When You Live With Your Head Up Your Ass, You're In The Dark.

Almost every Tea Party Conservative that I know has backed away from the ideal due to the damage their elected representatives have caused in Congress. I should say the intelligent ones have. Which makes me wonder about my own family. While I can get my step-mother to see my point on occasion, she always returns to her original ways as soon as I'm out of sight. I'd say out of mind, but that would indicate she has one.

Latest of my family to enter the political opinion arena is an aunt. I've always given her credit for her liberality, however, it appears that as we age we really do become our Mothers. Her Mom was a Tea Party Conservative before there was a Tea Party. Totally, without any warning at all, I found myself listening to her "opinion" that all people who don't work are on Welfare and we need to drug test them before we pay them. *sigh*

By all means let's totally ignore the FACT that we still have 10% unemployment where I live. While we're at it let's ignore that we have a welfare to work program that only allows people to be on Welfare for 5 years. I admit that mathematics wasn't my strong suit but it does seem to me that 5 years isn't a lifetime. Which makes me wonder where we get the idea that Welfare is a lifetime income.

Around here the "opinionated" call them Wellies. They are, for the most part, on SSI rather than state welfare. Some of them are bi-polar, some have other mental health issues. Some are learning disabled. Quite a few of them can't read. None of them have high school diplomas or skill sets that make them employable as anything other than janitors and even they need to read and write.

My aunt, in her infinite wisdom now that she has become her mother, has decided that these wellies need to be drug tested and if they pass we need to hand them brooms and force them to sweep streets for their checks. These people get checks, food stamps, health insurance and rent subsidies all of which bring them UP to poverty level. I don't believe any of the ones I know asked to be bi-polar or learning disabled so that they could spend their entire lives living in poverty. Nor should they be treated as anything less than the human beings they are. Last time any group of people were "forced" to labor I believe we called them slaves?

Her sister lives in Florida, where they do that. Her sister is so fixated on it being the right thing to do that she apparently has ignored the FACT that drug testing is costing Florida taxpayers more, since they aren't finding the volume of druggies they thought they would, than it would have to pay these people the benefits they're asking for. Of course, creating jobs that actually pay people to work seems not to be on any agenda that I've heard of. Jobs, which pay people enough to support themselves on would reduce the need for welfare programs now wouldn't it?

Since I have stopped watching cable news and have limited my online time to a few minutes a session, I'm avoiding the hyperbole we seem to think is news. I read what the Pope has said about trickle down economics. He's right. It effects our ability to make a living and contributes to the climate of fear that allows people to hate those who are worse off than we are simply because they buy the things every one else does. "On Welfare and you have a cell phone? Oh no, my taxes are much too high, you're a pig or scumbag" say the Tea Party

Which brings me to another thought that Walmart and other big box stores should be paying attention to. At some point if people aren't making enough money to support themselves, they won't be buying much no matter how cheap you make your price. Since Walmart keeps cutting it's employees hours to hire more people, it's own income has been slipping. Food stamps, which your employees need due to your cutting hours back to 18-20 when the whim hits you, means they have enough for rent, utilities, telephone, food and nothing left for toys, games, clothes, etc. Nothing like trickling down on your own employee/customers ability to have enough money to shop with is there?