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April 17, 2006
Our Welfare System At Work
Did anybody see the story in the Tribune this morning regarding ATM fees? Basically, it was a puff piece professing the unfairness of ATM charges for the states poor and how those fees should be taken away. The piece focuses on one Rick Black. There is even a photo:
He certainly looks like a sad one, doesn't he? Wrapped up in his blanket, playing cards and otherwise feeling sorry for himself, with the aim to make you the viewer, feel sorry for him. And I must confess, for a brief second, I did. Until I studied the photograph, that is. In the upper left portion of the frame, you can see two remote controls stuck to the wall as if being held up by bubble gum. It's not some discarded Hubba Bubba performing the work, however, but velcro. You can see the three black dots interspersed among the two hanging remotes, and the matching remote controls can be seen sitting on the top of the sofa directly below their black spots.
Now I have to ask myself a question. What does someone supposedly only getting 555 dollars a month in "benefits" need with 5, count 'em, 1-2-3-4-5 remote controls? One surmises that those remote controls have a highly priced piece of electronics equipment to go along with them. What could they be? DVD player? Surround Sound? Any bets on there being either a cable or satelite receiver box in the mix? After all, can't be on welfare sitting at home without a job if you have nothing to do, right? It's just not fair to Mr. Black that he has to watch over the air television when he's sitting at home collecting my hard earned money.
What else does he have? Mobile phone? Laptop with wireless internet access? Can't find a job if you can't look up the help wanted section on the Trib's web page, right? Oh yeah, and to set the proper mood, you got to have a new release from Blockbuster playing on the Dolby 5.1.
This photo is a graphic illustration of what is wrong with the welfare mindset and it's misplaced priorities. Do his kids have clothes from Abercrombie & Fitch or Deseret Industries? I'm betting on the former because the aim is the image. It's no different from the images we see throughout run down neighborhoods everyday in every city. Raise your hand with me if you've seen a rundown house with trash and toys laying all over the lawn, kids in diapers wandering around, broken windows or windows with plywood and cardboard covering them. Yet, sitting in the driveway or carport or outside by the curb, is a 70,000 dollar BMW, lowered with 20" spinners on it and a 5,000 dollar stereo pumping tunes for all the listeners 3 blocks over to hear.
This transcends any color or race, so get that out of your mind. It happens as often in rundown white neighborhoods as black ones. It's in Hispanic and Asian areas as well. It's everywhere, and it's sickening.
If you're sucking on the Government tit, you shouldn't have Levi jeans. You shouldn't have a fancy car, and for Pete's sake, what do you need 5 remote controls for? Your sole job and responsibility is to find a way to break the suction, step away from the teat that's been supplying you with DirecTV, and pay for it yourself.
Posted by Jonathan at April 17, 2006 4:22 PM
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Comments
You didn't mention the Blackberry mobile phone/PDA sitting there on his end table. 5 remotes, a roof over his head, a mobile phone/e-mail device/organizer, all in the picture designed to show how terrible his living conditions are.
But he's "poor."
Would that I were so poor. . . .
Posted by: JC at April 17, 2006 10:56 PM
I saw it JC, but wasn't 100% sure it was a blackberry. Given where it was placed in the phote, for everyone to see, I thought it might have been one of those blood sugar level testers that diabetics use.
Posted by: Jonathan at April 18, 2006 6:30 AM
The picture does not clearly indicate that this person really has lots of expensive equipment, paid by him out of welfare money and in good working order. Nowadays, lots of devices look like remote controls or have one. Moreover, there are all kinds of legal ways to obtain various goods for little or no money. For instance, on the Internet, there is at least one list (the one I know about is Freecycle) for people who give away whatever they no longer need. I got a microwave in perfect working condition that way without paying any money. And not all electronics are that expensive, not for a person who works. Or, some people who receive government assistance used to work and may well own things they bought during that time that would not be worth much if sold or make them ineligible for welfare. Yet, they have them, as they are, and they may even work. I still have a TV from the 80s (it has a remote control). People who get welfare now don't have a job now and overall, their assets are not worth huge amounts of money. That does not mean that they never worked or that they don't owe anything that may be to expensive to buy while on welfare, or look that way.
Posted by: Monica at October 1, 2006 11:45 PM