Government Handouts Don't Work: Again

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, everyone felt sorry for the storm's victims, including the government. The result: billions of dollars in aid which, as it now turns out, didn't all get used for, um, necessities. That's right, can you believe it? The government gave people free money and instead of spending it on, food, clothing, and shelter; they spent it on strip clubs, Hawaiian vacations, and, most surprisingly, alcohol. Yes it's true, massive, unneccesary government handouts after Hurricane Katrina got wasted, although it shouldn't really come as a surprise. Sadly, free Government handouts have been getting wasted in this fashion since, well, the day they were first given out.

Since the dawn of the Populist/Radical Left-Wing movement in the United States some 100 or so years back, it has become commonplace to believe that problems can be solved by having the government simply throw money at them. As a result, the government gladly finances people's lives and, in an almost humorous way, expects them to do the right thing with the 5-figure check (or fully-loaded debit card) that they get handed -- which is completely absurd. Tell me, would you trust an anonymous stranger enough to give him X amount of dollars because he promises that he'll spend it on something worthwhile? Not unless you're either dumb or loose with your cash.

People, sadly, are not the ever-benevolent beings that big-government socialists would have you believe, especially when you plop a big chunk of change right in their laps. They are bound to use and abuse the gift given to them by the government, and even more likely to become dependant on it. Even the Hurricane Katrina victims, folks who genuinely needed money to purchase things that they had lost in the floodwaters, abused the privilege of government welfare. If these people, who, lets face it, are a bit more desperate and 'in need' that your average welfare recipient, spend their government check on a 6-pack of Bud, the ordinary citizen will too.

This misuse of money by Katrina victims once again proves that government simply cannot be the man with the open wallet, willing to give money to anyone who claims to need it. The reason is simple: it's not right for my tax dollars to help pay for Joe Smith's liquor and strip club binge. I, like most Americans, work hard for my paycheck; and to see the government take part of it away to help the someone pay for Saints tickets isn't just disgusting, it really ought to be a crime.