bsBlog

Hi Again.  I am back with another Beetle Snack for you.  It is actually kinda tough right now because we are at the beginnings of the next election season and the Snacks are flowing at a really high rate already.  It’s almost too much for a Beetle to keep up with.  Starting very soon I will begin chronicling the new political season, but for today I have something a bit different.

Russ has a copy of the neaToday magazine sitting on his desk.  If you aren’t aware, the NEA is the National Education Association and they are the largest education union in the country.  Now, just for full disclosure, I have not read the magazine or the articles, but the cover caught my eye.  The cover is about Generation Z, which basically is the folks in high school now.  There are four statistics on the cover, and although I generally believe you can make statistics support anything if you look at them the right way, these drew my attention as probably being fairly accurate.  They are: 64% are worried about getting a job, 47% say the country is on the wrong track, 64% say healthcare should be free to everyone, and 53% believe college should be free for all.

Jobs – I completely understand why so many are worried about getting jobs.  I have opinions on this that go much deeper, but that is not the topic of today’s snacks, so I’ll save those for another day.

Country – Is there ANYONE that doesn’t think the country is headed the wrong direction?  If so, please share whatever you are taking so I can live in a fantasy too.

Free – This is really today’s Snack topic.  Let’s open up with a statement; “NOTHING IS FREE!!!”  Why do these kids think that it is actually possible for someone to get “Free” healthcare or a “Free” education.  Ooo, Oooo, I think I have it… Because no one is explaining to the young people that the government that “Gives” you all these “Free” things is actually taking the money out of other peoples pay checks, going into debt, or printing more unsecured money, to be able to provide these things.  There is NOTHING free, other than maybe sunshine, the air we breathe, things like that.  Social Security, that is paid into by working folks almost their entire lives.  Welfare, paid for by taxes.  Food Stamps, same things.  Scholarships and grants, gifts of monies from people, organizations, or the government.  Even going to the food bank or a soup kitchen, someone paid for that food and the labor to produce and prepare it for the folks that need the help.

This isn’t about whether any, or all, of those programs are right or wrong.  It is about a society that is beginning to believe, and teaching the young people, that these things are free.  A teacher I know has had their students say things like; “We have health insurance, it’s called Medicaid.” and “We get free meals at the school.”  That stuff is not free, it is just costing other people what they earned.  The real Beetle Snacks of the whole thing is that these young people actually believe they are ENTITLED to these things.  What happened to earning what you have, hard work, saving…?

Trust me, no one is rolling up a Snacks ball for me to keep the larva safe.  If I don’t roll it, they will be out in the cold, probably eaten by a bird. So sad 🙁  Likewise, the Water Buffalo do not hunt me down to dump dinner on my door step, it is a search and gather thing that I have to do.  How about teaching your kids to work, save, plan?  Just a thought.  Then maybe we will at least have a few more people to share the load of all the “Free” things the upcoming generation wants.

‘Til next time, work hard, play hard, and when tax time comes around be ready to Pay Hard 😉