Universal Basic Income

[dfrecore]

I've met guys with records who actually go out of their way to get back in prison because it's free food and shelter.

I actually went out of my way to help one of these fellows more recently (in Dallas) just to find out he didn't care.

I got him a job working in retail at $9/hour. Crappy job, but I called in a favor with a manager friend who ignored the felony. Then, I gave him access to an insulated shed with electricity, a window AC + heat unit, and a clean bed, plus external access to a full bathroom with a small closet housing his wardrobe (half of which we bought for him) at all hours. All that plus meals, the only stipulation was that he was required to work his job 20-30 hours a week.

He had no bills, no overhead, no need to turn to crime. He wasn't going to move forward quickly, but he had a comfortable life with $8500 in surplus (working 20 hours a week for a year). Took him a month to get arrested for the same thing he did the first time. His excuse, when I went to consider bailing him out, was, "I don't like working all these hours, it's hard."

Obviously, one bad egg does not define the bunch, but I've had ex-cons who I am actively helping do monumentally stupid things just to go back to prison.

This does not mean that they like the welfare, as much as they can't function in the real world. For some people, it IS hard. Really hard. If you've never lived in a house where your parents got up and went to work every day, and that isn't the norm for you, it's harder than average. I saw my dad (a lineman for the phone company) go out in the freezing cold, rain, 115 degree heat - every work day of my life. He never complained. He was also the last guy on the list for call-outs (after-hours calls to come and work in an emergency), and he would go because he was the last on the list, which meant they had called every other guy on that list first. And if we wanted/needed extra money for something, he would take more overtime hours. And my mom was always so appreciative of him, and would bring him food on callouts (we would come too), just so he could take a 10-minute break and see his kids if he hadn't seen us all day. She always talked about what a hard worker he was, and how all that he did provided all of the nice things that we had. So do I know the value of hard work? You bet! Do I appreciate my husband working hard so that I can stay home with our kids? Absolutely. Do I man-bash like some of the women I know, who complain about their husbands and men in general. HELL NO!

I have a friend who's wife is divorcing him, because he works too much!!! They have 4 kids and he is an awesome dad, coaches them all in soccer, and is a hard worker, but she doesn't value hard work. She lived with a single mom, and 3 sisters, and was on welfare. You would think, of all people, that she would appreciate a man who works hard to provide for their family, but she does NOT! Totally screwing over their kids, but she just doesn't care.

So, a lot of life, unfortunately, depends on how you were raised, and what you value. I thank my lucky stars for my great parents, and hope that my kids feel the same later on as adults. So many people do not get a great start in life, and it is very sad.