Illness of Good Intentions

Former Politician is the Example

I hate cliches, but they are so cute and irresistible! Just like puppies!

However, cliches can hold us true to reality. One such cliche is; the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as this dog demonstrates.

You probably know someone who has given money to panhandlers thinking there was nothing wrong with it, but there is. By giving money to the panhandler, you are condoning their condition and approving of their panhandling. Give them money and they will sleep under the nearest bridge and come back to plea for more. Giving money to a panhandler merely relieves you of feeling guilty about their condition when you really don’t know what their condition actually is. I can forgive people for their faulty thinking on this matter, but it is funny to see a mentally ill person convince people he is homeless when he has a home and is well-fed.

However, I was stunned by former Douglas County Commissioner Marc Kraft when he revealed his thoughts in the Omaha World Herald’s Public Pulse. (Image below from July 28, Omaha World-Herald, Public Pulse)

How could this man have been in public office for so long and not understand the problem of good intentions? Yes, feed the poor we should, but this really is not the proper role of government which merely writes a check to those classified as “poor” with no concern as to what makes them poor. It does not solve the underlying problems.

I have witnessed this firsthand. Those who receive food benefits often receive what is called an EBT (electronic bank/benefit card) to buy food. Yes, the recipient will wisely make a point of buying lots of beans, rice, and ramen noodles, because they want to make certain they spend no money at all on food. But why? Because with the money they do earn, they can freely spend it frivolously on alcohol, tobacco, and gambling tickets without worrying about running out of food. Yes, perhaps the parent would spend the money on such things anyways, leaving the children hungry, but if this is such the case, the parent should lose custody of their children.

Keep in mind, government heavily taxes alcohol and tobacco and uses gambling to fund public projects. I am not necessarily blaming the poor for this. However, there are establishments which are happy to cater to the EBT crowd so they can sell alcohol, tobacco, and gambling tickets. So the end result is merely writing a check for free food contributes to alcoholism, gambling addiction, and nicotine addiction while establishments encourage such behavior. Lots of bad results.