taxpayer dollars in the hands of this group of poor with any expectation that they will make the economy better. Everyone will know that the stimulus money is only temporary and not something that you would rely on for the long haul.

Bottom-up economics works that way. The philosophy goes that if you put money into the bottom, they will spend it, and the money will trickle up the food chain. The Government will then tax those businesses and the people who are the benefactors of the spending, and return it to the poor. It is a crazy scheme, but in practice, it isn't successful. First and foremost is the problem of motivation. When the Government over taxes, and steals the reward from those who establish a business, they have defeated their own purpose. There is little reason for the sacrifice and dedication to keep a business open if you can't enjoy the fruits of your labor.

That is the catch-22 of bottom up economics. The result is a mathematical certainty that the Government will have to nationalize everything to meet its obligations. But due to the gross inefficiency of Government run economies, they never work for very long. Normal, well-motivated people become discouraged. The loss of incentive drives people into the bottom classes because of the handouts from the Government. Think about it, not everybody can be the beneficiary of Government largess. Somebody has to have their shoulder to the wheel and producing. This is what happened in the old Soviet Union. Other than their military, most Russians were more like the people in the third world than those of an affluent country.

You Liberals need to pay attention. You are driving the United States off of a cliff from which we may not recover. You need to buy into the idea that life is supposed to be a challenge. Working to overcome life's obstacles is the source of real satisfaction. Everybody has an equal opportunity to succeed. A person weak in motivation is a person weak in motivation. The general rule is that this person, without forcing him, will never achieve. According to Obama, our welfare system will no longer try to motivate the recipients. We can't win with policies like that.

It doesn't matter what your money or income situation happens to be, you have challenges. The winners are those who are able to put their challenges behind them, and not hold them out as a reason for needing a handout.

Cheers,

-Robert-