Being that I am a fairly hard core fiscal conservative, I am routinely asked: “Why do you want to let people die in the streets”? “Why don’t you care about the less fortunate”? “Why do you hate the poor so much”? Blah, blah… and blah. The left likes to use emotion in a sad attempt to disarm conservatives and make them out to be these evil hate-filled monsters that don’t care about anyone but the “rich.” It’s not that we hate the poor; it’s that we are tired of perfectly healthy, able-bodied, lazy people taking advantage of the system. I’m taking about people who have kids they can’t afford to have, a house they can’t afford, (after the ARM adjusted) and a car with a double digit interest rate they rolled over from a previous loan they could not afford. I’m taking about people who have made REPEATED bad decisions and expect us to pay for their lack of common sense.

The victims of Hurricane Katrina suffered an unbelievable hardship. Their homes were destroyed, all of their worldly possessions were lost, and over 2,000 people lost their lives. I had no problem seeing my tax dollars being spent on hotel rooms and FEMA trailers all over the southeastern United States. I’m happy to say that I’ve spoken to several people from the hardest hit areas that relocated here in Atlanta and most have found jobs, purchased homes, and resumed their lives. Then there are the “others.” The healthy, able-bodied, lazy people that stayed in the hotel rooms and FEMA trailers for years! The people that were given government issued credit cards meant for purchasing food and clothing that instead was used for alcohol and expensive accessories like handbags. Let me pause for a second to make a point… it was not hard for the government to trace these purchases and cut these people off, in case you were wondering. These were the same healthy, able-bodied, lazy people that, when Burger King and Starbucks offered $5,000 signing bonuses and were willing to pay $12 an hour to flip burgers and pour coffee, ignored the opportunity to go back home and work. Instead they stayed in the trailers and hotel rooms living off our tax dollars.

So at what point do liberals believe these people should be obligated to take care of themselves? When do we start kicking people off of welfare and other government entitlement programs? How many questions am I going to ask before I start answering them myself? I’ve often found that examples are usually better than preaching, so here goes. Somewhere along the line, we as a country decided that everyone is special and deserves “stuff” just because you can fog a mirror. The most negative societal example of this is reality television. No longer is talent necessary. No longer do you have to work hard for anything. Lazy people see reality television “stars” getting rich for being themselves and they see this as the way to go. Then along comes the Federal Government whenever there is a tragedy; taking care of everyone just because they can fog a mirror. Had they been working (real work) they could take care of themselves whenever there is a tragedy or just when life gets in the way. Am I my brother’s keeper? How about, “God helps those who help themselves”?