Dear Editor:
Can you imagine a retired 55-year-old man having twins? That happened to my dad. He learned a different job and worked until he was 82. When I was hospitalized for 3 months, the bank said, "Henry, just sign your name for the loan. Your word is good."
Today I got a call asking why my disabled child was not on Medicaid. You "can spend down her assets and she will get free medical help." That is not how I was raised. If you had to work two jobs, you did it to take care of your family. It was embarrassing to have to ask for school free meals. You took care of your own. My dad got a new pair of work clothes for Christmas and my mom got a new pair of Mojud stockings. That was it for them. A disabled child lived with his/her family, not in a group home. The child was "family" and got better care with those who loved him/her.
I have seen parents "dump" their child at 16 into a group home, leave no inheritance to the child so he/she could live on governmental charity, take every freebie they could get from the government. They think they are "entitled." I am embarrassed that today's families abrogate their responsibilities. Parents don't marry so they can get more from the government.
When I taught school, I asked my second-graders "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Eighty percent answered: "I want to grow up and have babies so I can go on welfare and never have to work." No wonder our nation is in trouble. The Bible says if a man doesn't work, don't feed him (I am paraphrasing).
No group home can replace the love and support of a family; nor can it provide the experiences and freedom to do things and go places that a family can provide. I'd like to see us become a responsible society, not a family of grandma food stamps, grandpa subsidized housing, mother free medical care and daddy no where to be found.
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