It was just about 15 years ago that Congress and the President were galvanized on the mission "to end welfare as we know it." Their joint admission was that the notion of doing for others what they can and should do for themselves doesn't work. Government welfare always sounds so noble in the beginning. The politicians rise to the challenge of human frailty and promise to care for the poor, feed the hungry and clothe the naked. They even quote Scriptures like the famous passage of Matthew 25. But they forget a few other key points the Scriptures teach. The first is mankind, however noble sounding is often unkind. We are fallen, broken people prone to err, make excuses and take advantage of others. So some and eventually many people adapt to welfare and take advantage. When food stamps and public housing become an entitlement a good number of people will always decide they are so entitled and will stop doing the work necessary to provide for themselves and their families. Such error wrapped in the dignity of civil government takes generations to correct and trillions of dollars disappear in the process.
The errors of social welfare were incredibly painful the last go around but America had the population demographics to mask the mistake. The baby boomers were raised with an ethic of working for a living. Their WW II parents sent them out early into the work force and demanded they gain independence and they did. Because there we so many young people creating economic activity and consumer demand, government was able to raise the tax base necessary to keep welfare alive for a while. Until the inevitable fallen nature of man caught up with the process and the welfare train crashed.When Congress and two Presidents finally found the courage to admit the obvious, the brief period of "reform" resulted in a reduction of the federal deficit, the federal budget moved toward balance and consumer confidence rose.
But we have forgotten those lessons already. The politicians have risen to the platform again and "guilted" Americans into accepting a national welfare scheme on healthcare. Citing the same passages of Scripture, the noble elite have passed a bill (without reading it) that has sent a clear message to all people. You do not have to work to earn the money to pay for healthcare. Because some cannot, none should have to. So "we the government" will create a plan that will defy logic, history, and human nature. All will have healthcare and never you mind about the details.
Only problem is this time the population demographics are against the grand illusion. America is swimming in debt. The boomers had fewer kids than their parents and boomer kids are having fewer kids still. There are not enough working people who don't think they are entitled to pay for those who do. Already the fallen nature of man is kicking in as companies begin to plan a way to offload health care plans to the government. Already young people drowning in college debt are trading personal responsibility for an entitlement mindset. Not everyone of course is irresponsible any more than everyone is uncaring for the poor and infirm. Just enough people, however, will fall to their lesser nature so that the economics of this noble re-work of welfare will crash as did the last.
And when it does, the politicians will beat their chests and claim nobility as they work to pass "heathcare reform" and end welfare as we now know it -- again.
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