We’ve all seen the signs in national parks and wildlife refuges. They are there for a good reason. If you feed wild animals like bears or deer for a length of time, they learn to take and expect food given them by humans. They unlearn the good habits of foraging for food on their own. And when the humans are gone from the parks in winter, many animals continue searching for humans rather than food. They starve to death in the process.
Some may cringe with any comparison between animals and people, but the analogy really is the same. Consider how congressional Democrats and the Biden Administration have transformed the unemployment program to make the beneficiaries dependent upon this unemployment welfare money.
This short-term program, with historically broad bipartisan support, has for decades provided very temporary assistance to those who lost jobs through no fault of their own. Benefits have always been intentionally set on the miserly side (around 50% of pay lost) and were time-limited (usually 26 weeks) so as not to incentivize people to want them for long. Plus, there were stern requirements to actively look for work each week. Weekly checks and more thorough audits were part of the program. No sitting around or taking vacations allowed. During deep recessions, 13-week extensions were often passed.
What a different look the program has now in 2021. Last year’s first stimulus had $600 bonuses on top of regular payments—a first. Republicans grumbled, but nearly every member of Congress voted for the massive stimulus anyway, given the severity of the pandemic at the time. Some in the GOP said the “pay people more not to work” scheme was an error that could be fixed later. Democrats adamantly refused to even consider correcting it.
In March 2021, Democrats stood alone in topping off benefits yet again, by an added $300 in the third stimulus passed without a single GOP vote. It was all so unnecessary since it was a time of strong economic growth. It was month four of the vaccine rollout. Employers were starting to note they could not find people to even apply, never mind accept, job openings. How could anyone even expect businesses to be able to compete with government handouts like this?
Republican governors heard the pleas of businesses and cut off these absurd bonuses starting in late May through July. The federal bonuses to not work that continue in blue states are scheduled for expiration on September 6th. But that’s not enough for leftists who insist they continue in some form. Progressives know there is no appetite for an extension. They know economists have criticized the benefits, and employers now have a record ten million openings nationwide—more than the total of those who are out of work! Spiking inflation, which was predicted for all in America, is the byproduct of such misguided policymaking.
But, in true “nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program” fashion, to quote Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh just announced bonuses can continue even longer. The pair have directed that leftover stimulus money be allowed to continue paying bonuses to not work in states that choose to do so.
When I taught high school economics and got to the unemployment issue each year, I asked the class what they would think if their parents said this to them upon graduating: “You can stay in the home as long as you want. You don’t have to cook, or clean, or work. Your mother and I love you, and we will take care of you forever.” They knew as good as it sounded, it was not in their long-term interest.
There’s nothing helpful or beneficial in paying people to remain out of the workforce for longer than need be. And isn’t 18 months long enough? People lose the sense of structure, meaning, and work ethic that employment provides. They lose valuable skills over time. Some come to learn they never want to work again. Others truly become almost “unemployable.” The losers are not just the workers themselves but the overall economy. Fewer goods and services are produced and at higher prices to boot. All Americans lose.
When did work and enterprise become disparaging terms? They’ve always been core American values. Why did Democrats transform the unemployment program into welfare? Well, the answer is obvious. Just as feeding the animals keeps them coming back, so do Democrats hope that voters will remember who delivered these goodies.
But welfare payments for a few cost everyone else money. Taxpaying voters have had enough and have indicated inflation and shortages are now public enemy number one. Democrats stand to take all the blame, as they control the White House and both houses of Congress.
If only they obeyed the signs posted at national parks.
Jeff Szymanski works in political communications for AMAC, a senior benefits organization with 2.4 million members. He previously taught high school economics for 15 years.
Democrats and RINO’s are good at supplying continuous funds at the feeding trough. Eventually the funds run out as the taxpayer is broke through inflation (printing worthless money) and/or the economy crashes through unsustainability. Everybody suffers in this game, except it is not a game, it is government policy that doesn’t end as our Congress people don’t have the stomach to make decisions that benefit the whole country. Shameful.
Good article, but expecting the Democrats, or their allies the RINOs, to either see reason or understand the perfect logic of the argument, that their policies are inherently destructive and counter-productive to the economic well being of the country and its citizens, is frankly a non-starter. They are NOT motivated by the desire to better the country or its people. Their sole objective is unfettered power over the masses, as evidenced by their blatant disregard and contempt for the masses, and the accumulation of unlimited wealth obtained by the confiscation of wealth of the public.
Wild animals at least stop eating once they are full. Politicians just keep stuffing themselves and demanding more. There is a lesson there for the American people, but sadly too few would understand it.
I stated this in another commentary: There are now more people receiving benefits from welfare and unemployment than there are working personnel. This situation happened to the western Roman empire that caused some of their demise. The empire had to pass laws that stated that anyone with a job could not leave it. Congress will eventually come up with the same idea. Until the DEMOs/Left/Deep State get to where they want to be, they will continue to ruin this nation and its economy by giving out freebies.
When left-leaning colleges and universities spew out liberal-minded teachers…
When liberal-minded teachers fill your children’s heads with nonsense including anti-capitalistic notions…
When a growing proportion of the young prefer socialism over capitalism…
When socialist leaders of this country groom non-workers with endless goodies…
When those goodies lead to worthless currency…
When legislation cranks up the national debt to the point where the system implodes…
What then?? If Biden and the idiots in Washington and in other big cities don’t wise up, we will see anarchy in the streets and civil war. Part of the plan.
Once again, the socialists grabbed this opportunity and made it work for them. They weren’t going to let this moment go to waste. Totally insane, like what’s going on in Afghanistan. They’re not happy unless there’s mayhem.
This article brings to mind a new shirt amongst others I purchased through the Turley Talks channel.
It reads in Red , White & Blue, with a picture of a donkey & a elephant done up in the Stars & Stripes, ” Please Don’t Feed The Animals “…
Bill on the Hill… :~)
A permanent and growing underclass of dependent urbanites who are indoctrinated to accept their lot as perennial “victims” of a multitude of systemic injustice(s) from one or more groups of other Americans which they are told to fear and fight, has the democrat [sic] party using constant chaos to lord over a sea of humanity that is being intentionally deprived of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Fueling this is the continued altering of our history into a vulgar inaccuracies, casting of doubt about election integrity (a democrat technique widely published by their various state campaign committees since at least the early-2000’s), promoting lawless rioting and destruction of American property, labeling criminals as heros, and endless illegal immigration, and you have the democrat [sic] playbook for the last 60 years, and their future “progressive” agenda, cleverly concealed by the corporate state-run mass media.
The United States has been out of money for a long time. Truely sad to see the country gatering speed to the proverbial cliff. Yet I am thankful for the few people, not in the pay of China and not bowing down to Pelosi. Are the Democratic and some Republican leaders trying to bankrupt the US so China can take over? Sure looks like it! We can only speak up and pray. Thankful for Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ron Paul as well as Kennedy, Nunes and others. We need a miracle, a change of heart. No matter how hopeless it seems, to just continue to speak up.
Missing a key side effect – when the handouts get lean, the animals have already lost their fear of humans. They’ll eat the hand+ if the handout isn’t enough.
And so many businesses have ‘help wanted’ or ‘now hiring’ signs in the windows and on their doors but so many lazy asses prefer to just keep living off the taxpayers…..and it makes me sick. If you’re able to work….get a damn job. Used to be in order to draw unemployment you had to ‘actively’ be looking for work and show proof when you went in to get your check…. but then, the demonRATS, want people dependent on the gov’t so they can control them.
If there is not an organized internal conspiracy to implode the dollar and turn the American culture and society into a third world bloated bureaucracy there should be. One could not be more destructive of the values and way of life that lifted America to the pinnacle of global power and respect than what has been occurring inside the DC Beltway (Congress) during the past 5 decades. America has been poisoned by degrees by career parasite politician and a bloated bureaucracy of turf jealous “lifers” whose primary objective is to extend or expand their reach whatever the cost.
It is a two-sided coin that we are dealing with to not encourage people to become self-sufficient. First, we have an abundance of jobs that merely pay minimum wage, which in no way can be considered a fair wage in terms of meeting the cost of living standards. Rather than encouraging the big corporations (Walmart, Amazon, etc.) to actually give fair wages to their employees, Congress has pushed for the increase to the minimum wage, which actually decreases jobs because big corporations never will raise their labor cost percentage to lower their profit bottom line as shareholders rank higher. Labor cost percentage has to be rated higher and encouraged by there’s been no addressing it because no politician wants to stop the money flow to them. But on the other side of the coin, giving out the pittance of benefits to the many make it appear to the uninformed gullible that they are getting something because its label is both a right and “free”. By not explaining the fine details of right and free, the cost is not explained up front. The cost of getting a benefit means you give up the right to choose how much you get over a time period.
All we have to do to understand this is look at how well seniors are taken care of by limiting our COLA “increase” to match the increase in Medicare premium effectively making the “increase” a negative zero.
So these I’ll conceived programs have resulted in increased drug and alchohol use,,more domestic violence, children being neglected, bad habits on handling money and expectations that everything is free without any effort.
Somebody explain how that is beneficial to people and society???
I know the goal is dependency and votes, but when to ethics, morals and reality enter the conversation.
So the useless,failed democrats,lie,use and exploit people of all races,faith’s, economic status and ALL for their I’ll gotten gains and power!
WAKE UP PEOPLE , please wake up and end this madness!!
The old adage – “Give a man a fish and he eats for the day. Teach the man HOW to fish and he learns to feed himself for life.” Is this what we’re saying here ?
Republicans are mostly Communists, just like all but a couple of demonRats are. Their overarching goal is to seduce a dumb population into expecting welfare.
And once the idiots fall for it? All that easy money will be cut. Stopped. Removed. GONE..
Just as Communists have always done..Better start reading some History.
Great article! So many Americans have NO work ethic! Paying people NOT to work or promising living wages is one of the ways the Soviet Union fell apart. Famines happing in Venezuela, along with violence comes from polices like Biden wants! Children running the country and have NO CLUE how businesses or economies work. Even God told Adam and Eve to tend the garden! He didn’t create humanity to sit around all day and watch TV!!! All the leeches and parasites feeding off the Government will starve when all this comes crashing down!!!
Thanks for sharing insight on feeding animals at national parks & giving people money not to work. Hopefully , most of these people will go back to work someday in a productive capacity.
I believe Robert Kiyosaki is absolutely correct – Money is a Drug and you get addicted to how you get it. I have experienced this myself when I was on disability for a year and when my Husband was on Workers Comp for a year. I understand the desperation completely. Unemployment needs to be ended NOW. People are going to be desperate for money but just like a junky looking for his next drug fix, people will get off their rusty dusty and go looking for jobs. Those who wait too long may have to take “inferior” jobs (maybe even more than one) because the ones they want will already be taken… if not by Smart Americans who saw what was coming, then by the added H1B Visa holders that the US Chamber of Commerce just requested Congress increase because Business Owners can’t find enough workers and it is now DRASTICALLY affecting every industry in American – EVEN FOOD.