More Welfare, More Bowls

A little bit of socialism is okay. Those who cannot work due to physical or mental injury/handicap should be helped. And sometimes people are laid off. It's unfortunate, but it happens.

But those who are physically and mentally able to support themselves should not be allowed to become dependant on the system. To that end, here are some guidelines I'd like to see implemented:

1. Welfare benefits are limited to nine months, contiguous. If a person loses his job, regardless of reason, he has nine months of support. During those nine months, it is up to him to find another job. I think nine months is a nice compromise: six months might not be enough time for some people, while one year might be long enough for a person to become "hooked" on the government teat.

2. There may be no jobs available in a person's "trade" in that nine-month span, but it is likely that if a person is willing to try something different -- and is dilligent in his search -- that he can find a job. Working this job, he can continue looking for something in his desired industry.

3. Encouragement of charitable organizations taking over after that nine-month welfare stint has run out. If a person is trying to find a job but cannot, for whatever reason, we could help hook him up with a charitable organization. The charitable organization could get some sort of tax credit for taking him off the public books. Charitable organizations may also be called on to help those who do find work but who are either underemployed or are not making enough money to keep up.

I think the above three could help reduce the welfare state by providing incentives for people to find work and become responsible for themselves and for espousing private charity if they cannot find work (or while the work they do find is not enough). The bottom line is, we need to stop feeding dependancy. People need to be productive.

Forthwith I will leave politics out of this blog; this will not become a political rag.

More Bowl Predictions:

BCS CG: Oregon 41, Auburn 38
Sugar: Ohio State 34, Arkansas 31
Orange: Stanford 27, Virginia Tech 21
Fiesta: Oklahoma 35, UConn 17
Capital One: Alabama 23, Michigan State 17
Cotton: LSU 20, Texas A&M 16
Outback: Penn State 24, Florida 23
Gator: Michigan 37, Mississippi State 27
Holiday: Nebraska 41, Washington 20
Alamo: Oklahoma State 49, Arizona 42
Peach: Florida State 24, South Carolina 21
Other: Notre Dame 27, Miami 20
Other: Boise State 45, Utah 34
Other: Iowa 17, Missouri 14