Spokane7
55°
January 27, 2011 in Opinion, Letters
Entitlement attitude growing
A large segment of society’s profession is to procure government (taxpayer) funds. During 17 years as a food bank coordinator, I saw the demographics of clientele change from occasional use by most, to year-round by the majority.
Very aware that numerous circumstances can place people in need, the change in attitude is the big difference I see. Instead of looking for the thrifty way, they choose the easy way. The I-am-entitled attitude is rampant. Cigarettes, cell phones, TV, Internet, dining out, movies and alcohol are luxuries, things we can do without, nice but not entitlements.
During the 1970s and 1980s, food banks I worked in could share information with neighboring food banks to prevent double dipping. That can’t be done now because of confidentiality rules. The sad reality of government (taxpayer-funded) programs and grants: People who really need help, who truly physically or mentally can’t earn a living, barely scrape by while professional dole-takers get more than they need, hopping from program to program to keep the taxpayers’ money rolling into their pockets.
Laura Estes
Odessa, Wash.
Trudy Rubin: Egyptians say no to Islamists 
greenlibertarian on January 27 at 1:56 a.m.
“while professional dole-takers get more than they need…”
Those folks are a TINY part of the problem, and the NEED.
Diana on January 27 at 6:13 a.m.
Did they drive away in Cadillacs?
Hank Greer on January 27 at 6:29 a.m.
I agree, Laura. The oil and finance industries have benefited so greatly from government largess that they now treat it like an entitlement program. It’s time to put a stop to it and make them stand on their own two feet like everybody else.
hawken on January 27 at 7:11 a.m.
Yep,, you nailed it Laura. I couldn’t agree more. It’s time for another Republican-Clinton welfare reform. Here’s Clinton speaking for himself in his OpEd:
Begin Clinton Quote:
On Aug. 22, 1996, after vetoing two earlier versions, I signed welfare reform into law. At the time, I was widely criticized by liberals who thought the work requirements too harsh and conservatives who thought the work incentives too generous.
Three members of my administration ultimately resigned in protest. Thankfully, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted for the bill because they thought we shouldn’t be satisfied with a system that had led to intergenerational dependency. End Clinton Quote
The last 10 years have shown that we did in fact end welfare as we knew it, creating a new beginning for millions of Americans.
In the past decade, welfare rolls have dropped substantially, from 12.2 million in 1996 to 4.5 million today. At the same time, caseloads declined by 54 percent. Sixty percent of mothers who left welfare found work, far surpassing predictions of experts. Through the Welfare to Work Partnership, which my administration started to speed the transition to employment, more than 20,000 businesses hired 1.1 million former welfare recipients. Welfare reform has proved a great success, and I am grateful to the Democrats and Republicans who had the courage to work together to take bold action. End Clinton Quote
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/opinion/22clinton.html
More bold action is needed. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Clinton type Democrat in the white house. This time “bold action” will be taken by the state of the economy.
MrNatural on January 27 at 10:34 a.m.
Ah yes…bless them all…So am I to gather the conservatives would rather see 99 people starve than to see one person bilk the food bank where liberals would rather see 99 people bilk the food bank than to see one person starve?
I think this incenses us all to all to hear (or witness) persons who abuse the food bank or other lifeline charities especially with limited resources. This means that we need to find better ways to qualify those in need. Many truly need this outreach to survive and do not deserve to be punished for the low morals of a few.
MatthewRoot on January 27 at 1:02 p.m.
I agree with Mr. Natural, but we do not need to cast this into a “conservative-liberal” divide. Unfortunately, some people abuse the system, everything from food stamps to government-guaranteed loans for on-line “colleges” (I know some people like this – former in-laws).
I do not understand why there would be any need for confidentiality when someone is requesting charity from a food bank (and I was unaware of this). This sounds like something in need of reform, and I thank Ms. Estes for the information. Ms. Estes is correct, why should people who abuse the system be allowed to overuse services designed for the truly needy.