The Moral Of The Story Is...

[Necrosaro420]

The Ant and the Grasshopper







(THE ORIGINAL VERSION)







The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building

his house and laying up supplies for the winter.







The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays

the summer away.







Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no

food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.







MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!











(THE 21ST CENTURY VERSION)







The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building

his house and laying up supplies for the winter.







The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays

the summer away.







Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and

demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well

and while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC, and ABC show up to

provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the

ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.







America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in

a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to

suffer so?







Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and

everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green"







Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house

where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall

overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for

the grasshopper's sake.







Tom Daschle & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Peter

Jennings that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the

grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to

make him pay his "fair share."





Finally, the EEOC drafts the "Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper

Act," retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined

for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having

nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by

the government.



Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a

defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a

panel of federal judges that Bill appointed from a list of

single-parent welfare recipients.



The ant loses the case.



The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits

of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just

happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he

doesn't maintain it.



The ant has disappeared in the snow.



The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the

house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who

terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.





MORAL OF THE STORY: Vote Republican

[xxegonomicxx]

:yay: That was awesome...



To add to this, I'll give a little anecdote... My father is a college graduate, he has an MS in Microbiology, and works as a microbiologist for the Texas environmental protection agency, called Texas Commission on Environmetal Quality. My mother is also a college grad, with an MIS in Reading Education/Special Education, and is a former special education teacher with 20 years of classroom experience who now is working as a professor in the University of Texas system. They have both worked as long as I can remember, and have worked hard for everything we own. I've been driving down a different road lately to leave my neighborhood because of construction on a main road, and I've been passing a Section 8 Low Income Housing complex. I've noticed that during the day there are plenty of people outside drinking beer and barbequeing... THIS PISSES ME OFF. There's nothing wrong with beer, there's nothing wrong with barbequeing (it's Texas for God's sake...) but there is definitely something wrong with having money to buy meat and beer and a home without working... because I know my parents are paying for their leeching asses. I've even seen people use food stamps to buy birthday cakes at nearby bakeries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They claim it as bread and are approved because bread is considered a staple. Then at the grocery store the other day, I saw this woman with 2 gallons of milk, and a case of beer. She pulls out food stamps and pays for the milk, then pulls out cash and pays for the beer. Here's an idea... USE THE FUCKING CASH FOR THE MILK!!! My girlfriend's sister told me she saw a woman trying to buy catfood with food stamps. Of course they wouldn't let her, so she went and GOT CANS OF TUNA instead and used the foodstamps to buy them. I'm sick of this shit... I'm moving to Canada.

[Necrosaro420]

Ahhhh Yeah, gotta love that. I also love driving past section 8 housing and seeing a sign up saying like "its a boy!" "Its a girl!".....All we need, and also seeing like brand new cadillac's sitting in there parking lots. I have a friend of mine, who's sister is on section 8. Ive known them about 15 years or so, and she has worked for 3-4 days since I have known them. Shes 31ish, 4 kids (3 daddys), on welfare of course, and yet, she gets a house, food payed for, ect ect all payed for by the government. What needs to happen is this,



A) Limit the time you can be on welfare. Say 2 years max or so, if you cant find a job in 2 years, you need to die and stop wasting our money.



B) Limit the amount of kids that you will get credit for. Figure up the national average of kids in the household, and thats all the kids that you will get a credit for while living in government housing. Say the national Average is 2, and you get 1k/year credit per child (not sure what the right amount is), You get 2k at the end of the year. If you have 50 kids, you still get 2k at the end of the year ect ect.



c) A and B Go Together.

[IslaScotts]

but there is definitely something wrong with having money to buy meat and beer and a home without working... because I know my parents are paying for their leeching asses. I've even seen people use food stamps to buy birthday cakes at nearby bakeries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



As a person who's daughter is on state paid medicaid, WIC, and planning on getting on food stamps for myself and luckily I do not have to live in public housing, but I am offended. You guys are the people that make me feel ashamed to go to walmart with my WIC vouchers to buy my daughter food. I do work, but between rent, daycare, bills, gas, and food... it just isn't even enough. I am a hard working mother.. who has skills... but with this economy it is hard to find a good job. So should I work 2 jobs, never getting to see my daughter and paying even more to have someone watch her... or shall I live off the government while I can? I am sure that there are some who abuse the system... but most of that system is comprised of single mothers... like myself. That is like driving past a college party and saying.. look at those students.. not having to pay for college because of a goverment grant.. and being able to buy beer to relax once in a while. I have gone out a few times while on government assistance, payed for alcohol.. gotten a lil drunk. So I guess because I don't pay for some of my food I don't deserve a break once in a while.



And for section 8... you have to work to be on section 8... that isn't the free housing.. that is just rent reduction... public housing is free housing... the projects. I should know cause I have looked into all my options. Luckily I can room with my sister who is also a single mother... but she has a degree and a good job. If it wasn't for her... i would be living in public housing... the free ones. And damn you, I will buy beer if I have an extra 10 dollars if I want to. I am not going to spend all my money on frivilous shit all the time. But a 12 pack of beer compared to all the DVD's you rent, all those trips you take to McDonalds, that new gel that is supposed to make your hair look fuller.. does not compare. You take for granted that happy meal you can buy your child, and the big mac meal super sized for yourself... I cannot afford those things. $10 a month for DVD's for my kid and $10 a month for my extras I believe we deserve. You probably spend more in a week just for yourself on "extras."



I may not have much, but I have my HAPPY child that gets to eat well thanks to the government. And you know what, I am happy knowing that I do the best that I can for my child. Eventually I will find time to go to school, get a better job, and get off government assistance. But right now... I do not have the means, the way, or the time. And if you want to judge me... go right ahead. I don't mind being white trash.. cause at least I am happy white trash. I got an abundance of what will really make me proud and happy laying on my death bed... I gave my daughter what she needed the most... a loving mother... and she gave me what I needed the most... to be herself. Cause no matter how you slice it.. goverment cheese or gourmet cheese... it is still fucking cheese.

[Xetox]

Not saying everyone is using the system for the wrong reasons, just sayin that there are just as many using it for the wrong reasons as there are using it for the right reason like you.

[xxegonomicxx]

You should be the last person to be offended though. In fact you should be proud. Taking it as a supplement is not what we're complaining about... the people it seems that we're talking about are those who live off government aid. If you're a hard working mother, then there's nothing wrong with getting help. That brings up a good point though, those who are ashamed are the ones that shouldn't and the ones who aren't ashamed are the ones who should be. If you're ashamed that means you have pride, and if you have pride it could act as a safety net if you ever feel like just getting by the with minimum. You have pride in yourself and in your daughter. I've read your opinions around here and always respected you; now I respect you even more.



As I said before the people I'm complaining about are those that make poor decisions, like using the little cash you have to buy alcohol and then using WIC vouchers to get milk. My mom was telling me about a friend of hers who was middle class, she was a housewife and her husband was in the national guard and was a teacher, and she would, and I'm dead serious here, feed her kids bread, candy, and water so that they would appear malnourished and then would qualify for WIC, if I remember right. That's the kind of shit that makes me mad. Buying tuna with taxpayer's money so that you can feed your cat. If you don't have enough money to feed your fucking family, why the hell would you take on the added expense of a pet???



Now I've seen both ends of the spectrum. I've volunteered for years in my mom's special education classroom, and now with the school's speech pathologist for my student teaching, because I'm going into speech pathology. In general, the kids who come from migrant workers and grow up dirt poor, with hard-working HONEST parents, are the ones who are at the top of their class and have an UNBELIEVABLE drive to be the best they can be, and they'll even tell you that it's so that they can have a better life when they finish school. They're taking the opportunities that our country gives them and using them to their advantage. Then there are the kids who have a single mother as a parent and 10 siblings, each with a different last name and/or ethnicity. Don't even get me started.



As for Section 8, like I said it's low-income housing, but only one person in the household has to have a job. PLUS, if they have the time to sit outside and drink beer and bbq, couldn't they be like most other hard-working parents and get a second job? If you're in need, if your family is in need, you have to hustle. They certainly aren't.



So all in all, I wanted to clarify our main bitch, and to tell you, Miss IslaScotts, to not in anyway be ashamed. In fact, your having enough pride to avoid taking advantage, but not too much so that you don't want help, and putting your daughter's well-being first gives you the right to be proud of your situation.

[Shaddow]

Cool come to Canada, you'll love our welfare system, You get $500 p/month for a single claimant, or $1500 for a single parent, and $2500 for a family. You only get to stay on the system for a maximum of 360 days, in that time you must be looking for work, you must supply a work record to your case worker every 2 weeks, failing to supply a work record, or if the record is falsified in any way, then you will be cut off.



We dont have food stamps, We have food banks (limited to once p/week).

Cost of living in my home town for an average single male including rent, food, hydo, and phone (in a low rent area) is about $1000 p/month (that is dirt cheap)



Everyone says that Canada has it easy, I tell you straight up, we dont have it any easier than anyone else. The misconception of our healthcare being free, our rent being cheap, our cost of living low.



Healthcare is mandatory, you dont get a choice, basic healthcare is $58 p/month and all that gets you is a f&*king card, and all it covers is the ability to see a doctor, yet if you need anything above seeing the doctor, we pay thru the face.



Cost of living is bloody high, I moved back in with my Dad, because I can't affoard to live on my own, and my Dad needed a roommate to help pay the bills. (per/month) rent is $1200, hydro is $90, Phone $200, Cable/Internet $200, cell phones $100, food $300. And we manage the Apartment building we live in.



So do you still want to come to Canada?

[apathy]

The problem with blanket arguments like this is the complete lack of actual thought put behind it. I know the original post wasn't to be taken completely seriously, and honestly, I was laughing when I read it. The problem is that (not pointing fingers) there are some people (in general, not necessarily on this forum) who take the original post and take it to mean that all people who receive governmental aid are leeches on the system. *EVERY SYSTEM* has leeches. You can find examples of this everywhere. There are high income people who hide their money to avoid paying taxes. Moral of the story: Vote Democrat. There are factories, even entire industries, that laugh at EPA regulations. Moral of the story: Vote Green. There are employers who exploit their workers. Moral of the story: Vote Communist. Every system has downfalls, every system flaws, and every system will have those who take advantage of them.



A) Limit the time you can be on welfare. Say 2 years max or so, if you cant find a job in 2 years...



Without looking at each case individually, there is no way to give a specific time frame at the end of which one should be able to handle being on their own. What if we start having a recession/mild depression like we had in the 70s? Are you going to magically change this number to reflect that? You realize how impossible that would be, given the process it takes to change it even once?



...you need to die and stop wasting our money.



:ehh: I fucking hope you're kidding.



B) Limit the amount of kids that you will get credit for. Figure up the national average of kids in the household, and thats all the kids that you will get a credit for while living in government housing. Say the national Average is 2, and you get 1k/year credit per child (not sure what the right amount is), You get 2k at the end of the year. If you have 50 kids, you still get 2k at the end of the year ect ect.



What if you had the children before you went on welfare and couldn't take of them without help? What about families that were well off until someone DIED. More importantly, do you realize who you're hurting? It's not the mom or dad, it's the kids. You know, the ones who have nothing to do with the situation their parents are in. The ones not responsible for the abuse on the system a few do. The innocent ones.





You wanna fix the welfare/social support system? You deal with each claim on a case-by-case basis. Wanna know how hard that would be? I believe the figure I last heard was 6,000,000 people are on or filing for welfare. Good luck.



As for "I'm moving to Canada" -- have you even LOOKED at the social situation in Canada? I can see the post in a year:

These fuckers all get free health care that comes out of my pocket, even though I'm not sick



Long story short: For every person you see doing something irresponsible with their aid, there are another 100 families that are using it right. But there's no Dateline special on that, huh?

[Shaddow]

The problem with blanket arguments like this is the complete lack of actual thought put behind it. I know the original post wasn't to be taken completely seriously, and honestly, I was laughing when I read it.



Unforunatly the value of a joke can be lost on social issues, specially if the social issue mentioned in the joke, is a problem in that peticular economic issue.

[xxegonomicxx]

First off I'd like to address Shaddow and Apathy's posts. Now I want to make this clear, because of the lack of emotion on the internet hehe... I am in no way offended or pissed or anything of the sort. In fact, I love, and I'm very serious, having my points of view challenged, because we can ALL learn by expanding our horizons, to use a cliche...



To Shaddow...

Moving to Canada was a joke. Although for a long time I was very serious. To be completely honest, and living in a major US city, I was pretty fucking scared after the terrorist attacks. I have a friend from Alberta and she tells me that Canada isn't as great as everyone makes it out to be in the US. If it was this great, so many Canadians wouldn't be immigrating to the US. BUT, because of my fear, I felt it was worth expensive cost of living for a little security. But I've grown out of that now and I meant "I'm moving to Canada" as a joke.



To Apathy:

Yes this could be considered a blanket argument. Personally speaking, I can say there was no thought put into my original post, because there was no thought necessary. Yes every system has its leeches. That's duality. There is evil to every good, if you want to be REALLY broad about it. There are fallacies with every party. But this post wasn't about any party other than Democratic, so why bother mentioning any others and really just stating the obvious? I have a good solution to the welfare system. Although I don't subscribe to any particular partisan's political views, I believe Republican is the way to go on welfare. Why? Because they would erradicate it. If there is no system, then there's nothing to take advantage of. Of course the bleeding heart liberals are going to start crying. But we should remind them that America is a capitolist democracy. In other words, we're driven by big business. It was James Madison in the Federalist Papers who said, in abstract, that our founders decicded that, in a succesful government, you can have a government who helps the people, or you can have a government that gives its people freedom, but not both. And our forefathers decided to give us freedom, obviously. It wasn't until later that some idiot decided that you CAN have both. Of course, now with debt in our country we see that you truly can't. According to the Federalist papers, we have the freedom to take a dollar and if we turn it into a million, that is our million. If we had a helpful socialist government, that million would be split up equitably between everybody. What we have now is a synthesis of these two styles, you can make all you want, but you have to give some to everyone else. That system in itself is flawed. Take Social Security. My grandmother, my dad's mother, is an immigrant from Mexico. She has not ever had a job since she has lived here, for some 40 or 50 years. Yet because of her age she gets social security. Yes she needs the money to survive, but should she get money that comes from someone else's check who has worked all their lives? And no there is no Dateline special on good things. Why should we need to shed light on the things that ARE working well? It's just like your own post... not once did you point out anything positive about the other posts.