Living in a Welfare State

It's tax time and that means a mess of receipts, 1099 forms, estimates on depreciation values and mortgage papers to sort. It also means paying the government for debts (Iraq war, TARP, Guantanamo Bay) I did not create, support or believe in. Does that bother me? Hell yah! But what bothers me even more is the following reason why some do not want to pay theirs.

Some ferociously rally against taxes because they think it goes to benefit lazy or illegal immigrants on welfare. I oppose that rational and argue that the recent amounts given to rescue the rich is far more damaging and destructive on the US economy. I also argue that the rich cheat out of more taxes than the poor receive in welfare.

Think about it. Billions of U.S. government tax dollars have bought up the bad assets and equity of financial institutions like AIG, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of American, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs. This is a sum spent to bail-out greed and scandal -- including 13 firms that owed more than $220 million in unpaid federal taxes.

Also, how can you be against one and not for the other? How does corporate welfare differ with programs designed to help the poor? Both can be said are hand-outs and take away a persons responsibility for the circumstance they are in, while ignoring the majority of Americans (the working class) who flip the bill for both extremes.

Again, I ask, so why all the indignation for the poor? Why are they still the scapegoat? Why lambaste assistance for the needy when we should be denouncing corporate fraud and immorality?

I think some may have forgotten about "TANF" (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) passed by a Republican Congress in 1996 and hailed by the GOP. It was President Bill Clinton who reformed this out-dated welfare system by improving short-term cash assistance and steering people quickly into jobs. The tune-up was effective immediately.

And, despite soaring unemployment and the economic recession of today, the national average of those on "TANF" is the lowest in 4 decades.

Does this matter to those who use the 'welfare excuse' to ease their apprehensions? I hope after reading this it will.