Today I attended a leadership development conference at work and it really brought some thoughts to mind as they were going over the financial aspects of our healthcare system. One of the PowerPoint slides shown was a chart reflecting how the American tax dollar has been spent between 2006 and 2011. Surprisingly, the majority of our tax dollars are spent on “Entitlements”.
You may wonder what this is. It is an estimated fifty programs such as social security, medicare, veteran benefits, etc. So I was thinking to myself while this discussion is going on to a time in 2005 when I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism and was extremely ill. Because of the effects of this medical condition I was terminated from my place of employment for medical reasons but given a nice severance package and an insurance extension for 3 months. Unfortunately, in those three months my condition only worsened and I lost an extreme amount of weight. Imagine a 32 year old woman shopping for Depends because I could never be more than five feet away from the bathroom door. I also think about the aspect that I know people even in my own family who have never worked a day in their lives … still live their lives through Section 8, the DCF system, collecting a check and food stamps every month. I ended up moving from Atlanta back to Miami in 2005 because I was no longer medically able to take care of my children. I needed my mother’s help. As my condition worsened over the months, I applied for temporary social security just to get some form of insurance so I can see a doctor and get the proper medical treatment I needed in order to get better. Of course, Social Security denied my claim saying that my medical condition was treatable. Uhm … no crappadoodle .. I know it’s treatable but without insurance how can I receive treatment? Yet, I watch as they diagnose our children with ADD or ADHD, give them a prescription and label them as having a mental issue that qualifies them for Social Security only because the child wouldn’t behave in class or at home. This is not to say that every child labelled with ADHD is not in need of proper support and assistance but every child that acts up isn’t ADHD. This leads me to say that the reason we are in a deficit is because the government is handing out in some cases to people who really don’t need it. How do I know? I watched a family member raise all seven of their children off of the government with five out of the seven children receiving a social security check each month. Now here’s my problem …
If I’m getting up every morning going to work .. working hard .. making a decent salary all things considered to raise my children .. why can’t they? With five children ages ranging from 10 – 22, people say, you never got child support? No. Why not? Because my lame ex-husband refuses to pay and the State of Florida is pitiful with enforcing child support. As long as he fakes as if he doesn’t make much or have a job at all, I get nothing. Even though I know that he has more than enough to help contribute to raising our kids. People ask, why not apply for food stamps or government assistance? Well, maybe it is because I cannot live my life waiting on a check once a month and when that check is gone I’m dead broke wondering where my next dollar is coming from. I can’t live like that. I have to work because I like nice things and I don’t need no one taking care of me in order for me to get it.
You ever drive by these public housing projects and see cars in the parking lot that look better than yours? I do. I wonder to myself how is this even feasible … How is it that I go to work and bring home a five figure income over the mid 50’s, live in a gated community, pay taxes and my own bills with no one’s assistance but my own and these people may pay $25 a month in rent and drive a car that cost more than mine? Something is truly wrong with this society … this government … and the way the government decides to help those who really may not even need it yet deny those who may be going through a spurt of issues and may just need that extra $100 a month in food stamps for three months until they get back on their feet. Am I bitter? No. I’m more like confused how the government thinks that this is okay. What happened to the days where case workers/managers actually went into the home and surveyed the family’s situation and needs? How can we try so hard to feed children on the other side of the globe when our own children here in the United States are starving and barely receiving the nutrition and health care they need to survive and become productive and independent adults? When is someone going to take the reigns and put in place NOW something that will benefit us in the long run. The American deficit is the fault of whom? In my opinion, all these people who live off the government who are more than capable of getting off their butts and working for what they want and need. Let the government help those who are trying to help themselves.
They charge so much premiums per paycheck for us to cover our families with medical insurance yet they want to detour you from using it. It’s like giving you a present and then slapping you on the hand each time you reach for it. This truly makes no sense but hey, who am I? Just another taxpaying citizen trying to stay afloat.
Thank you for reading my thought of the day. Do take care of yourselves and continue to be blessed. Maybe one day someone will have an answer for those lingering questions.
~Dade~