Dear Editor:
I am a compassionate person, and try not to judge. But when I hear complaints because Trump wants to cut Medicaid and food stamps, I get irritated. I have friends working in the medical field, grocery stores and other organizations that help people. Here are a few of the issues they have mentioned.
The young men, well-dressed, who go through grocery lines with an EBT card - why aren't they working? Those who fill their cart with the choicest meats available and pay with an EBT card. Cashiers who claim that one-fourth of customers use EBT cards. The well-dressed lady who drives an expensive car and asks for free diapers from an organization which gives away baby items. A friend who worked in a government office that distributed funds if you needed help. She said many women would ask, "How much money do I get if I have one kid?" "How about two - or three?" The use of ambulances as a ride to the hospital or use of emergency rooms for non-threatening illnesses. The couple with children who choose NOT to get married because they make more money by filing separately than by being married! The people who lie to get benefits.
There is something wrong here! Is abuse of the system ever checked? Where is the incentive to go out and find a job when you can get everything free? And Medicaid - is that supposed to be for a lifetime - or short term?
There must be reform! Why can't we try harder to find jobs for people who are capable of working? I can't imagine being a healthy person who would rather stay home and watch television than work - which would give them a sense of pride that they are contributing to not only society - but to their family's benefit too! I know there are families who struggle, and that is great to help them! I am referring to those who don't need assistance, but use it anyway because they are too lazy to work!
I support wholeheartedly helping the poor, but I love the quote that is credited to Anne Isabella Richie, daughter of writer William Makepeace Thackeray. "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
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