When I was in my 40's, I first remember tales of the Golden Years. Everyone yakked about the decades turning golden once you retired from active work. It would usher in an era of lazy days, relaxation and self-indulgence. Now that I have reached that stage, the years seem brownish.
Everything I heard about the Golden Years has turned out to be wrong. Those retirement commercials on television painted such an idyllic picture. I suspect that gray-haired financial planners knew the truth, but didn't want to scare Baby Boomers into early deaths.
I pledge not to perpetuate the myth. When I hear the words "Golden Years," I unleash a stream of expletives to unsuspecting strangers. "There is nothing Golden about growing old," I bellow for all to hear. "Unless you think eating a can of prunes every day is one of life's joys."
In an effort to offer an honest appraisal of the Golden Years, I have compiled a list of myths passed down from generation to generation. If you're in your 40's, there is no better time than the present to learn the facts about aging. At least you will be prepared for the onset of wrinkles, flatulence and cranky knees.
Old People Get To Sleep Until Noon
I recall an airplane ride 30 years ago when as soon as the wheels lifted off the runway every person over the age of 60 was fast asleep. I imagined that is what the Golden Years would be like. Turns out as we age, studies show we sleep less not more. The Golden Years keep us awake at night. We toss, turn, snore and grunt. Our body temperature fluctuates between sizzling hot and icy cold. And don't even get me started about how many trips to the bathroom we make every night. Let's just say it's impossible to sleep standing upright.
Eat Whatever You Want
After my Dad retired, he decided his diet required more sugar. He polished off a Moon Pie with lunch, a piece of cake with dinner and capped the evening with a heaping bowl of ice cream. I couldn't wait to indulge my sweet teeth (Yes, plural!). But unlike my Dad and his generation, Baby Boomers are saddled with a gene that makes us fat if we even watch a TV food commercial. Most of us exercise now more than we did in our 30's, yet our pants are shrinking and we change belts more often than our underwear. No way can you eat whatever you want in those Golden Years. Medicare doesn't cover tummy tucks.
Lounge On the Couch All Day
As I approached retirement, well-meaning people would badger me about what I planned to do once I no longer worked. The inference was I could never fill up all my free time. Now I know boredom isn't the problem because your spouse has lots of ideas about how you will spend your newfound freedom. You are no longer in charge of your schedule. Your spouse is. No job also means you have lots of time to do all the things you once delegated to your spouse. Good luck with that nap on the couch. You will be fortunate if your spouse doesn't sell the couch and install a workbench in the living room.
Play Golf Every Day
During my career, I daydreamed of one day playing golf every waking moment after I retired. I would race through a three-hour round of golf, eat lunch at the golf course and hit practice balls until my hands bled. But the reality is your body wears out before your golf clubs do. Knees, shoulders, elbows and backs were never designed for golf. Every Baby Boomer I know has either quit golf or is threatening to give up the game. We once fancied shooting our age. Now we just hope that our PSA score is lower than our handicap.
Spend Money Like There's No Tomorrow
You have worked practically your whole life, now it's time to enjoy your retirement nest egg. Problem is the competition for your meager savings can be fierce. The grand kids need to be spoiled with gifts. There are expensive vacations you promised your spouse while you were working. There are cool convertible cars you lusted after in high school that now seem irresistible. Pretty soon you are standing in line at Costco on a Sunday, gobbling the free food samples. You tell friends you are out for brunch. They don't chuckle at your lie because they are in line behind you.
Don't let your children and grandchildren learn the hard way about the Golden Years. Tell them the truth so they can prepare for what's looming on the horizon. In fact, save yourself some time and just email them this column. Don't be shocked if they never talk to you again.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
The Politicization of American Life
You can no longer attend a pro football game, a Broadway play, a grade school function or even dine at your favorite restaurant without being assaulted by politics. Television, social media and the news bombard Americans with political ideology. There is no escaping the intrusion into our lives.
This is not a new development ushered in by President Trump as liberals claim. It began decades ago and has reached a nadir in the last few years. The invasion of America's heart and soul has its genesis in the Cultural Wars. It has metastasized into a cancerous incursion that is divisive and insidious.
Here are the three dynamics that are churning the political froth that pits American-against-American:
Cultural Wars
For decades, Americans have been battling over cultural issues ranging from abortion to the sanctioning of gay marriages to transgender bathrooms. What has fueled much of the debate has been the way in which most of these factious matters have been settled. In many cases, courts comprised of a handful of judges have decided the questions instead of the people. Even when Americans have expressed their will on ballot issues, unelected judges have overruled the people. The result is many Americans feel frustrated that a minority of black robed-jurists are deciding some of the nation's most controversial and contentious topics. Most of the questions are matters of religion for a majority of Americans. But religious rights have been trampled by a judiciary which views anything Godly as inherently unconstitutional. The framers of the Constitution never intended for America to be free from religion. Their goal was freedom of religious expression. Often those with religious viewpoints on cultural issues are mocked, eroding civil discourse.
Political Consumerism
There was a time when your choice of food or restaurants was not a political statement. But that too has changed. When the head of fast-food chicken restaurant expressed his social views, all hell broke loose. Diners began boycotting the franchise. No one has yet explained what eating chicken has to do with a person's views on same sex marriage. In years past, businesses never entered the political minefield for fear of alienating some segment of its customers. Today every business seems bent on scoring a political point particularly if it agrees with the liberal dogma. It is not just Mom-and-Pop businesses either. Fortune 500 companies are engaging in very public political fights. That would have been considered corporate suicide decades ago. Beyond intramural politics, businesses are rushing to showcase their social conscience as a way of luring customers and burnishing their brand. Big firms believe if they support climate change or unisex-bathrooms or Planned Parenthood, it will translate into more profits. This has forever altered the relationship between consumers and businesses and further divides the country.
Politics as Religion
Republicans and Democrats are baptizing Americans with zealotry that rivals religion. If you doubt this, consider research that shows liberals prefer their friends to be of like mind, as do conservatives. They want their sons and daughters to marry into a political view shared by their family. Decades ago, Americans were more concerned about their offspring marrying into the same religion. For more and more Americans, politics has become their religion. They define themselves by their political causes and not by their religious beliefs. They worship celebrities, athletes and actors who share their stances on the issues of the day. They get their moral cues from social media. This secular worldview has transformed politics into a pitched battle for the soul. That accounts for much of the acrimony.
As a result of the phenomenas outlined above, America has become polarized and politicized like never before. Americans need to take stock and show the world there is something of more lasting value than politics. Inserting God back into American life will restore balance and promote unity.
This is not a new development ushered in by President Trump as liberals claim. It began decades ago and has reached a nadir in the last few years. The invasion of America's heart and soul has its genesis in the Cultural Wars. It has metastasized into a cancerous incursion that is divisive and insidious.
Here are the three dynamics that are churning the political froth that pits American-against-American:
Cultural Wars
For decades, Americans have been battling over cultural issues ranging from abortion to the sanctioning of gay marriages to transgender bathrooms. What has fueled much of the debate has been the way in which most of these factious matters have been settled. In many cases, courts comprised of a handful of judges have decided the questions instead of the people. Even when Americans have expressed their will on ballot issues, unelected judges have overruled the people. The result is many Americans feel frustrated that a minority of black robed-jurists are deciding some of the nation's most controversial and contentious topics. Most of the questions are matters of religion for a majority of Americans. But religious rights have been trampled by a judiciary which views anything Godly as inherently unconstitutional. The framers of the Constitution never intended for America to be free from religion. Their goal was freedom of religious expression. Often those with religious viewpoints on cultural issues are mocked, eroding civil discourse.
Political Consumerism
There was a time when your choice of food or restaurants was not a political statement. But that too has changed. When the head of fast-food chicken restaurant expressed his social views, all hell broke loose. Diners began boycotting the franchise. No one has yet explained what eating chicken has to do with a person's views on same sex marriage. In years past, businesses never entered the political minefield for fear of alienating some segment of its customers. Today every business seems bent on scoring a political point particularly if it agrees with the liberal dogma. It is not just Mom-and-Pop businesses either. Fortune 500 companies are engaging in very public political fights. That would have been considered corporate suicide decades ago. Beyond intramural politics, businesses are rushing to showcase their social conscience as a way of luring customers and burnishing their brand. Big firms believe if they support climate change or unisex-bathrooms or Planned Parenthood, it will translate into more profits. This has forever altered the relationship between consumers and businesses and further divides the country.
Politics as Religion
Republicans and Democrats are baptizing Americans with zealotry that rivals religion. If you doubt this, consider research that shows liberals prefer their friends to be of like mind, as do conservatives. They want their sons and daughters to marry into a political view shared by their family. Decades ago, Americans were more concerned about their offspring marrying into the same religion. For more and more Americans, politics has become their religion. They define themselves by their political causes and not by their religious beliefs. They worship celebrities, athletes and actors who share their stances on the issues of the day. They get their moral cues from social media. This secular worldview has transformed politics into a pitched battle for the soul. That accounts for much of the acrimony.
As a result of the phenomenas outlined above, America has become polarized and politicized like never before. Americans need to take stock and show the world there is something of more lasting value than politics. Inserting God back into American life will restore balance and promote unity.
Monday, October 16, 2017
Drunk Driving: Stories of Heartbreak and Tragedy
Katie Evans was returning home after visiting her eight-week-old twin baby girls in a hospital intensive care unit. Her premature daughters were getting stronger and gaining weight. Katie was happy as she drove away from the hospital. She would never make it to her California home.
Katie was killed in a head-on collision with a vehicle that hit a curb and sideswiped another car before careening into her auto. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police ruled the death an apparent DUI (Driving Under the Influence) crash. The other driver was a 22-year old woman.
That same week a driver in Oregon was charged with DUI after his vehicle plowed into a auto carrying a 25-year old mother and her four children, ages two to eight years old. All four were killed. Police arrested a 27-year old driver whose blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit.
This was not the first time the Oregon suspect had been arrested for drunk driving. He had three previous arrests for the same misdemeanor. That is not unusual. Twenty-seven percent of those responsible for DUI crashes have been involved in collisions or have drunk driving convictions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the average alcohol impaired driver has driven drunk more than 80 times before his or her first arrest. That figure should be sufficient evidence that law enforcement efforts to stop drunk driving have been largely unsuccessful.
Statistics compiled by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) offer a further indictment of the nation's failure to deal with the issue. After dramatic declines in alcohol-impaired driving crashes over the last 30 years, fatalities reached a four-year plateau in 2015.
There were 10,265 fatalities involving impaired driving in 2015, the latest year for which figures are available. A total of 181 children 14-years and younger were among the victims. In addition, more than 290,000 people suffered injuries in accidents involving drunk drivers.
Not only have fatalities risen, but authorities have seen a jump in the alcohol level of drunk drivers. A blood alcohol level of .08% is considered impaired in all 50 states. In 2015, 67% of the crashes involved at least one driver with a level of .15% or higher. That's nearly twice the legal limit.
Nothing can compensate for the loss of even one life. But it is not the only cost of drunk driving. The NHTSA calculates that alcohol-related accidents result in a $44 billion annual tab in medical expenses, property damage, legal and court costs and workplace losses.
So what can be done to stop the senseless carnage?
The first order should be to get convicted drunk drivers out from behind the wheel of a car. Some states mandate ignition interlocks in cars for repeat offenders that keep the vehicle from starting if the driver's alcohol level exceeds a modest limit. However, not all states have adopted this measure.
After two convictions, courts should take away all driving privileges until the offender has successfully completed a sobriety program. Driving is not a right. People who continue to be arrested for DUI are threats to society and should be dealt with accordingly.
Some states allow the arresting officer to take away the license of a driver than tests above the legal blood alcohol limit. Those who refuse testing should be treated the same. Suspending a drunk driver's license for 90-days also has shown to reduce fatalities.
Police sobriety checkpoints are another weapon in the war against drunk driving. But these campaigns often only operate around the holidays. Most drunk driving fatalities occur at night and on the weekends. Year-round checkpoints in the evenings could prevent more fatal accidents.
Even if successful, none of these measures will totally eliminate drunk driving. Law enforcement, aided by the media, needs to put faces and personal stories with the statistics. Perhaps, that will make people pause before they drink and drive if they hear about a child's tragic death.
Like so much that's wrong in society today, unless individuals change, the government alone cannot solve the problem. If you know someone with an alcohol problem, intervene and get that individual in treatment. You may prevent a tragedy. That is the first line of defense against drunk driving.
Katie was killed in a head-on collision with a vehicle that hit a curb and sideswiped another car before careening into her auto. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police ruled the death an apparent DUI (Driving Under the Influence) crash. The other driver was a 22-year old woman.
That same week a driver in Oregon was charged with DUI after his vehicle plowed into a auto carrying a 25-year old mother and her four children, ages two to eight years old. All four were killed. Police arrested a 27-year old driver whose blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit.
This was not the first time the Oregon suspect had been arrested for drunk driving. He had three previous arrests for the same misdemeanor. That is not unusual. Twenty-seven percent of those responsible for DUI crashes have been involved in collisions or have drunk driving convictions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the average alcohol impaired driver has driven drunk more than 80 times before his or her first arrest. That figure should be sufficient evidence that law enforcement efforts to stop drunk driving have been largely unsuccessful.
Statistics compiled by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) offer a further indictment of the nation's failure to deal with the issue. After dramatic declines in alcohol-impaired driving crashes over the last 30 years, fatalities reached a four-year plateau in 2015.
There were 10,265 fatalities involving impaired driving in 2015, the latest year for which figures are available. A total of 181 children 14-years and younger were among the victims. In addition, more than 290,000 people suffered injuries in accidents involving drunk drivers.
Not only have fatalities risen, but authorities have seen a jump in the alcohol level of drunk drivers. A blood alcohol level of .08% is considered impaired in all 50 states. In 2015, 67% of the crashes involved at least one driver with a level of .15% or higher. That's nearly twice the legal limit.
Nothing can compensate for the loss of even one life. But it is not the only cost of drunk driving. The NHTSA calculates that alcohol-related accidents result in a $44 billion annual tab in medical expenses, property damage, legal and court costs and workplace losses.
So what can be done to stop the senseless carnage?
The first order should be to get convicted drunk drivers out from behind the wheel of a car. Some states mandate ignition interlocks in cars for repeat offenders that keep the vehicle from starting if the driver's alcohol level exceeds a modest limit. However, not all states have adopted this measure.
After two convictions, courts should take away all driving privileges until the offender has successfully completed a sobriety program. Driving is not a right. People who continue to be arrested for DUI are threats to society and should be dealt with accordingly.
Some states allow the arresting officer to take away the license of a driver than tests above the legal blood alcohol limit. Those who refuse testing should be treated the same. Suspending a drunk driver's license for 90-days also has shown to reduce fatalities.
Police sobriety checkpoints are another weapon in the war against drunk driving. But these campaigns often only operate around the holidays. Most drunk driving fatalities occur at night and on the weekends. Year-round checkpoints in the evenings could prevent more fatal accidents.
Even if successful, none of these measures will totally eliminate drunk driving. Law enforcement, aided by the media, needs to put faces and personal stories with the statistics. Perhaps, that will make people pause before they drink and drive if they hear about a child's tragic death.
Like so much that's wrong in society today, unless individuals change, the government alone cannot solve the problem. If you know someone with an alcohol problem, intervene and get that individual in treatment. You may prevent a tragedy. That is the first line of defense against drunk driving.
Monday, October 9, 2017
An Open Letter To NFL Commissioner Goodell
Dear Mr. Roger Goodell:
As commissioner of the National Football League, you command a multi-billion dollar empire awash in money. Team owners rake in millions of dollars each season in television revenue. Your employees are some of the wealthiest Americans. Your salary places you in the top one percent.
Your league has been granted an antitrust exemption no other business enjoys. Some of the world's richest companies sponsor the NFL. Your plush stadiums are often bankrolled by municipalities. The media celebrates the NFL with fawning news coverage no other business can match.
With all these advantages, it seems odd that the NFL and its players indict America as a country plagued with inequality. Protests over unfairness have become a regular feature of league games. It is a real head scratcher for most Americans who can only dream of becoming millionaires.
For average Joe's, real inequality exists between their income and that of an NFL quarterback drawing seven-figures. The average 25-to-34 year old in America has a household income of $39,416. The minimum salary for NFL rookies fresh from college is $365,000 annually.
The league-wide annual average salary for an NFL player is $1.9 million. That does not include endorsements, appearance fees and other sources of income which can push a player's total income into the stratosphere. All that money means a lifestyle and opportunities most of us will never know.
Despite every advantage of privileged status, your ingrate employees are some of the worst behaved men in America. Since 2000, NFL players have rap sheets as long as some criminals behind bars. Take a peek at these numbers from your own league reports:
218 arrests for Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
100 arrests for Drug related crimes
98 arrests for Domestic Violence
74 arrests for Assaults
44 arrests for Disorderly Conduct
Even those appalling figures don't capture the extent of player thuggery. For example, the stats do not include charges that never result in arrests. Unlike NFL players, average Americans don't get a free pass when they break the law. Your lawyered-up players avoid jail and receive a league wrist slap.
Since your players want to address inequality, here is something that caught my eye. An army private first class is paid $22,714 annually. For that piddling amount, the solider is expected to protect and defend our country, which may require the ultimate sacrifice of life in battle.
Need more examples of inequality? Try this one. The average cost of a ticket for an NFL game is $172. That means a family of four would have to shell out $688 to see a single game. Include parking, food, drinks and a game program and that's an average family's wages for a whole week.
That is why it seems strange for your players to choose to insult the country that has afforded them such extravagance. Most are taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem, a song that has united America's people even in the worst of times. Their action divides the country.
These protests are inflaming the passions of a nation and damaging the NFL brand you so zealously protect. Ticket sales have fallen 20% for NFL teams over the first three weeks of the season. Television ratings have declined from 6% to 31% in some markets. Merchandise sales are down.
A new poll by the Washington-based Winston Group finds that favorable ratings for the NFL have tumbled from 57% to 44% from the end of August to September 30. Under your leadership, the league now has the highest unfavorable rating of any major sport. Why the fall from grace?
Americans don't like to mix politics and sports. Sports is a welcome distraction from real life for most people. Contests, even those on the NFL's grand stage, are just games. They are not life-and-death struggles. No player has come home in a flag-draped coffin after an NFL game.
I know you have defended your employees right to free speech. I do too. But your own rules require players to stand at attention during the playing of the National Anthem. So why don't you enforce the rule? You pocket nearly $30 million in annual salary and bonuses to make these decisions.
The truth is that you and your employees have let President Trump's criticism get under your thin skins. You are acting like the coddled millionaires you are. If your players are so repulsed by our anthem, I hear there are openings in the Canadian Football League. Of course, they'll take a pay cut.
Money is the NFL's only God. Falling ratings and declining ticket sales are getting the attention of jet setting owners. However, they deserve some of the blame because these morons have allowed you to surrender your authority to employees bent on mocking America. We won't stand for it anymore.
A former fan,
Drew Roy
As commissioner of the National Football League, you command a multi-billion dollar empire awash in money. Team owners rake in millions of dollars each season in television revenue. Your employees are some of the wealthiest Americans. Your salary places you in the top one percent.
Your league has been granted an antitrust exemption no other business enjoys. Some of the world's richest companies sponsor the NFL. Your plush stadiums are often bankrolled by municipalities. The media celebrates the NFL with fawning news coverage no other business can match.
With all these advantages, it seems odd that the NFL and its players indict America as a country plagued with inequality. Protests over unfairness have become a regular feature of league games. It is a real head scratcher for most Americans who can only dream of becoming millionaires.
For average Joe's, real inequality exists between their income and that of an NFL quarterback drawing seven-figures. The average 25-to-34 year old in America has a household income of $39,416. The minimum salary for NFL rookies fresh from college is $365,000 annually.
The league-wide annual average salary for an NFL player is $1.9 million. That does not include endorsements, appearance fees and other sources of income which can push a player's total income into the stratosphere. All that money means a lifestyle and opportunities most of us will never know.
Despite every advantage of privileged status, your ingrate employees are some of the worst behaved men in America. Since 2000, NFL players have rap sheets as long as some criminals behind bars. Take a peek at these numbers from your own league reports:
218 arrests for Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
100 arrests for Drug related crimes
98 arrests for Domestic Violence
74 arrests for Assaults
44 arrests for Disorderly Conduct
Even those appalling figures don't capture the extent of player thuggery. For example, the stats do not include charges that never result in arrests. Unlike NFL players, average Americans don't get a free pass when they break the law. Your lawyered-up players avoid jail and receive a league wrist slap.
Since your players want to address inequality, here is something that caught my eye. An army private first class is paid $22,714 annually. For that piddling amount, the solider is expected to protect and defend our country, which may require the ultimate sacrifice of life in battle.
Need more examples of inequality? Try this one. The average cost of a ticket for an NFL game is $172. That means a family of four would have to shell out $688 to see a single game. Include parking, food, drinks and a game program and that's an average family's wages for a whole week.
That is why it seems strange for your players to choose to insult the country that has afforded them such extravagance. Most are taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem, a song that has united America's people even in the worst of times. Their action divides the country.
These protests are inflaming the passions of a nation and damaging the NFL brand you so zealously protect. Ticket sales have fallen 20% for NFL teams over the first three weeks of the season. Television ratings have declined from 6% to 31% in some markets. Merchandise sales are down.
A new poll by the Washington-based Winston Group finds that favorable ratings for the NFL have tumbled from 57% to 44% from the end of August to September 30. Under your leadership, the league now has the highest unfavorable rating of any major sport. Why the fall from grace?
Americans don't like to mix politics and sports. Sports is a welcome distraction from real life for most people. Contests, even those on the NFL's grand stage, are just games. They are not life-and-death struggles. No player has come home in a flag-draped coffin after an NFL game.
I know you have defended your employees right to free speech. I do too. But your own rules require players to stand at attention during the playing of the National Anthem. So why don't you enforce the rule? You pocket nearly $30 million in annual salary and bonuses to make these decisions.
The truth is that you and your employees have let President Trump's criticism get under your thin skins. You are acting like the coddled millionaires you are. If your players are so repulsed by our anthem, I hear there are openings in the Canadian Football League. Of course, they'll take a pay cut.
Money is the NFL's only God. Falling ratings and declining ticket sales are getting the attention of jet setting owners. However, they deserve some of the blame because these morons have allowed you to surrender your authority to employees bent on mocking America. We won't stand for it anymore.
A former fan,
Drew Roy
Monday, October 2, 2017
America's Unwinnable War
More than 53 years ago President Lyndon Johnson declared unconditional war on poverty in America. He promised a full-scale government assault to give the poor a hand up, not a hand out. The president asserted his campaign would deflate welfare rolls and turn "tax eaters" into taxpayers.
Mr. Johnson's war has been a tragic, costly flop. Since LBJ's proclamation, the federal government has shelled out nearly $25 trillion of American taxpayer dollars to end poverty. By any reasonable yardstick, the gusher of spending has been a wasteful big government social experiment.
When Mr. Johnson announced his campaign, there were 36 million Americans living at or below the government poverty level. According to the latest U.S. Census, there are 46.5 million people mired in poverty. For 2017, the federal poverty guideline is an annual income of $24,600 for a family of four.
Democrats have attempted to redefine this failure as a success. They point out the poverty rate in 1964 was 19 percent of the population. The most recent census pegged the current number at 15 percent. Democrats claim the four-percentage-point reduction justifies spending trillions of dollars.
However, the poverty rate has not budged since the late 1960's. The initial spending spree lowered the poverty rate and entrenched the idea that government largess could alleviate the problem. But the reality is that percentage of people living in poverty has remained stagnant over recent decades.
Some simple math will illustrate the folly of the massive spending. The percentage of Americans living in poverty has dipped by four-percentage points since 1964. That means the government spent $7.7 trillion for each percentage point of reduction. Yet there are 10.5 million more in poverty.
Part of the problem is that federal bureaucrats keep running up the taxpayer tab. At last count, taxpayers were funding 126 different schemes aimed at helping the poor. Government aid is available for everything from cell phones to housing to utilities and food.
The price tag for all this government assistance has reached $1 trillion annually for poor and low-income Americans. That figure does not include Social Security or Medicare. In addition, state and local governments allotted $284 billion to needy Americans last year.
Clearly, the welfare system needs overhauling. The current strategy discourages work and undermines self-sufficiency. Increasing poverty expenditures will not solve the problem. Mandating work requirements for government aid is one sensible way to trim the poverty rolls.
The Kaiser Family Foundation ran the numbers and found that work-for-welfare would likely put 3.3 million people back in the labor market. Adding work rules for Food Stamp recipients could land 1.9 million people in paying jobs.
The foundation's findings are supported by real-world experience. In 1996, Democrat President Bill Clinton signed into law the so-called Welfare Reform Act, which required those who received temporary government aid to obtain a job. The welfare rolls plummeted by one-half.
However, President Obama's administration effectively gutted the reform. Bureaucrats issued guidelines without congressional approval that gave states waivers to revise or eliminate work requirements for certain kinds of aid. Many states took advantage of the loophole.
That action has fueled an uptick in the welfare rolls. More than 100 million people, about one third of America's population, now receive some form of aid from at least one of the myriad of welfare programs administered by Washington bureaucrats.
Food Stamps, now officially called SNAP, is the poster child for the out-of-control welfare growth. Under President Obama, the government added 10.7 million new Food Stamp recipients to the rolls. The tax bill was $66.6 billion last year for this single program.
President Johnson's original vision of freeing the poor from the yolk of government aid was laudatory. But as often happens with in the Washington swamp, unaccountable bureaucrats and big spending lawmakers throw money and programs at every problem regardless of results.
Using the same failed strategy to tackle poverty will not win the war. New solutions are needed. The taxpayers footing the bill and the nation's poor deserve better. Spending another $25 trillion dollars will only guarantee the same disastrous results.
Mr. Johnson's war has been a tragic, costly flop. Since LBJ's proclamation, the federal government has shelled out nearly $25 trillion of American taxpayer dollars to end poverty. By any reasonable yardstick, the gusher of spending has been a wasteful big government social experiment.
When Mr. Johnson announced his campaign, there were 36 million Americans living at or below the government poverty level. According to the latest U.S. Census, there are 46.5 million people mired in poverty. For 2017, the federal poverty guideline is an annual income of $24,600 for a family of four.
Democrats have attempted to redefine this failure as a success. They point out the poverty rate in 1964 was 19 percent of the population. The most recent census pegged the current number at 15 percent. Democrats claim the four-percentage-point reduction justifies spending trillions of dollars.
However, the poverty rate has not budged since the late 1960's. The initial spending spree lowered the poverty rate and entrenched the idea that government largess could alleviate the problem. But the reality is that percentage of people living in poverty has remained stagnant over recent decades.
Some simple math will illustrate the folly of the massive spending. The percentage of Americans living in poverty has dipped by four-percentage points since 1964. That means the government spent $7.7 trillion for each percentage point of reduction. Yet there are 10.5 million more in poverty.
Part of the problem is that federal bureaucrats keep running up the taxpayer tab. At last count, taxpayers were funding 126 different schemes aimed at helping the poor. Government aid is available for everything from cell phones to housing to utilities and food.
The price tag for all this government assistance has reached $1 trillion annually for poor and low-income Americans. That figure does not include Social Security or Medicare. In addition, state and local governments allotted $284 billion to needy Americans last year.
Clearly, the welfare system needs overhauling. The current strategy discourages work and undermines self-sufficiency. Increasing poverty expenditures will not solve the problem. Mandating work requirements for government aid is one sensible way to trim the poverty rolls.
The Kaiser Family Foundation ran the numbers and found that work-for-welfare would likely put 3.3 million people back in the labor market. Adding work rules for Food Stamp recipients could land 1.9 million people in paying jobs.
The foundation's findings are supported by real-world experience. In 1996, Democrat President Bill Clinton signed into law the so-called Welfare Reform Act, which required those who received temporary government aid to obtain a job. The welfare rolls plummeted by one-half.
However, President Obama's administration effectively gutted the reform. Bureaucrats issued guidelines without congressional approval that gave states waivers to revise or eliminate work requirements for certain kinds of aid. Many states took advantage of the loophole.
That action has fueled an uptick in the welfare rolls. More than 100 million people, about one third of America's population, now receive some form of aid from at least one of the myriad of welfare programs administered by Washington bureaucrats.
Food Stamps, now officially called SNAP, is the poster child for the out-of-control welfare growth. Under President Obama, the government added 10.7 million new Food Stamp recipients to the rolls. The tax bill was $66.6 billion last year for this single program.
President Johnson's original vision of freeing the poor from the yolk of government aid was laudatory. But as often happens with in the Washington swamp, unaccountable bureaucrats and big spending lawmakers throw money and programs at every problem regardless of results.
Using the same failed strategy to tackle poverty will not win the war. New solutions are needed. The taxpayers footing the bill and the nation's poor deserve better. Spending another $25 trillion dollars will only guarantee the same disastrous results.
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