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Why Liberal “Caring” Is Cruel

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Oh, how tempting it is to think that you’re doing people a favor when you give people things for “free” under the guise of “caring.” Yes, in the short run, you may relieve the stress of difficult times and the resulting financial burdens. But soon, the government “caring” quickly gives way to an insidious dependence that traps citizens into even bigger problem-learned helplessness.

Psychologists have labeled “learned helplessness” as the depression of our age. Far too many citizens are saddled with a depressing reality-“Nothing I do is going to make any difference in what happens to me. So, I might as well remain a victim overwhelmed by the challenges of living.” Their only hope is a government willing to take from the productive and provide entitlements that can meet their basic needs. Far too many citizens have lost confidence in their ability to take responsibility for their own lives.

Not only are such attitudes crippling, but accepting government dependence sets people up for more problems. If short-term supportive benefits come to an end, the shock of increased costs makes life even more difficult. For some, rage and riots are the result as they demand continued support. After all, the government does a great job of training people that they are entitled to government support and are unable to manage their own lives.

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As an example, despite being ineligible at the time, millions of Americans who had been allowed to enroll in Medicaid because of COVID will soon be removed from the program. President Biden refused to veto the congressional legislation ending the COVID-19 national emergency that had lowered the requirements for Medicaid enrollment initiated in March 2020. As a result, it’s estimated that a fifth to a quarter of the 100 million people now on the program will no longer be eligible for coverage.

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) confided, “During the public health emergency, 18 million people wound up on the Medicaid rolls that simply do not qualify. When this is over, most of them are going to have to get a job, go back to work, and pay for health care through Medicare rather than just receiving free benefits from the government. (For those who refuse to work) they’re going to have to figure out a way to feed themselves and pay their rent and utilities.”

The same could be said about providing “temporary rent relief.” Such relief is another “caring” benefit that stings when that relief ends. In Los Angeles, certain COVID-19 renter protections ended last week, bringing many to the possible threat of falling into homelessness. Landlords who have faced months of receiving no payments are eager to increase rents. Politicians are trying to put limitations on owners, but clearly, those taking advantage of “rent-free” living are in for a rude awakening.

When the gravy train runs out of gravy, people are faced with stark reality. The continuing inflation and threats of a recession are making coping with that reality even more difficult. Many are being forced to live paycheck to paycheck.

Abraham Lincoln would remind today’s politicians of something that is far too easy to forget: “Government should do for people that which they cannot possibly do for themselves–and leave otherwise alone!”

Even when a nephew he loved asked for support, Lincoln wrote back: “The worst thing you can do for those you love is the thing they could and should do for themselves.”

Lincoln cared enough to require others to take responsibility for their own future. There would have been no war on poverty or dependency-inducing entitlements in Lincoln’s administration. Lincoln would have agreed with the challenge Victor Frankl gave to America: “The Statue of Liberty on the East Coast needs to be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.” Lincoln knew that what made America great was not its government but its people, empowered in a free country to live their own version of the American Dream.

John Stossel, in his book, Give Me a Break, shared a graph of Federal spending from 1789 to 2003. The line is all but flat until World War II. When America began, the government cost the average citizen $20 a year in today’s money. Taxes rose during wars, but for most of the history of American spending never exceeded a few hundred dollars per citizen per year. During World War II, the government got much more significant. It was supposed to shrink again after the war, but it never did. It just kept expanding. Now, if the 334.2 million Americans were actually paid the $6.2 trillion federal budget, it would cost every man, woman, and child in this country just above $18,550 a year. Lincoln would be in shock, and so should we!

A government big enough to take care of our every need is a government big enough to take everything we have. We need politicians willing the care enough to say “NO” to out-of-control government spending!

To fuel your optimism for the future, consider purchasing Dr. Paulson’s newly released ”Joy Comes with the Morning” course today! Get ready to enjoy the 31 short, recorded messages on your computer or smart phone. Each message is designed to expand and enhance your joy-filled faith experience whenever you need or want it. Visit tomeapp.com/joy to start bringing more Christian joy to your morning today. Contact him at [email protected]

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Dr. Terry Paulson is a PhD psychologist and author of The Optimism Advantage, They Shoot Managers Don't They, Speak Like a Pro, Meditations for the Trail, and The Dinner: The Political Conversation Your Mother Told You Never to Have. Since founding Paulson and Associates, Inc. in Agoura Hills, CA, Dr. Paulson has presented to such companies as IBM, 3M, Kaiser, Nationwide, SONY, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, and hundreds of hospitals, government agencies, and associations. Dr. Paulson is a past president of both the Global Speakers Federation and the National Speakers Association. He’s been inducted into NSA’s CPAE Speakers Hall of Fame, an honor given to less than 230 speakers worldwide. Dr. Paulson is a long-time conservative Republican who has spoken to numerous Republican groups. He currently is a regular op-ed columnist for townhall.com and politicrossing.com. Terry brings knowledge, tasteful humor, and a passion for conservative principles to every presentation. Dr. Paulson graduated with honors from UCLA and received his PhD in psychology and an MA in theology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology in Pasadena, CA.



 
 
 

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Business

This Three Pronged Plan to Overthrow America is Nearly Complete

And there are just two things that will stop it…

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The left has long worked to overthrow America and all that it stands for. They have been working at it since early in the 1900’s and it took up more speed in the late 60’s and early 70’s with the rise of the radical left. PolitiCrossing founder Chris Widener explains the three-pronged attack and how it is almost complete, as well as the only things we can do to save ourselves and this country we love.

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economy

World’s Greatest Shakedown: California Reparations

The very notion of reparations is a ludicrous attempt to re-direct and correct every part of history

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California, the go-to state for many in the 20th century is now the must leave state in the 21st century, replete with crumbling cities, high crime, over-taxation, brownouts, stifling regulations, and a pending shakedown for the ages.

In 2020, a nine-member reparations taskforce was established by Governor Gavin Newsom. Since then, heated debates on reparations for black Californians have transpired. Initially the taskforce suggested $220,000 per person. Then, they decided that $350,000 was more appropriate.

Five days ago, the taskforce recommended $1.2 million per person. Days later, activists demanded $200 million for every African-American, the current value of 40 acres and mule! Never mind that since 1860, few U.S. families have ever amassed and maintained such sums.

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The Granddaddy of Racial Shakedowns

Based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 2.3 million people identify solely as African American or black, not the 1.8 million that everyone seems to be quoting. If each of 2.3 million people receives $1.2 million, the California reparation bill would equal $2,760,000,000,000 ($2.76 trillion). The state’s entire annual budget is merely $320 billion. So the ‘reparations debt’ would be nearly nine times the annual budget.

If California could somehow could raise an additional $1,000,000 an hour, 24 hours a day, non-stop, it only would take 315 years to reach $2.76 trillion. At $200 million per black person, if the state could somehow raise $10,000,000 per hour, 24 hours a day, non-stop, it would take more than 5,000 years to pay for the ‘reparations debt.’

Even at the lower figure, of $1.2 million per person, count on a mass migration to California. And it would be game on for every race-faker in existence. Oh, and does it matter that since 1965, the Federal Government has spent more than $21 trillion on affirmative action and equal opportunity-type programs?

Still, why fret about such trivial monetary details?

Slavery, No; Discrimination Yes

Beyond the insane sums, other insolvable issues linger: California was not a slave state. Okay, maybe former slaves moved there.

During the time of slavery, free blacks in the U.S. owned black slaves. So… now what? Document that your ancestors were slaves, owned by white people, to cash in? If they were owned by black people, however, you receive nothing?

Regarding discrimination, it is undeniable. Darker skinned and yellow skinned citizens who have emigrated within the last generation do well, however, according to the American Community Survey, part of the U.S. Census Bureau. How is reparation accounting affected as Pakistani, Indian, Malaysian, Sri Lankan, and Filipino Americans residing in California and across the country have higher median family income than whites? Are whites being discriminated against?

Counting Everyone?

Other groups besides blacks faced, and face, discrimination in major ways. The Chinese, in San Francisco and statewide, suffered decades of discrimination, as did Mexicans, Latin Americans, and American Indians. In some respects, such discrimination continues. People with disabilities and woman faced, and face, discrimination.

For generations women were discriminated against, certainly in terms of businesses they may have operated or tried to launch, in property rights, and even in family rights.

As to the question “Who is black?” should California resort to the racist doctrine about “one single drop of blood?” So, if you have any black ancestors, you’re considered black? Or, do you have to pass a contemporary standard? It’s a conundrum that can’t be solved.

Boiled down, a wokester’s favorite target remains: White males. Apparently white males never endured hardship and caused everyone else to suffer. These males, however, have had historically higher suicide rates than women, shorter life spans, higher incarceration rates, and a greater incidence of mental illness.

Okay, Settle It

The notion of reparations, beyond being the all-time shakedown, that makes BLM look like amateurs, is a ludicrous attempt to re-direct and correct every part of history, apparently a key Leftist agenda item. It cannot be done: Tall people have higher lifetime earnings than short people. Active people fare better than inactive people. Educated people, obviously, have the odds stacked in their favor, and so forth.

Do you want to emulate Kurt Vonnegut’s plot in his short story Harrison Bergeron? In it, equality reigns supreme: no one is permitted to be stronger, better looking, or smarter anybody else. If you’re strong, you must proceed in life with one hand literally tied behind your back. If you’re attractive, you need to wear a mask.

Here’s a thought that I once felt I’d never have: If there were some fair and effective way to distribute a reasonable, affordable sum to verifiably black people, whose descendants have long been discriminated against, okay. Put this grievance to bed for all time.

Recipients can invest the money, pay for their children’s education, or do whatever they want with it. Once the money is dispensed, no more talk about reparations.

Ever.

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