It has to be clear to anyone that we have been moving toward an entitlement society with almost 50% of the population on some kind of public dole. I know that some need it and others have earned it. I am not talking about those. The ones who I am concerned about are those who should not be on it long term. Who are those? People on disability who are not in wheel chairs, blind or confined to a bed. Those who are on unemployment. Those who are on food stamps and not working more than 50% of the time. Those on welfare of any type who are not working more than 50% of the time. What I want to do is to define those who could work, but who are not working. Now here is my program.
Require these people to go to some public place within the community at least one day per week and be there at 8:00am. These could be places like the post office or a public library. The police department or the fire department could also be good locations. Now here is what would happen. These people would be auctioned off to work for the day. People would bid for their services. They person would go to the highest bidder just like in any auction. The bidder would have to provide transportation and lunch and return the person to the same place before 5:00pm. The person would get 50% of the money bid and the other 50% would go into the local general tax account. The winning bidder would also have to fill out a simple form describing the work done with an evaluation of the work ethic of the person. If the score were lower than some amount, the person would have their public welfare money reduced by the amount of the total bid each month until they had "two" passing scores. Failure to show up at 8:00am would result in a penalty of a deduction of 5% of the monthly welfare for each offence.
A basic program like this would get people up and out of bed like those people who work have to do each morning. One of the main problems with being on the public dole is that people develop lazy habits and thus it is more difficult for them to transition back to work.
I cut my own fire wood and would like some help in loading and stacking the wood. My wife has difficulty spading here garden. We could both use some help and most kids don't want to work as in the past. In the fall we need our leaves raked and in the winter, snow shoveled. I don't see anything wrong with making people do some work if they are getting a free ride on those who do work. It is not an insult either. This would just be part of the bargain that we have with each other here in our democracy. It is a way to help each other and be fair at the same time.
What do you think?
