The above billboard was displayed in Buffalo, NY during a recent trip by President Obama. The website advertised on the billboard is www.inafj.org. I Need A Freakin Job expresses its frustration with career politicians mingling too much in free market America and the mandating of expensive policies that are being funded by a large unemployed sector- America’s working age youth.
Growing up as dependents of our parents, we were taught to lean on mom and dad for every need. Food, clothing, shelter, fun, wisdom, transportation, you name it, it was provided by our parents. We were their dependents because we depended on them for all of our needs. As we got older, we became less dependent on them for simple things like lacing up our shoes, cleaning our rooms, making new friends. However, we were still dependent on dear old mom and dad for food, shelter, clothes, and wisdom. Most of us became more independent as we grew and mom and dad learned to let us go out into the world on our own. And now, while mom and dad still may help out and pass down some wisdom every now and then, we are no longer dependent on mom and dad. We are independent.
Now lets look at our government dependency. Government’s role in our everyday lives has grown dramatically over the years.
- Politicians push for free health care for children.
- Government paid for early childhood education.
- Free lunches at school.
- More grants for college.
- Extended health coverage for those in college and afterwards.
- Cushy government jobs with guaranteed raises and retirements.
- Welfare for those that can’t adapt to the private sector.
- Expansion of free public transportation.
- Free health care for seniors.
As you can see, we depend on the government starting at an early age and this dependency is becoming greater every day for more and more Americans. As you know from being a dependent of your parents, your personal feelings and decisions are closely monitored by your parents because of your dependent status. You may want something, but mom and dad know best. You must respect their authority, because afterall, they provide food, clothing and shelter. For the most part, children and parents honor this dependent system and look forward the day of transforming from a dependent to an individual with personal responsibilities and full fledge freedom. And that is the problem with growing government dependence. There is no end to our government dependence; therefore, we are forced to limit our personal decision making and life choices because of the power held by a small number of bureaucrats.
With freedom comes responsibility. With less responsibility, we will ultimately have less freedom.