There are vampires among us!
To the editor:
Unemployment — how do we get people back to work and those terrible numbers down? Politicians across America seem to be totally befuddled as to how to accomplish this goal.
The answer is glaringly simple— quit extending unemployment benefits and paying people to stay home. Period. Oh, and also severely cut the 73 welfare programs which prop up and supplement nearly 40 percent of residents and non-residents of the U.S. of A. (Yes, you read it here first, 73 welfare programs.)
Since these programs are largely the creation of the Democratic Party, it’s little wonder that no matter how bad the situation is in America, President Obama still has a 40 percent favorable rating. These 40 percent are literally leeches on the monetary lifeblood of the country and they will selfishly suck it dry and destroy it before they give up whatever they can get from the great American (teat) federal government.
As bad as the unemployment stats are, these numbers do not include all the people who have run out of unemployment benefits and are no longer even looking for work. These people must still have money to survive, right? No problem. They just start sucking on one or more of the 73 teats available to them.
We used to be a country of can-do, rugged individualists. We used to drag ourselves up by our own boot straps rather than take a dime of charity. There was a pride, a good pride, in being able to make our own way in the world — to provide for our own.
What has happened to us as Americans, and Mainers, in particular? Maine, per capita, is the largest welfare state in the country. Who doesn’t know many people who are sucking on one or more of these teats; and I’m not talking here of the 80-year-old little old ladies huddled around their wood stoves in winter. I’m talking about the vast majority of these lifeblood suckers who are well able to work, who play the system and who are dragging down this country and taking us all down with them.
The trouble is we’ve taken the “shame” and “embarrassment” out of being on the public dole. The “vampires” now have a little card that looks every bit like a bank debit/credit card. Even so, most of these “vampires” have no qualms about telling people they’re on the dole, or they’ve been unemployed for three or more years, or even that they’re disabled even as they are well able to go hunting, play sports or work under the table.
We who know people participating in these behaviors and who do not report them are similar to the “familiars” in the vampire movies. We know they’re vampires, yet we not only don’t turn them in to be destroyed or punished, but we actually let them suck our blood. After all, where does the government get its money? They get it from us, Joe Taxpayer.
People with dignity, integrity and basic decent morals would not sit at home letting other people pay their way while there are jobs to fill. And let there be no mistake there are plenty of jobs out there. They’re just not the high-paying jobs that are worth dragging their entitled butts out of bed for in the morning. How many times have I heard “Why should I take a job that pays $8 an hour when I can stay home and get just as much in unemployment benefits?”
Well, fellow Americans, it’s called integrity. It’s called dignity. It’s called decent morals. But America will not be great for much longer if we don’t take control and get real with making people get back to taking responsibility to support themselves. We need to tell our representatives to stop extending unemployment benefits and to make real cuts to these welfare and entitlement programs. If we don’t, America’s future life will be very short indeed.
Clare Kierstead
Presque Isle
