Dependents to Patriots

Entitlements are strangling the wealth of our nation and crippling the American Spirit. The Welfare State is devastating America. As the number of entitlement recipients increases, our country drifts towards a place of no return. More terrifying is how our current administration promotes the growth in the number of people receiving entitlements and how “good” the programs are for our country. Food stamps are a prime example.

Currently in America, over forty-five million citizens in the food stamp program. The program adds about sixty billion dollars per year to the national debt. Too many people abuse the system by paying for vacations or trading the stamps for goods other than food. What if, instead of giving away free food, we convert the food stamp system to give away survivalist equipment such as guns, fishing poles, and seed for crops? This idea may seem radical but in a number of ways it shows a lot of promise for the country. People who are down on their luck would still be able to feed themselves and their family but now they could feed them all for a lifetime instead of just a day. This idea follows the wisdom that says “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime..” People who just want to live off the system would be discouraged from this program because hunting, fishing and growing crops is hard work.

The program may benefit tax-payers as well. Supply and demand: the government inflate the purchase of survivalist gear and a direct result would be that the cost of these commodities drops. People who hunt, fish and grow food as a means for feeding their families will benefit from a more reasonable cost of doing so. As a result, new entitlement recipients are likely to become strong advocates for conservative causes such as gun rights, lower ammunition taxes and stringent property rights. With extra votes in conservative's favor, the size of government would be substantially lessened and the Welfare State will become something that truly benefits the welfare of its citizens and the strength of a nation.

Many Food Stamp users may see this idea and will be frightened at what they read. Imagine if every American's life was like this because they had no other option. The idea that America would be transformed into a country of hunters and gatherers is not a sight that anyone wants to see. However, we as a country need to accept that our Entitlement spending is out of control and if we do not gain control our economy will collapse and soon after our government will follow. To prevent this future we must have a balanced budget and make huge reforms to our Entitlement system. The American people must answer the big question: Do we want our entire society to come crashing down like Greece or do we want to fix the problems before they change our lives forever?

Or for the rural folk who need to carry DNR maps that indicate which rivers/streams are catch & release and which ones allow you to keep the fish. Oh, and you need a license and a stamp for trout.

If you catch pan fish, you still need salt and oil and something for breading, or it is a very bland meal.

Add in how to garden in extreme drought or flood. To feed yourself over the winter, you need money for electricity or gas, jars, lids, a canner or dehydrator and the physical strength to lift a full hot canner.

Deer and turkeys and ducks have seasons and require expensive permits. You need a place to hunt, as well. Hunts are no more a guarantee of food than is fishing or gardening. Even if you can successfully snare or shoot squirrel or rabbit, if enough people are after them, they would quickly be in short supply. Coon and possum are definitely acquired tastes and require a lot of preparation to become palatable. Anyone that poor and not cooking on a wood stove cannot afford the amount of energy need to cook the lower levels of meat animals.

You need infrastructure for raising animals. You need medicine and expertise and perhaps a vet. You must manage the manure or the government will get you because your neighbors will complain. If you are polluting a water source, they have good reason to do so. Chickens might be an exception to a lot of this, but they still need a clean coop, which results in a pile of manure to manage, even with a movable coop.

I could go on and on, but hunting, fishing and farming are not as easy as they sound.

The government has cleverly included all food subsidies into the farm bills. All retail food sellers depend on those cards for a good portion of their business. The geniuses decided that it was cheaper to not store commodities and to instead just subsidize the entire industry from production to retail. Cutting food subsidies will push this country over the edge, economically and socially.

OTOH, let the producers produce and in good years there are surpluses. The prices follow the costs. I do admire the Mormons, who establish pantries and storehouses where food is available inexpensively and people are expected to work for a share.

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