Here is an eye-opening look at America's Welfare State from the inside from someone who escaped.
By Star Parker - Syndicated Columnist
Six years ago I wrote a book called Uncle Sam’s Plantation. I wrote the book to tell my own story of what I saw living inside the welfare state and my own transformation out of it. I said in that book that indeed there are two Americas - a poor America on socialism and a wealthy America on capitalism.
I talked about government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children (EANF), Section 8 Housing, and Food Stamps. A vast sea of perhaps well-intentioned government programs, all initially set into motion in the 1960s that were going to lift the nation's poor out of poverty. A benevolent Uncle Sam welcomed mostly poor black Americans onto the government plantation. Those who accepted the invitation switched mindsets from "How do I take care of myself?" to "What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?"
Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems - the kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others. The legacy of American socialism is our blighted inner cities, dysfunctional inner city schools, and broken black families. Through God’s grace, I found my way out. It was then that I understood what freedom meant and how great this country is.
I had the privilege of working on welfare reform in 1996, passed by a Republican Congress and signed 50 percent. I thought we were on the road to moving socialism out of our poor black communities and replacing it with wealth-producing American capitalism. But, incredibly, we are going in the opposite direction.
Instead of poor America on socialism becoming more like rich America on capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming like poor America on socialism. Uncle Sam has welcomed our banks onto the plantation and they have said, "Thank you, Suh." Now, instead of thinking about what creative things need to be done to serve customers, they are thinking about what they have to tell Massah in order to get their cash. There is some kind of irony that this is all happening under our first black president on the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Worse, socialism seems to be the element of our new young president. And maybe even more troubling, our corporate executives seem happy to move onto the plantation.
In an op-ed on the opinion page of the Washington Post, Mr. Obama is clear that the goal of his trillion dollar spending plan is much more than short term economic stimulus. "This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending - it's a strategy for America ’s long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, healthcare, and education." Perhaps more incredibly, Obama seems to think that government taking over an economy is a new idea. Or that massive growth in government can take place "with unprecedented transparency and accountability."
Yes, sir, we heard it from Jimmy Carter when he created the Department of Energy, the Synfuels Corporation, and the Department of Education. Or how about the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 - The War on Poverty - which President Johnson said "...does not merely expand old programs or improve what is already being done. It charts a new course. It strikes at the causes, not just the consequences of poverty.”
Trillions of dollars later, black poverty is the same. But black families are not, with triple the incidence of single-parent homes and out-of-wedlock births. It's not complicated. Americans can accept Barack Obama’s invitation to move onto the plantation. Or they can choose personal responsibility and freedom. Does anyone really need to think about what the choice should be?
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Star Parker is an author and president of CURE, Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (www.urbancure.org). She can be reached at parker@urbancure.org
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tea Party Alert: Oppose Cap and Trade
Alert: Tell Congress You Oppose the $3,100 Per Family Cap-and-Trade Tax!
President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Congressman Henry Waxman are aggressively pressuring Democrats to support and pass the Cap-and-Trade bill. The bill is titled "American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009" or ACES. It is coming up for a vote in committee. It will be presented on the House floor for an up and down vote as early as tomorrow.
Passage of this bill will hurt every American and Devastate the Economy!
Time is of the essence, we must act NOW. We do not have the luxury of waiting another day. Congress plans to push ACES through by Friday. Stopping this bill will require everyone to call their Representatives along with all the others in the Country TODAY. We need to fax, call, send emails and tell everyone we know to do the same.
Go to www.teapartypatriots.org for information on how to take action now.
This video explains Cap & Trade AKA Cost & Tax http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTjuo-8cPfg
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President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Congressman Henry Waxman are aggressively pressuring Democrats to support and pass the Cap-and-Trade bill. The bill is titled "American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009" or ACES. It is coming up for a vote in committee. It will be presented on the House floor for an up and down vote as early as tomorrow.
Passage of this bill will hurt every American and Devastate the Economy!
Time is of the essence, we must act NOW. We do not have the luxury of waiting another day. Congress plans to push ACES through by Friday. Stopping this bill will require everyone to call their Representatives along with all the others in the Country TODAY. We need to fax, call, send emails and tell everyone we know to do the same.
Go to www.teapartypatriots.org for information on how to take action now.
This video explains Cap & Trade AKA Cost & Tax http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTjuo-8cPfg
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Monday, May 18, 2009
Glenn Beck To Be At Harlingen Theater
Glenn Beck's Common Sense Tour LIVE
06/04/2009
Glenn Beck is back on the big screen! NCM Fathom and Mercury Radio Arts present Glenn Beck's Common Sense Tour LIVE from the Midland Theatre in Kansas City to over 440 movie theaters nationwide. This One Night LIVE event takes place on Thursday, June 4th at 8:00pm ET / 7:00pm CT / 6:00pm MT and 8:00pm PT (tape delay.)
Due to popular demand for Glenn Beck's theater events, an ENCORE screening will take place the following Thursday, June 11th. This show will be recorded live on June 4th and is being rebroadcast in select theaters on June 11th so you don't miss out on Glenn Beck's summer 2009 comedy tour.
Guess what, Valley... we can see this event at:
Cinemark 16
401 S. EXPRESSWAY 83
HARLINGEN, TX 78550
956-428-3224
You can go to www.glennbeck.com and get your tickets there. Let's pack the house!
06/04/2009
Glenn Beck is back on the big screen! NCM Fathom and Mercury Radio Arts present Glenn Beck's Common Sense Tour LIVE from the Midland Theatre in Kansas City to over 440 movie theaters nationwide. This One Night LIVE event takes place on Thursday, June 4th at 8:00pm ET / 7:00pm CT / 6:00pm MT and 8:00pm PT (tape delay.)
Due to popular demand for Glenn Beck's theater events, an ENCORE screening will take place the following Thursday, June 11th. This show will be recorded live on June 4th and is being rebroadcast in select theaters on June 11th so you don't miss out on Glenn Beck's summer 2009 comedy tour.
Guess what, Valley... we can see this event at:
Cinemark 16
401 S. EXPRESSWAY 83
HARLINGEN, TX 78550
956-428-3224
You can go to www.glennbeck.com and get your tickets there. Let's pack the house!
Tea Party Warrior Website
Tea Party Patriots –
Since attending the Atlanta Tea Party on April 15th, I’ve been working on a website to promote the Tea Party Movement as a vehicle for a new era of conservative activism.
http://www.teapartywarrior.com/
is now on the web, will be promoted through a series of short, colorful emails (similar to the one below) that I'll be sending at a rate of about three per week to nearly 5,000 Tea Party supporters in hopes that the emails will be forwarded far and wide.
John Eidson
This is a sample from the April 15th Tea Party:
Since attending the Atlanta Tea Party on April 15th, I’ve been working on a website to promote the Tea Party Movement as a vehicle for a new era of conservative activism.
http://www.teapartywarrior.com/
is now on the web, will be promoted through a series of short, colorful emails (similar to the one below) that I'll be sending at a rate of about three per week to nearly 5,000 Tea Party supporters in hopes that the emails will be forwarded far and wide.
John Eidson
This is a sample from the April 15th Tea Party:
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Brownsville Tea Party
Monday, May 11, 2009
Just AThought ...
The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.
Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953)
Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953)
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Join the NRA and Fight for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
In case you were not aware...
The NRA is giving FREE 1-yr memberships to everyone who wants to join. They also have benefits and several insurance memberships through the NRA.
They are trying to build up their membership to fight pending legislation that impacts our right to keep and bear arms.
It is very important that anti-gun congressmen see how many people they will have to fight to get their legislation through.
https://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/accept-membership.asp
This can include spouses and children also. Pass the word to family and friends!
The NRA is giving FREE 1-yr memberships to everyone who wants to join. They also have benefits and several insurance memberships through the NRA.
They are trying to build up their membership to fight pending legislation that impacts our right to keep and bear arms.
It is very important that anti-gun congressmen see how many people they will have to fight to get their legislation through.
https://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/accept-membership.asp
This can include spouses and children also. Pass the word to family and friends!
Labels:
membership,
NRA,
right to bear arms
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