Government's Purpose

Government's sole purpose is to perpetuate itself. Plain and simple. If you think they're serving us in anyway, well, you've been hoodwinked.

Sure, they provide a standing army for our "defense" and they regulate business, utilities, banking, trade, food production/distribution, medical procedures and medications, highway safety and maintenance, and ...

You get the idea.

And through all their various agencies, policies. guidelines and mandates we're supposed to consider ourselves fortunate that our government cares about our well being.

In reality, they create programs, agencies, laws, regulations, task forces, focus groups and studies to justify their continued employment. Government doesn't shrink and though it may experience "cutbacks" most often there are realignments. A job or program may be cut somewhere but there's always another one created to take it's place.

Along the way, some situations and various needs are met but the status quo is maintained. Surveys, studies and reports will be found to prove that real "change" and improvement have occured. And the "change" so often promised by government is a tenacle that spreads further into the private lives of its people.

More laws and regulations generate more duplication, confusion and complications. One program shuffles paper and passes info to another agency which utilizes your statistics to "prove" the need for more government funding - and the whole circus continues ad nauseum.

And of course, various restrictions and "guidelines" must be met to "qualify" for various programs. But people, being human, find loopholes so those who have no genuine need are served by the program. Among the excuses these people use is, "if the government is giving it, I'm taking it." Hell, I've felt that way myself.

People are sick of entitlements and freeloaders. Yet really, the government encourages it. They are, in my opinion, masters of illusion, deception and plain old bribery. Need 60 votes for the Health Care Bill (a laughable, ironic name)? Just offer incentives and exceptions to certain Democratic senators and the "deal" is done. Harry Reid said as much today. It's just politics after all and some people are better players than others.

So government operations give us the best example of how to conduct business with them.

As an example, the government offers the commodity food program to seniors who meet income guideline. If you fall within those parameters, take advantage of it. So what if you own - free and clear - one million dollars of real estate; drive a 2009 Ford F250; and your only "income" is a paltry Social Security check - thanks to your late husband. Never mind that all recent sales of real estate "assets" have either been funneled through the kids' bank accounts or the cash is under your mattress. The qualifications for the program are "income" not assets, dear.

In other programs, assets and income matter and they're tracked vigorously. An example: a friend, who lives on $530/mo. in Social Security, struggles to pay property taxes, utilities, truck and homeowner insurance, and occasional repairs. She qualifies for $184 in food stamps. Like millions of Americans, she struggles to pay her propane bill. In the past, her children have helped her out but all of them are laid off work and stuggling themselves. She contacts the Human Services Dept. for help to fill her propane tank.

She's told she has too many assets. What are they? Her late husband's 18-wheeler, a tractor and an 80 acre hunting camp that she's been to once in her life. She was told to sell an asset to pay for her propane. Yeah, right. In this economy who's looking for the machinery, truck or camp? Not many and besides, it takes time to sell things. But the "regs are the regs" she was told.

Sooooooooooooo...a friend offered to "loan" her the money to pay her propane bill. My friend tells her caseworker this and in turn is told she must declare the "gift" which is considered "income." This additional "income" will eliminate her food stamps for the coming month because there's this pesky little provision that says she must spend the "asset" within the same month she receives it.

And they wonder why people give up, get disgusted, no longer trust the government, or just go out and shoot themselves or someone else.