Usually, I use this blog to rant and rave about Obama's bad decisions, but today is a happy day. I know we are no longer under British rule and that we fought a war to gain our independence, but sometimes I am spellbound by the British monarchy. Today is one of those days. Today, I woke up extremely early, 4:30 am, to watch all the coverage live from London of the Royal Wedding - the matrimonial pomp and circumstance surrounding the nuptials of Prince William Arthur Phillip Louis and Catherine Elizabeth Middleton.
Sometimes, I think it is healthy to stop and focus on the beautiful moments in life like a wedding. Although as Americans we will not be directly affected by the British monarchy, the United Kingdom is our closest ally in the world. The constitutional monarchy of Britain demonstrates that it is possible to have a democracy and a monarch on the throne and still govern well. Queen Elizabeth II has been a superb ruler and is very popular amongst her subjects. The approval rating of the monarchy is over 80% in England which speaks volumes about the position of the people towards the Royal family. It is very positive. As Americans, we have a hard time understanding the role of royalty and may even be averse to its existence, but we can still be awestruck by the trappings of royalty.
The wedding of Prince William and Kate gives us a glimpse into the life and times of a British royal and the ceremony that surrounds the affair. The only event that comes close to having the pomp and circumstance here in America is the inauguration of a President. This event is always surrounded by great ceremony and flair. However, it pales in comparison. I greatly enjoyed watching the wedding and anxiously waiting for the first kiss. It was exciting and cheerful as it should be. I have tried to explain to my skeptical husband the reason for all the excitement amongst us "commoners". Every little girl dreams of becoming a Princess and we got to watch that dream come true for Kate. Now we get to look on as she becomes a princess and the future Queen of England. She will grow into her role as the Duchess of Cambridge and also produce heirs for the throne. I am anxious to see what charities she will become interested in and support. Will she go to Africa and hold children stricken with AIDS in her arms like Diana did? Perhaps.
It will be exciting to watch a young woman develop into a young princess under the tutelage of her loving husband and a magnificent Queen. Kate is a beautiful woman and by all accounts a sweet person ready to assume the role that has been bestowed upon her. There is great pride and joy in England today and I dare say, around the world. It was wonderful to watch this episode of royal life on display and I am hopeful for the future of the British monarchy. Every once in a while you get the opportunity to witness a fairy tale and that happened today. Congratulations Prince William & Duchess Catherine!!!!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Welfare to Work???
I read an article today about proposed legislation in the House for welfare reform by Jim Jordan (R)-Ohio. He proposes that the welfare system needs some major revision and that it is time for some "tough-love" for the recipients. I agree. The system as it currently stands, is designed to keep people dependent on the government and never let them stand on their own two feet. This is simply not the proper design. Welfare should be an assistance program, not a dependency program.
I believe that welfare should be temporary and that the recipients should be encouraged and required to work. True, I have never been on welfare, but I have friends and family with experience in the system. If a person finds himself unemployed and in need of government assistance, the system should be there to help. After all, we pay taxes for this kind of thing. When the person begins receiving assistance, he should be required to reciprocate by performing community service or job training, if full-time work in their field is unavailable. The way the system currently works is to provide assistance while it is needed and it will even supply money for job training and childcare while the training is going on. However, as soon as the needy person achieves the level of training needed to secure gainful employment, it ceases all assistance, including food stamps and Medicaid for the children.
On the surface this appears to work as it should as it moved the person from welfare to work. The problem arises when the now employed person does not earn enough to support the family. If all assistance comes to an end before the person earns enough to maintain a household, the person usually has to resort to quitting the job and decides it is better to stay home and collect a check. This happens all too often and should not be the case. Welfare should be incremental in its amount of assistance. If the needy person has young children requiring childcare, it should be provided or supplemented until the assistance is no longer needed. The same is true of the Medicaid assistance. This type of system would encourage people to continue to work and provide for their family.
If a person is employed and is no longer fully dependent on the government to make ends meet, a sense of accomplishment is achieved and they receive a boost in their self esteem. This serves as continued encouragement to strive for more and become a productive member of society. It also helps to keep families from inheriting the welfare state. There are thousands of examples of former welfare recipients becoming extremely successful people and more than providing for their families. This should be the goal of welfare - to move recipients off the welfare rolls onto the private sector employment rolls. This is what Jordan's bill proposes.
Of course, the House will probably pass it, among party lines, but it will never see the light of day in the Democrat-controlled Senate. This begs the question why wouldn't legislators of any party want to provide people with a path to success? The answer - if welfare recipients realize that they CAN provide for themselves and their families without being dependent on the government, then they also might wake up to the reality that the Democrats have never done anything for them except keep them chained to a broken system. Of course, this would send shockwaves through the party as they are dependent on this economic class in elections.
Jordan says that it is time for some "tough-love" and incentives to succeed and he is right. This legislation needs all the support it can get from the public so that the Democrats will be forced to bring it up for a vote in the Senate. America can no longer afford to support able-bodied people who refuse to work. Also, he says that there are 77 programs at the federal and state level responsible for welfare and there must be some redundancy. If we remove the redundant programs it will save money and streamline the welfare system.
At this time of economic uncertainty and wasteful spending we need to do all we can to eliminate unnecessary government spending. Jordan summarized his bill very well by saying, "This bill begins to treat all American families with the respect they deserve. We're giving the taxpayers, who are supporting the system, the facts of where your dollars are actually going, and showing this is why it needs change. And, for the families stuck in the system, we're going to give them tough love incentives they need for a better life." All I can say is, it's about time.
I believe that welfare should be temporary and that the recipients should be encouraged and required to work. True, I have never been on welfare, but I have friends and family with experience in the system. If a person finds himself unemployed and in need of government assistance, the system should be there to help. After all, we pay taxes for this kind of thing. When the person begins receiving assistance, he should be required to reciprocate by performing community service or job training, if full-time work in their field is unavailable. The way the system currently works is to provide assistance while it is needed and it will even supply money for job training and childcare while the training is going on. However, as soon as the needy person achieves the level of training needed to secure gainful employment, it ceases all assistance, including food stamps and Medicaid for the children.
On the surface this appears to work as it should as it moved the person from welfare to work. The problem arises when the now employed person does not earn enough to support the family. If all assistance comes to an end before the person earns enough to maintain a household, the person usually has to resort to quitting the job and decides it is better to stay home and collect a check. This happens all too often and should not be the case. Welfare should be incremental in its amount of assistance. If the needy person has young children requiring childcare, it should be provided or supplemented until the assistance is no longer needed. The same is true of the Medicaid assistance. This type of system would encourage people to continue to work and provide for their family.
If a person is employed and is no longer fully dependent on the government to make ends meet, a sense of accomplishment is achieved and they receive a boost in their self esteem. This serves as continued encouragement to strive for more and become a productive member of society. It also helps to keep families from inheriting the welfare state. There are thousands of examples of former welfare recipients becoming extremely successful people and more than providing for their families. This should be the goal of welfare - to move recipients off the welfare rolls onto the private sector employment rolls. This is what Jordan's bill proposes.
Of course, the House will probably pass it, among party lines, but it will never see the light of day in the Democrat-controlled Senate. This begs the question why wouldn't legislators of any party want to provide people with a path to success? The answer - if welfare recipients realize that they CAN provide for themselves and their families without being dependent on the government, then they also might wake up to the reality that the Democrats have never done anything for them except keep them chained to a broken system. Of course, this would send shockwaves through the party as they are dependent on this economic class in elections.
Jordan says that it is time for some "tough-love" and incentives to succeed and he is right. This legislation needs all the support it can get from the public so that the Democrats will be forced to bring it up for a vote in the Senate. America can no longer afford to support able-bodied people who refuse to work. Also, he says that there are 77 programs at the federal and state level responsible for welfare and there must be some redundancy. If we remove the redundant programs it will save money and streamline the welfare system.
At this time of economic uncertainty and wasteful spending we need to do all we can to eliminate unnecessary government spending. Jordan summarized his bill very well by saying, "This bill begins to treat all American families with the respect they deserve. We're giving the taxpayers, who are supporting the system, the facts of where your dollars are actually going, and showing this is why it needs change. And, for the families stuck in the system, we're going to give them tough love incentives they need for a better life." All I can say is, it's about time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)