Living With Your Parents

Recently my husband and I were kind enough to offer a friend a ride from Houston to Dallas with our two small children, Toy Story, Baby Einstein, and a variety of toddler friendly snacks. As if we hadn't been generous enough by simply allowing him to be in the joyous presence of our company, we took advantage of a captive audience and did our civic duty to explain politics as we see them to him. Luckily, this friend is in sales for a living so he is really talented in the "just get along" category. My husband had a great analogy though, for explaining to the average citizen (ha! as if we are not average?) why we do NOT want the government to take care of us.

It's like living with your parents. If I were to move home and live with my parents today, mooch off of their food, and accept a spending allowance from them then I might have a problem. Why? Why would leaching off of my parents be a problem? It wouldn't be unless I ever had a difference of opinion with them. I might like to spend my money or time in ways they didn't approve of. They would interfere in my personal life and even my personal decisions. They might TRY TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO.

Now, I love my parents and we get along great. Since we have very similar values and beliefs, things would probably run smoothly enough if I lived with them. I would still be giving up something invaluable though. FREEDOM.

Wisconsin's Representative Paul Ryan had an article in Real Clear Politics this week that I might liken to a CliffNotes for what is going on right now. Read it when you have some time. An excerpt that caught my attention:

Exact and precise measures cannot be made, but an eye-opening study by the Tax Foundation, a reliable and non-partisan research group, tells us that in 2004, 20 percent of US households were getting about 75 percent of their income from the federal government. In other words, one out of five families in America is already government dependent. Another 20 percent were receiving almost 40 percent of their income from federal programs, so another one in five has become government reliant for their livelihood.

All told, 60 percent - three out of five households in America - were receiving more government benefits and services (in dollar value) than they were paying back in taxes. The Tax Foundation estimates that President Obama's budget last year will raise this "net government inflow" from 60 to 70 percent. Look at it this way: three out of ten American families are supporting themselves plus - through government - supplying or supplementing the incomes of seven other households. As a permanent arrangement, this is individually unfair, politically inequitable, and economically dangerous.

Wowzas. I heard last week that Obama has already doubled the number of people on food stamps. They've even coined a cool, hip phrase for them: SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Heck yeah, I'm gonna go get me some SNAP! My husband says they should just have drive through McBama's.