Glenn Beck: One Thing 8-10-09

I almost gave in . . .

I can see how easy it is to get trapped in a welfare state. I realized a while back that since my current income is so low, I qualified for certain things, and for a moment I thought, “It will be nice to have those things (from the government) and I won’t even have to pay for them (or they will be discounted).”

Then I realized that if I get the job I’m currently pursuing, I would be making too much money to qualify for those things and for a brief moment, I wondered if I should just stay where I’m at. That’s when it hit me. So many people have chosen not to pursue a better life, because they risk losing government assistance. The mass number of people still receiving government assistance after decades attests to this.

It is human nature to become dependant upon it.

Classroom socialism

I did a little experiment in some of my classes last year-
I told my students that those making above a 90 would have a few points taken off their averages to go to those making below a 70 and in need of assistance so they could pass. Needless to say those who commonly made above a 90 didn’t think that idea was very fair so they protested, and those making below a 70 didn’t necessarily think it was fair either, but they didn’t care- they loved the idea.
In my opinion, that scenario illustrates what happens when the government takes money away from those who “have more than enough” and gives to those who “don’t have the means.” It destroys the incentive to achieve. It destroys the A students incentive to achieve an A because they realize, “What’s the point in trying to get an A? It will simply be taken away.” And it destroys the incentive of the failing student to attempt to improve, because he realizes, “What’s the point? I’m going to get some of the A students points anyway.”

Universal Healthcare

If a person is making $100,000 a year, most people would probably say they can afford to help pay for the health care of someone making $20,000 a year. But what if a person is only making $40,000? What if they have 6 kids?

Universal health care leads to a complex and complicated web of government regulation attempting to determine who “has the means to pay for his own health care.” I hope the person making $100,000 would give money to charity, a church, or friends in need of health care, but regardless of whether they can afford it or not, it's still wrong to take their money and give it to someone else.

Taxpayer funded abortion

We give the government our money do many things. No one agrees with everything the government does with our money, but this issue is more than just a simple disagreement over how taxpayer money is spent. This is as serious as it gets, and I can not stand by silently faced with the prospect that part of my income may be used to end the life of an unborn child.

Abortion ends a life.