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Please don't let this true story prevent you from feeling and showing compassion for people who really do need help. For every sponge, there are two people that legitimately need a boost, especially in this economic climate. Please don't forget that:
A few days ago, I was seated in a bar/restaurant that I drop in on from time to time. I was chewing on a bad steak and watching the waitstaff run and run as it was a busier Friday night than normal. After a while, things slowed a bit, and the busboy sat down near me...we chat sometimes. We'll call him Ralph.
"So Ralph, do you only work here on Friday nights?" I asked.
"Yep. Just the one night," he said.
"Do you have another job then?" I wondered.
"Nope. Just this one. I'm on Social Security." Ralph is a thirty-two year old, able-bodied and able-minded man.
"Really?" I asked surprised.
"I've been on it since I was three years old."
"Is that so? How much do you get per month?"
"A thousand bucks. So I just take a little job like this so I can get extra money under the table. They pay me in cash."
"So basically, you're living off the government."
"Yep."
"So basically, you're living off me."
Ralph smiled a don't-feel-so-bad smile. "I'm living off a lot of people," he assured me. And then he caught himself. "Of course, I always feel better when I make money on my own."
"Then quit Social Security and get a job," I said.
At that suggestion, his face morphed into a puzzle...it was as if I was suddenly speaking an alien language. And then his mind began to search...it was like a vending machine and he was deciding which excuse to punch up.
"Well, I have an automatic setup with Social Security. It goes straight to pay my bills electronically."
"Um...you can have that same setup with a bank if you had a job," I said.
Ralph, not getting the response he wanted, searched for another button on the vending machine. "Well, there aren't many jobs out there in this economy," he finally said.
"There are jobs. You could find a manufacturing job and make ten to fourteen bucks an hour, which would give you twice as much per month as Social Security is paying you. I know people-I could get you a job today."
He was confused, and quickly scanned his vending choices one more time.
"But I'm really bad with money. Whatever extra I have I spend on weed," he grinned.
"So your reason to not get a job and make more money is that you would just waste it, so you stay on Social Security for less money?"
"Well, yeah." And then he thought for a moment. "It's too bad Social Security has taken all my incentive away." He seemed perplexed.
"So your lack of responsibility is Social Security's fault?"
"Yeah...kinda is."
"So you're not going to get a job."
"Not until they kick me off Social Security. And they're making noises about doing that soon. Can you believe that?" he scoffed. "They waited until I'm in my thirties. Why wouldn't they do it in my twenties when I was younger and could start a career?"
I sat dumbfounded...my bad steak getting cold. This man is thirty-two years old and has been on Social Security for twenty-nine years. At $1000 per month, that's $12,000 per year. Over twenty-nine years that's $348,000 he's taken from you and me.
"What did your parents do?" I asked.
"Oh, my dad was basically a bum," he said.
"And your mom?"
Ralph searched for the words. "She was a stay at home mom," he said nicely.
Ah...two parents without jobs spawn the next generation of sponges. How I respect the people who break the cycle. Ralph, however, is not one of them.
Ralph is a hollowed out shell of a man. He has zero pride, ambition and self-respect. He has no sense of contributing to society. I believe in compassion, but this is compassion misplaced. As a matter of fact, it's not compassion at all. He said one thing correctly-the government has taken his incentive away. As Americans, we need to help those who need help. But our policies (or how we enforce them) have done this man, and thousands like him, no favors.
Oh...one more thing. Ralph has a son.
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