When I first heard the song “Take a Walk” by Passion Pit, it was on a Taco Bell commercial. Of course, the makers of the commercial probably interpreted the lyrics of the song literally, and by that I mean they envisioned people would take a walk — to Taco Bell. I could be wrong, though.
However, I’m here to discuss the song’s more underlying meaning. If I’ve interpreted it correctly, it’s about the songwriter’s grandfather, who immigrated to America — legally — to give his family a better way of life.
He worked hard. He started by selling flowers with his wife at a train station. He understood thriving here wouldn’t necessarily be easy, but he knew America was a great country and provided an even greater opportunity to achieve success and prosperity.
Ultimately, he did. But with a few bad investments and trying to keep up with his family’s materialistic lifestyle, he went broke. His family went broke.
By the end of the song, he mentions he needs assistance, most likely from the government, but admits he’s too much of a coward to ask for help.
Perhaps we should take a step in the same direction.
Since the president has taken office, welfare spending has risen 32 percent, and, according to the Blaze, that equates to spending on welfare $168 per day (or $30.60 per hour) for every household in poverty, compared to the median income of $137 per day (or $25.03 per hour).
Although more citizens are living on the dole, the poverty rate in America has gone up from 12 percent in 2002, to more than 15 percent in 2011.
According to analysis by the Senate Budget Committee, federal welfare spending is projected to skyrocket 80 percent over the next 10 years. Recently, a new congressional report showed that total federal and state welfare spending topped $1 trillion.
Now, I’m not saying I’m against welfare and entitlement spending (well, from a free market standpoint, I am). Here’s what I’m against: spending billions and trillions of dollars on people who collect welfare for the sake of collecting it and staying on it for the long-run while the government does little to nothing to stop it.
According to a Rasmussen poll, 71 percent of Americans said too many people get welfare who shouldn’t, and 83 percent are in favor of work requirements for welfare recipients. Equality for all Americans has replaced the notion of American exceptionalism.
No longer is it the government’s responsibility to promote the general welfare. Rather, it is the government’s responsibility to subsidize the general welfare by redistributing the wealth.
The U.S. has transformed into the United States of entitlements. From the welfare mountains to the contraception prairies, politicians continue to legislate policies that do little to help the poor.
They’re the do-gooders who, realistically, do more harm than good. By trying to help the poor, they actually keep them mired in poverty.
There’s a saying that goes “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” Basically, it’s about the family that starts off with little (hence, a shirtsleeve), but works hard to ensure the child is taken care of.
The child takes over the family business and works equally as hard as his parents, watching his fortune peak.
Unfortunately, he and his wife give birth to a child, who grows up to be an anti-capitalist pinko. He calls his parents greedy, becomes a vegan, wears shoes made from hemp and takes over the family business. With a double major in political science and women’s studies, he pisses the fortune away and gives birth to a child who wears his shirtsleeve T-shirt made entirely from old picket signs.
Re-read the headline.
Erik Skipper is an economics sophomore at UF. His column usually runs on Wednesdays. You can contact him via opinions@alligator.org.
