As an addendum to my past few posts, I've had several people comment to me over the past several weeks since I lost my previous job that I should've applied for food stamps after I lost my job, since I'd obviously paid into the system and was now in need. A few people I know only in online forums (primarily preparation/food storage-related sites) have said that while it's great that my family has enough food for several months, this might not be the ultimate "stuff hits the fan" scenario for me, so instead of depleting my deep pantry, they said, I should apply for all possible aid that I was eligible for, since I'd "earned" it.
Someone needs to get a lesson or six in zero-sum economics.
And they need to learn what real hunger is like (as I did 13 years ago) and take steps to prevent it in the first place (as I have been doing since that time).
You'd have to be living on Pluto to not realize that the world in general and the U.S. in particular are in dire financial shape right now. The bottom line is that there just isn't enough money for all the needs, much less all the wants, that people have. More and more people are going hungry and turning to food banks and the charity of others to help fill their stomachs, and government dollars are drying up as millions more people apply for food stamps and other such aid. I could go on and on about the federal government's reckless printing of money out of thin air, but since states, cities, families and individuals have to live within their means or go bankrupt, I'll just make this point again: Since "the system" doesn't have the means to take care of you, you need to do all you can to take care of yourself and your family.
Sure, in theory I could apply for food stamps, but that would take resources away from people who are truly destitute, who don't have food in the house in the first place. Sure, I've paid into the system and I've "earned" the right to apply for food stamps...but is it moral to take the means to buy food away from others who have no food at all when I have enough food to feed my family for several months? I've "earned" this right by paying into the system, but just because I have this "right," does this mean that it's moral or Biblical for me to do this just because I've "earned" it? There's no way in good conscience I can do this--I'd be like a rich man robbing a bank because he didn't feel rich enough. Meanwhile, more people go hungry because I've taken what I'm entitled to, even though I don't need it and they do. Those of you who have been hungry before know the misery I went through so many years ago. Millions of people in this country are going through that same misery at this moment. What would Jesus do? He'd help feed the hungry, not take food away from them. I might be broke, but I've got food. And I'm in a position to help hungry people. I hope you will find those opportunities as well no matter what you're "entitled" to.
Your stance is admirable because it is based on your principles, but I think it is ultimately naive, perhaps dangerous and counterproductive to what seems to be your goals.
ReplyDelete"Sure, in theory I could apply for food stamps, but that would take resources away from people who are truly destitute, who don't have food in the house in the first place. "
No it wouldn't. Food stamps are not zero sum. Your applying for a program you have helped to fund does not mean someone else can't also apply and receive the assistance. The fact that we have more people on food stamps now then ever indicates that it's not zero sum. They will keep adding and your abstention doesn't impact the program in any way.
"but is it moral to take the means to buy food away from others who have no food at all when I have enough food to feed my family for several months?"
You aren't taking away the means from others. That is a sort of strawman morality.
"I'd be like a rich man robbing a bank because he didn't feel rich enough. Meanwhile, more people go hungry because I've taken what I'm entitled to, even though I don't need it and they do."
It wouldn't be at all like that. Not one single person is going to go hungry because you've taken what you are entitled to. The only possibility is that your family will go hungry when you exhaust your supply and have none. You don't know how long your need is going to last. You have months of food supply but you could need it for longer. You have said you aren't making enough for groceries and you may not for some time. Even if you do, you may not be able to restock your supply. Then you are completely unprepared for any future hardship. You should steward the supply that you have to make it last as long as possible. The assistance you have paid for out of your taxes is part of your reserve supply and you are acting as if it doesn't exist. That is not a wise use of your available resources and could put your family in danger of future real hunger. By making a false morality decision, you are endangering your family. If you don't provide first for your own family then you are worse than an unbeliever is what the Bible says in 1 Timothy.
(continued)
"What would Jesus do? He'd help feed the hungry, not take food away from them. I might be broke, but I've got food. And I'm in a position to help hungry people."
ReplyDeleteAnd from the flipside of that morality, if you exhaust all your reserves on your family now while the government is also exhausting its reserves, then when you are both out what assistance will you be able to provide to others who are then truly without any option. So while Jesus would help feed the hungry, your decisions now are preventing you from being able to do so in the future.
I cannot emphasize enough - you are not helping anyone by not taking assistance you have paid for and are eligible for. You aren't one of the people who is using foodstamps to buy lottery tickets, cigarettes, hookers or Farmville coins. That activity is rampant. And while it is, it is an indication that there is plenty of food and plenty of assistance left. Your choice to not take any is not benefiting anyone at all. There is no shortage of food. There is no shortage of assistance. If the government is exhausting its resources, it is because it refuses to raise its revenue through moderate increases in taxation - like to the levels under that great Socialist Reagan! If the government is exhausting its food assistance resources it is while it is spending over $700 billion on wars, bullets, missiles and finding new ways to kill people and break things.
You are taking on a personal sacrifice that doesn't help others. It threatens your ability to help others and your own family in the future. You think you are taking away from others in need, when in reality you are only doing your part to help those with no need not have to pay a marginal percentage more on their highest earnings.
Believe me, I am not some godless communist liberal progressive who thinks the government is the answer for everything and we should tax "the rich" and give to "the poor". God is ultimately your provider, not the system. Agreed. But at the same time, you are not your provider. Your food supply is not your provider. I don't want to rehash the story of the guy in the flood who drowned waiting for God's deliverance while people in boats and helicopters offered him escape, only to have God ask him why he didn't board one of the boats or helicopters He had sent to rescue him. But it's fitting.
I'm only being so insistent on this because I have seen this mindset in personal friends who put their children and families at risk out of some misplaced belief about the morality of the system. It benefited no one and caused undue turmoil and stress in their families. Please take the assistance you are qualified for and have paid for. Use it properly, steward it properly and take care of your family.
Hawks5999, here's a story I'd be interested in getting your feedback on. It just moved today:
ReplyDeleteCongress mulls cuts to food stamps program amid record number of recipients
The money has to come from somewhere, and those somewheres are disappearing rapidly because of the incompetence and greed on both sides of the aisle in D.C. Food stamps are a zero-sum program just like every other program, because money that doesn't go one place goes to another, and when the money is gone, that's it. I won't get into a discussion about the trillion-dollar deficits that the federal government is projected to run each year for at least the next decade, but that just emphasizes my point that there's no money to be moved around via the government when the government is effectively insolvent.
EDIT: My mistake, the story above moved yesterday.
ReplyDeletethe system will fall, one day but it will fall.
ReplyDeletehttp://ipreping.blogspot.com/2012/04/long-term-survival-in-up-coming-dark.html
I worked for a human resources department for over thirty years. I want to first point out that no one is entitled to food benefits just because you pay your taxes. That is like saying I am entitled to a government funded life because I pay taxes. Food benefits are there for your needs if you don't feel you need to receive them then don't. It is not a never ending supply. I have seen many people loose benefits over the years because the government ran out of funding. I admire anyone who can provide for themselves and does not rely on the government to take care of them. Good for you.
ReplyDelete