Abusing the System

Probably the best testament to a broken welfare system is the case of my friends, we'll call them Duane and Karen, mostly because those are their real names. Duane and Karen are old hippies; nomadic travelers flitting from town to town in search of the 1960's utopia that vanished a long time ago. They are old friends from ancient associations with my wife. Their bonds transcend time and make them always welcome.

But this comes with endless frustration. Duane and Karen never wanted to work. It was more fun to be skilled nomads that could turn garbage into a few bucks for a tank of gas. Then the three kids were born in rapid succession, and they grew to be brilliant children. This family lives on almost nothing, the kids are home schooled and they have minimal wants. Everything has to be earned and I respected their ability to pull off living in 2005 America on street smarts, hippy craftiness and benign swindles.

Then I heard of the real story. As it turns out, these two parents have the system all figured out. In fact, they feel really cool because they ripping it off for thousands a month. They know how to get food stamps, lots of them. They know every program where they can obtain aid. They've milked the system for monthly sustenence, and now Duane has discovered the bottomless paycheck of disability.

Disabled? From what? What can't he do now that he was doing before? He's always had a bad case of broken ambition, now he's got someone to pay to support it? So now he gets a check to pay for the fact that he can't do anything because he does not want to. Now I've heard of their latest venture. In California, since he is "disabled", he can grow a finite amount of pot legally for his own use. Of course, he plans to grow the stuff and sell Ol' Mary Jane to make even more money. Somehow the disability hasn't disabled his ability to farm, market and distribute the sweetleaf!

This blows me away. Every two weeks I see the hundreds and hundreds of dollars that go to fund social security and related programs (and corrupt wars). What really bothers me is that his kids have received the wrong message. Instead of being taught to work hard and develop their young skills, they are being taught how to profit from using their energies to find handouts... at MY EXPENSE!

They have even talked a newly-impregated relative into keeping an unwanted pregnancy because they can turn that little mouth into more cash.

I always felt that I would help them out. I looked forward to the day that I could help them buy a house. I wanted to help them and their children. I guess I already am....

Maybe someday he can buy me a house with his drug profits.