As President Obama's jobs bill languishes in Congressional abyss, I joined the growing ranks of unemployed Americans whose jobless benefits have been exhausted, leaving my family unable to meet basic financial obligations.
Obama delivered an impassioned plea to a joint session of Congress last month, repeating the mantra, "pass this bill," which includes a one-year extension of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who remain out of work. As someone who has benefitted from the relief this bill would provide, I echo the slogan from former First Lady Nancy Reagan's 1980s anti-drug campaign, and implore the Legislative Branch to "Just Say No."
Since being laid off from a pharmaceutical sales position in December 2009, my family has struggled as our household income was cut by more than 60%. Unemployment benefits only restored a portion of my lost income - enough to barely get by, but not enough to restore the dignity of working and the hope of providing a better life for my children. Like an insidious drug, extended unemployment benefits have become the new entitlement program for the working class and have created a culture of dependency. While jobless benefits may get people by for another week, they are counterproductive to self reliance and long-term prosperity.
Our society is crippled by government entitlement programs. Generations are addicted to "free money" that is actually not free, but being paid by Americans who get out of bed every morning and go to work. Programs that may have been conceived with noble intentions to help the poor and disabled, have become shackles to millions of able-bodied Americans who are now enslaved to the federal government, robbing them of dignity and hope.
What our country needs is an economic climate that will encourage businesses to create jobs and hire employees. Fewer government regulations and more incentives for businesses to expand will help restore the jobless working class to productivity.
"Free money" is like a drug - the more you are given, the more dependant you become. One more injection of heroin, or one more alcoholic binge will not liberate the addict. As the federal government's tentacles gently caress the unemployed with the seductive lure of more jobless benefits, we need to shake off the shackles of dependency, "Just Say No," and check in to a good rehab clinic.
Obama delivered an impassioned plea to a joint session of Congress last month, repeating the mantra, "pass this bill," which includes a one-year extension of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who remain out of work. As someone who has benefitted from the relief this bill would provide, I echo the slogan from former First Lady Nancy Reagan's 1980s anti-drug campaign, and implore the Legislative Branch to "Just Say No."
Our society is crippled by government entitlement programs. Generations are addicted to "free money" that is actually not free, but being paid by Americans who get out of bed every morning and go to work. Programs that may have been conceived with noble intentions to help the poor and disabled, have become shackles to millions of able-bodied Americans who are now enslaved to the federal government, robbing them of dignity and hope.
What our country needs is an economic climate that will encourage businesses to create jobs and hire employees. Fewer government regulations and more incentives for businesses to expand will help restore the jobless working class to productivity.
"Free money" is like a drug - the more you are given, the more dependant you become. One more injection of heroin, or one more alcoholic binge will not liberate the addict. As the federal government's tentacles gently caress the unemployed with the seductive lure of more jobless benefits, we need to shake off the shackles of dependency, "Just Say No," and check in to a good rehab clinic.
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