Handouts

Someone asks,

Is there any program that assists mentally ill patients in resolving debt?

Hahahahahaha. Oh. That’s ripe.

Does literally fucking everything have to be subsidized by the government? What is it with people looking for handouts all the time? (I swear when I get old I’ll be a republican for sure.) I had financial troubles because of my disease too, but I faced the consequences of my actions and declared bankruptcy. I made my mess and I laid in it. Overspent and now you’re in a bunch of credit card debt? You don’t get a “get out of jail free” card just because you have some problems with mood regulation.

You’re still culpable for your actions.

It’s similar to those who blame the bipolar for any number of things. Hypersexuality got you cheating? Oh, it’s the bipolar. It’s not because you’re a morally corrupt individual who thinks you can get away with it or anything. It couldn’t be that. For my own part, I owned up to my financial irresponsibility and made conscious steps to improve the situation. Now I have a passable credit score and no less than $5000 in my checking account at all times. It’s amazing what can happen when you take responsibility for yourself and work hard instead of looking for a better lot in life in a handout from the government.

Speaking of things people have proposed be subsidized by the government: Elizabeth Warren, democratic candidate for president, wants the government to pay for childcare. At first I thought this sounded like a reasonable proposition. The government already pays for public education, making the well-being of children our collective responsibility to bear. This also goes for people who choose not to participate in the giving of life; they pay taxes just like their breeding friends. This is accepted and no one is up in arms about it.

But being that I may continue to be a non-breeder, the thought of paying for someone else’s kids does irk me. It seems to create an unfair advantage for those who choose to procreate when having children is incentivized so heavily. It’s sort of like the incentives for getting married or buying a home — tax breaks, etc. What about those who choose not to, for whatever reason? They are disadvantaged because of their choice not to become a homeowner.

I understand childcare is expensive, but I am a firm believer in not having children you can’t afford. Why do you think I haven’t had kids yet? I had my chance and passed it up because it wasn’t a responsibility I could rightfully take on making $14/hour. How was I to support two lives on that kind of money? The answer: I wasn’t. It wasn’t going to happen for me. Why should I let someone else have kids on my dime when I made that choice for myself? I can’t help but feel it’s pretty unfair to people like me who have chosen not to go through with pregnancies because of the expense of children. If you want kids, you should be able to take care of them on your own. Period.

When I speak of taking responsibility for yourself, I hearken back to my metaphor class in college and how we learned about the differences in the metaphors democrats and republicans use. Democrats view the country as a family with a nurturant parent, and republicans view it as a strict father family. You can see this in the differences in the parties’ stances on abortion (pro-choice vs. pro-life). Daughter gets pregnant at 16? If you’re a democrat, you’ll want to fund social services to pay for the abortion because she’s too young to have a baby. Nurturant parent. If you’re a republican, you’ll want her to take responsibility for her actions and go through with the pregnancy, denying her other options. Strict father.

On issues like how the government handles the addiction crisis, I believe in a very nurturant approach. I don’t believe jails are places for people to get sober and feel that social services should be funded to allow addicts to get clean if they seek help. Nobody trying to get clean should have any barriers to that. But on the issues of subsidizing mentally ill people’s debt or other people’s childcare, I lean more strict father. Another favorite of mine that further proves my point about why people need to start taking responsibility:

Can you get disability while working full-time?

Yes, this was an actual question asked. Way to look like an ultimately lazy piece of trash. You’re the kind of person Social Security specifically looks to weed out. The person who plays up their symptoms for the sake of qualifying for a paycheck. Someone responded with, “No, disability is for people who are unable to work.” I could do nothing more than respond with a hearty thumbs-up. Simply put, but it needs to be said apparently. If you can work full-time, why are you thinking about applying for disability? Oh wait I know — because you’re a moocher looking for a handout wherever you can find it. People don’t think about who has to pay for that handout. It comes out of the paycheck of everyone who works hard for a living.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

They taught me this in the economics I was forced to take. It’s true, though. Nothing is free. Someone is paying for what you’re not whenever you take a handout. Sometimes you can’t see it directly, like when it’s in the form of taxes, but believe me, someone always pays.

Maybe it comes from how I was raised that I don’t go looking for handouts. My father works so hard I’ve seen him literally pass out from exhaustion. I’m just appalled when I see others looking for their free lunch, so to speak. I’m even embarrassed sometimes to be eating out with my boyfriend, because he’s the type who will complain to get free food. Like, he will complain with the express purpose of getting free food. Like, apparently that’s his M.O. when he wants to eat but can’t afford it. I don’t understand how people go through life that way. Someone is eating the cost of that meal you just got comped. What makes that okay for you to do to businesses? They don’t owe you a free meal. Nobody does. If you can’t afford to eat out, eat something at home. Don’t just plan to complain and get it free. Absolutely sickening to me.

I’m glad I was raised by someone who taught me the value of hard work. I feel that is lost on today’s youth. People are always looking for a way to get something for free. You should see the insanity whenever a business offers free food. People will go to extreme lengths if it means they get free food. I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes. It doesn’t even have to be good food, as long as it’s free. I will never be that type of person. I like free stuff as much as the next guy, but what really feels good to me is working hard all week and buying something with the dollars I earned for myself. To provide for myself is the best feeling of all.