- establishing expectations of continued help from “on high”

- creating dependencies instead of strength through independence and self reliance

- rewarding irresponsible behavior

- encouraging others to insist that government help

- force others to help (with their tax dollars) against their will

- encourage government to “butt in” as a nanny when they would do best to “butt out”

- empower those in government by allowing them to continue to promise more rewards for dependent behavior

- provide an excuse for the rest of us to stay home and ignore the true need of others simply because we’ve been trained that it’s the job of government

We have to remember that what we reward will be repeated. If there is no penalty, then why change our behavior?

When a woman told me “the more babies I have, the more money I get,” it was abundantly clear to me that we’re rewarding irresponsibility and creating dependence on government.

When a friend of mine, who ran a red light and struck a highway patrol car, offered that he shouldn’t have admitted responsibility so quickly because the highway patrol has special driver training and that patrolman could have avoided the accident, then I see clearly that the idea of self responsibility is melting away.

On the flip side, responsible individuals are penalized through higher taxes, more insurance requirements, more regulations, and more government to implement the regulations.

The real problem is that many government programs allow you to survive, and there are plenty of people that are happy with that. Their initiative has been dampened.

Survival isn’t what our lives should be all about. The only great things in our lives will come from our own initiative, our own sense of achievement, and our own unwillingness to be simply part of the masses.

If we don’t believe in ourselves, no one else ever will, and we’ll never be able to better ourselves above the level of basic survival – something that deer do in the winter out in the snow.

Clair

I guess all we can do is continue doing our best to educate people, and living our lives responsibly – and hope it is enough to stem the tide. Great observations!