Obamanomics: A Cell Phone in Every Pocket

First, you cannot legislate charity. Welfare is not charity.
Welfare is the forced redistribution of wealth and it is wrong.

I currently make over $70K a year and I cannot afford a cell phone. I have not had a cell phone for more than 2 years. I have a $20 telephone line from Bellsouth. No extras.

I have been laid off from 3 of my first 5 career jobs beginning in 2000, the longest stretch being for 4 months. I had two babies at the time and lost my residence. I was forced to move back in with my parents and was stuck with them for over a year before I was able to find work that allowed me to get back on my feet. They will never know how grateful I am for them and their generosity.

This is the United States of America. This country was founded on the idea of personal accountability. I never cease to be amazed how people who so easily identify with Darwinism (liberals) so completely abandon the philosophy when applied to people (welfare).

I am not nearly as angry to find a homeless person with a cell phone as I am with the idea that my government feels obligated to give him one.

And one other point I forgot...

Welfare starts with the Family. If I need help I go to my family. If my family needs help I expect them to come to me. If the family cannot provide each other with an extra few bucks and or cell phone then the family has failed. This family includes close friends who are of no blood relations.

If the family fails maybe it's time to find God. My church is the next stop if things in my world crash. A lot of problems in America can be traced to a lack of God in people's lives.

The government is the last place to find help. I don't believe in the New Deal during Roosevelt and I don't believe in it now.

And one final thought...

The best times I had during my unemployment periods were the times of service. I got to teach High School. I got to volunteer my time teaching adults to read. I got to volunteer at the soup kitchen. Why not teach these people to give back to the community.

I appreciate your comments but what you may not know is that I have been laid off 5 times. I am not completely unsympathetic but where does it end? I didn't get a phone hand out and frankly I didn't expect one. I was unemployed for more than a year during one stretch. I had to hike it to a pay phone because I couldn't afford a phone. I was sleeping on a friends couch. I was giving plasma and working, manual labor jobs like raking leaves to eat.
Was it pleasant? Hell no but it motivated me to change my circumstance. During one recession I was stuck. I was too educated/had too much experience for entry level jobs and not enough to get a job. My point is if I can rise above anyone can. It's called the American Dream. Giving handouts like Ritalin to hyperactive kids in the 90's, isn't the solution.
My parents have financially collapsed due to too much government in the airlines. In the 80's and 90's the government was bailing out airlines left and right and it weakened the herd. My dad lost his job after 32 years. He was too old, made too much money wasn't a minority nor was he female. During his airline's restructuring through more government intervention, he lost his lifetime health benefits. Through crooks on Wall Street and several unsavory CEO's he has lost much of his airline retirement. At age 64 he and my mom have had to start all over. With no handouts, no bailouts, no insurance and no cell phone. Even they agree that the government gives too much to the "poor" and it cripples their ability. If you take a lion out of the jungle and put him in a cage he forgets how to hunt. You can give it all to the poor but it doesn't make them leave the teat. Even the most socialist countries like Denmark have homeless.
My point with this outrage is the government is spending like it's the end of the world and our economy and country will collapse due to the weight of the burden. Government spending needs to be cut drastically across the board.

I consider myself a strong conservative...I especially disapprove of most of the government spending. But I'm concerned by your blog because it reminds me of the knee jerk reactions often times associated with liberals. I'm not sure you have ever interacted with anyone who has become homeless.

The reality is, a large number of homeless people are trying their best to get back on their feet. One major way of trying to find work is to have a phone for potential employers to get ahold of them. Land lines don't work because the individuals don't have homes! The hope is, with the phones, they can find work and get off the "teet of the government".

Another sad reality is that because of the economy the face of homelessness is drastically changing. Our company does a lot of work with one of the largest homeless shelters in LA County. On a daily basis they are encountering middle class families, who have worked hard and payed taxes, now finding themselves homeless. It is these hard working people that need mobile phones to help get themselves back on their feet.

Believe me, I look forward to the day when government will no longer have to provide assistance to those individuals who are homeless because successful individuals, like yourself, will step up to the plate and help take care of those in need. Maybe you already do this...if so, God Bless.

Actually, I am thankful that folks who have lost everything, including their homes, have an opportunity to stay connected with possible job opportunities, friends, and even family by having a cell phone. Would anyone prefer that folks who have fallen into homelessness from unemployment, foreclosures, evictions, many for the 1st time ever, also become phoneless and cut off from contact with family and job opportunities?