12-31-2010
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Wyatt Emmerich
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Subject: Working Is For Suckers
This is a follow up to my previous article Money For
Nothin' and Your Chicks For Free, where, among other
things, I discussed the erosion of the American work ethic as a
consequence of government welfare programs.
Wyatt Emmerich, the editor of the Weekly Mississippi publications, the
Northside Sun and
The Cleveland
Current, recently published an interesting article titled,
With
welfare it makes sense to work less, in which he wondered why
new manufacturing plants were no longer opening in his state. Here
is what he learned:
"If you ask business leaders, the problem is a lack of skilled
labor. People don't want to work. Especially in the Delta,
people just won't show up on time and often fail drug tests."
"'How can this be?' you may ask. You have to work to eat.
Well, that's really not true anymore. In fact, our welfare
state rewards not working. You can do as well working one
week a month at minimum wage as you can working a
$60,000-a-year, full-time, high-stress job."
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Emmerich then produced the following chart, using public data available
from government websites, to illustrate his point. These numbers
are based upon a one-parent family with two children under 12 years
of age, living in Mississippi.
The second column shows the taxes taken and welfare benefits received
by someone earning minimum wage ($14,500/year), while the forth column
shows the taxes/benefits for a family working a job which earns
$60,000/year. The minimum wage earner actually ends up with $3,411
in additional disposable income!
Even more shocking is the first column, which shows what happens if
one were to work the minimum wage job only one week each month rather
than full time. While the earned income would be cut by 75%, taxes
would fall by $8,763 while benefits would increase by $4,035, for a
net gain of $12,798. This means that working only 25% of the time
at a minimum wage job, will yield 92% of the disposable income
available to the full time worker earning $60,000, leaving three
weeks each month to either lounge around, or possibly work an illegal
black-market job that would put you far ahead of the full-time
worker.
What's the message: Only chumps work for a living.
This relatively simple example demonstrates everything that is wrong
with the U.S. economy. Each time the government interferes with
natural market forces, they incentivize parasitic behavior while
penalizing productivity, further impeding the economic engine. There
is only one solution: eliminate all of these government programs and
return to a system of private charity and investment to aid those truly
in need. No one who was responsible for spending their own funds would
ever consider freely participating in a system as corrupt as this. It
is only when an impersonal government is allowed to become a third
party in wealth redistribution, that results of this type becomes
possible. The time has come to just say no to public
welfare of every type. If you agree, let your voice be heard.
Addendum: (From the newsgroup rec.humor.funny)
Jesus recently walked into a bar somewhere in the Western World. He
approached three sad-faced gentlemen at a table, and greeted the
first one: "What's troubling you, brother?" he said.
"My eyes. I keep getting stronger and stronger glasses, and I
still can't see."
Jesus touched the man, who ran outside to tell the world about his
now 20-20 vision.
The next gentleman couldn't hear Jesus' questions, so The Lord just
touched his ears, restoring his hearing to perfection. This man,
too, ran out the door, probably on his way to the audiologist to
get a hearing-aid refund.
The third man leapt from his chair and backed up against the wall,
even before Jesus could greet him.
"Don't you come near me, man! Don't touch me!" he screamed.
"I'm on disability!"
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