The Truth About Public Assistance

The ultimatum 
Why have public assistance programs grown so much in the past few decades?

Is it people being lazy? No.  

Is it people abusing the system? Hardly. 

Is it out of necessity? BINGO! 

For decades the cost of living has increased with a minimal increase in wages. 

Individuals Receiving Food Stamps (Annual)

With the minimal increases in wages, productivity has skyrocketed and the profits have been reaped only for the top. I'm not a socialist by any means, but that is blatantly unfair! 

To continue, for decades education costs have skyrocketed with federal assistance (pell) staying the same. With the cost increases, parents have also had less disposable income to invest in their children's education. 

In a sense, we are in a new age of slavery. The working man has become an indentured servant to wall street. If we don't accept our meager wages, we don't work, subsequently we foreclose on our mortgage and our home goes to the bank. We earn just enough each week to give it back to the corporations that run our lives, and with that, they call foul at the thought of being regulated a little bit better or paying fairer taxes. 

Corporate profits are at an all time high, they are sitting on billions, and we are at the table begging for scraps like a dog.

The GOP has been bought. The 1% owns them, no doubt about it.  Super PACs have been formed to combat this information age.  Laws suppressing our right to vote have been passed.  And wall street is keeping us too busy to learn the facts so we may make informed decisions. 

We are being kept poor to make us dependent. Most of use either earn so little we are dependent on public assistance to get by, or we earn too much to qualify but just enough to get by. 

We are at a crossroads, do we expand public assistance, or get rid of outdated regulations and replace them with new effective ones that will allow us to EARN a livable wage? 

Are we going to increase minimum wage to coincide with the Cost Of Living? 
Are we going to fairly tax the rich who profit most from government spending? I'm talking about 50% + for people making $1,000,000 or more a year. 
Are we going to start enforcing anti-trust laws already on the books? 

These are the solutions to the problems we face. Give us minimal but reasonable laws and we can take care of the rest. Is everyone going to have the same opportunity? No. Is that a reason to stifle it for everyone else? No.