Backward Thinking

We’ve all been through difficult financial times. Loss of a job, extra unexpected expenses, increased cost of living. We’ve been there. Some of us had to dip into our savings. Others asked family or friends to help. Perhaps we sold some things we didn’t really need, took a part time job, or cut down on unnecessary expenses. We did what we had to do to survive and improve our situation. Nothing unusual about that.

The government, however, carried out a poll asking what people do when money is tight. The results?

•Savings 44%
•Family 21%
•Credit cards/loans 20%
•Government assistance 15%

Now, when I see those numbers, I can’t help but think that 65% are relying on savings and family, which is a good thing. Only 15% are relying on government assistance. So I start wondering if there are ways to get that 15% number to go even further down.

But that’s not how the government sees it. Instead, they would prefer that more people rely on them! They say: “Given that only 15 percent of you turn to government assistance in tough times, we want to make sure you know about benefits that could help you.” In other words, we want more people to know how to rely on us!

As I’ve stated many times, the government is not some entity that produces a product or service for which willing consumers are happy to pay. The government doesn’t generate its own income. It gets its money from you and me. So why would we want more and more people to rely on it?

Our personal freedoms decrease in direct proportion to the increase in our level of dependency on government. Wanting more people to rely on government is nothing more than backward thinking!

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