Solomon's Private File #251
These stories about Stephen and Solomon take place starting in
1950's. Stephen wrote about his life in letters to a penpal, and then
in a secure blog, in case he lost his memory again, in the master
computer in his school for gifted students, which he started attending
in 2016 in a new incarnation, until his death. Now his son Solomon is
attending the same school, and is writing in his own secure blog for
his future incarnations.
All characters are fictitious, even if some of them might have names
that belong to some actual people, or act like people we know.
Solomon is 27 in this story, in the Spring of 2053.
Solomon's Private File #251 "Welfare Conference"
START Page
I was invited to a conference in DC on welfare reform. There were
some clergy there. We met before the event, and smiled and hugged. The
Catholic said, "We'll count on you to know the regulations, and how
much trouble they cause." I said, "Absolutely! Got earplugs?" Grins and
chuckles. The media were there, including CNN. Producer said to me, "We
plan to have at least one camera on you, and won't edit anything you
say. Going to be some verbal er, combat?" I grinned and said, "Some
things I will say might not be the most pleasant truths for some
people. Confidentially, some of my religious associates here are
looking forward to that." Nods and grins. I said, "And YOU. Try not to
show your bias and er, delight. Record, but don't make the news." He
said, "Sure. I understand." I said, "Ha!"
The event started. There were many against welfare, mostly showing
their ignorance. They didn't take correction well. The religions and
their charities represented their cases very well, in describing
problems. Then I said, "Why are you doing your best to force the poor
to stay poor?" Dead silence. The Priest had to cover his grin. The
moderator said, "Solomon, please explain." I said, "Any attempt by the
most poor to improve themselves, actually causes them harm, the way
government assistance is set up. They make more money on their own,
they get less assistance, usually less than their own advancement would
equal, and the return of the assistance when needed, is much delayed.
That causes them to have less, the more they try to have more on their
own. That does NOT motivate them to improve their lives, but FORCES
them to remain at their poor level. And some states even make that
worse, deliberately, by lowering income taxes that does not help the
poor at all, who didn't pay any, and by raising sales taxes that hurt
the poor most of all. Most state and federal benefits are gauged based
on a person's assets, which includes savings and cash on hand. The more
they do NOT spend of their own money, the less benefits they have.
Therefore, they can't save anything. Now this is much more important
that it might seem. Medicare doesn't pay for everything. 20 percent is
a lot to have to pay for. CAT scan, minimum $2,000. Who can afford the
copay of $400 on an average Social Security income of $1,000 a month?
And hospital stays of $500 a day? What of extra insurance? They don't
pay all of it, either."
I said, "And of course they can't save in advance for those bills.
Suppose they sell some possessions to help pay? No, they should NOT.
That counts as income, the money they receive for that, and their
assistance, such as food stamps and housing, is reduced. Stupidly, what
they had originally paid for the items, or their current market value,
isn't subtracted from what they sold them for, so they lose even more
money that way." One said, "Can you explain that last part a little
better?" I said, "Sure. Say you're interested in crafts. You weave some
potholders, and sell them at a fair. The material that you bought to
make them, costs $100, and you made 30 of them. The table space at the
fair, costs $20 for that week. What is your time and transportation
worth? Let's ignore that for now, and assume your costs for this
enterprise are $120. But you only sell six potholders for $5 each, at a
total sales figure of $30. A good beginning, but at a loss for that
business attempt, of $90. But here's the problem. You are required to
report that sale as income, which reduces your benefits by $30, even
though you actually lost $90! So, you lose twice."
I said, "That system also applies to your personal items, too. You
buy a bed for $400. Soon after, you need money for an emergency, and so
being used, that bed isn't worth as much, so you sell it for $200, for
a loss of $200. But for welfare purposes, they don't count that loss,
or what you had spent on it, only the money you received, so your
assistance is reduced by $200, and you now also have no bed! If you
want another one after the emergency is over, you need to spend $400
again. So, in effect, you've actually lost $800 in that transaction to
pay a bill of $200, including the ongoing reduction of your assistance.
You can NOT afford to do that! Some have even gone to court to try to
make them see sense, but are ruled against, by judges who have no clue
about actual economics, and those hearings cost society money, too.
Since you now have no bed, a charity gives you a one. You have to
report that, and the assessed value of that is subtracted from your
benefits, so you actually involuntarily PAY for that charity!"
I said, "But it gets worse. Suppose you do get a part time job. Your
salary is counted for assistance programs BEFORE taxes and other things
are deducted. Yes, it's true, your benefits are reduced by money you
never get. It's like you're being taxed twice! Having a job makes you
have LESS income! And you lose Medicaid. Then there is something
totally reprehensible in this system. Married couples with children
receive less total benefits than a single parent with children. You are
FORCING people to NOT marry, just to survive! They can't even live
together. Common law marriage is counted as the real thing, for some
programs. You are destroying families with this! You force them to not
try to work, by making them lose more than they gain by it. You make
them not able to sell their possessions in an emergency, without PAYING
to do that. You make it impossible for them to save, and so when there
are big bills to pay, they can't, so taxpayers have to, or companies
lose money. You are helping the poor to survive, and that is good, and
required by all that is decent, but by how you are doing it, you are
FORCING them to STAY poor, even if they dearly want to improve their
lives with their own efforts!" I said, softly, "And you are even
destroying families with this, and harming children. Where is the
morality in that? This isn't charity, it's BONDAGE!"
Total shocked silence. Most of the clergy were nodding in agreement,
with tears. The Priest stood up and said, "What Solomon has said here
is what we see all the time from whose who come to us for help. It's a
nightmare for all. Charity for the poor is required, but so grudgingly,
and to smack them down with it, and keep them there, harms us all." I
said, "Well said!" There was even some applause. A minister said, "The
poor have little power, little voice to be heard. We must stand up for
those who can't do it for themselves." We all did stand up. One said,
"We can't make laws, even though we try to help the victims of them. We
have voices, but not enough. All of YOU have voices! What is happening
is costing YOU more money than it needs to, in how it's managed. It's
in the best interest of ALL of you to see that this is corrected. Only
you can make the government do this. Please try." We all sat, and
stared at them. There was little anybody else wanted to say. The event
ended.
We clergy all hugged each other, ignoring the other people there,
which was noticed. The media all wanted to speak with me. I said, "We
all stand together in this. Sit together, too. I'm not on the front
lines of this issue, as my associates are. I said all I have to say.
You should talk to them, for more, including real life stories. Yes,
there are REAL people in this. Help them to be heard. You have that
power. Use it wisely." They did, although they had to comment on my
wisdom, too. At the end of that, I said, "The people who make the laws
and regulations that govern public assistance, never see who it
affects, and how it really affects them. With what they are causing,
one might well wonder if they even care. Now they have the opportunity
to show that they do. This is not foreign aid. This is not building and
using weapons. This is not expensive manipulating campaign
advertisements. This is REAL life in America, that we are ALL
responsible for. I'm not saying that charity to other countries is a
bad thing, but neglecting the TRUE needs of our own, doesn't show other
nations how good we can be. We can be a good example for all, and
without buying the good will of other nations to cause them to like us
for who we are not. Let it be for who we should be. Let us deserve
their good will, by being and doing good. Show them we can take care of
our own, well, so they can follow our lead and do it for their own.
We've been asking them to do that for many years. If we do better here,
they might take our words about this more seriously." More nods of
agreement. And some thoughtful expressions, too.
CNN said, "I know you. When will you give us your proposals?" I said,
"Er, is now, good?" Laughter. I said, "Here are the files. You know
what to do with them." He said, "We DO! Thank you." I said, "You're
welcome. Oh, oh. All those open hands must mean something." Chuckles. I
handed out a lot of memory cards. I said, "A warning. CNN will post
them on the internet, without change. Any creativeness from people with
what I wrote, including out of context manipulation, will be viewed
very unfavorably." Nods and grins, and some cautious expressions, too.
CNN noticed me noticing them, and had his hand out again. I gave him
another card. Some asked about that. I just smiled mysteriously.
I met with the Priest later, privately. I said, "You were very
effective. Eloquent." He said, "I was going to say that about you." I
said, "Beat you!" We chuckled. He said, "Will there be any changes
because of this?" I said, "Actually, no. Nothing significant.The public
who votes and yells a lot, can't be made to understand the issues. If
judges can't, THEY sure can't. And so, Congress won't do anything,
because lawyers can't understand it either. And then there are
different state laws to deal with, along with many federal agencies and
jurisdictions. A tangled nightmare. No way they are going to untangle
that, or even want to. Always more pressing issues to use to excuse
that. Manufactured issues, actually, that don't really need to exist. I
think you are aware of all that." He said, "I was, but hope springs
eternal." I said, "It does. It might even make a difference, but even
if it doesn't in real life, it DOES serve to sustain us. And miracles
DO happen, mostly unrecognized." He said, "Thank you. I do have hope."
I said, "Never be without it. Our sword of faith." We hugged, with love
and tears.
Mom said to me, "I've been thinking." I said, "Oh, watch out!" Pokes
and chuckles. She said, "Your paintings of you father for the
Smithsonian. It was after his death, and before your time diving. How
could you do that so accurately? And there were other things that you
knew of him, that don't seem possible, by ordinary means." I said, "You
know Dad was recording his actions almost continuously for possible
broadcast, and for the record." She said, "But most didn't survive his
and Tomba could access." She said, "Oh! At your Alignment! His
secrets." I said, "He gave me access to that before he er, jumped
ship." She said, "And not me?" I said, "Before me, he was God's Senior
Prophet. Some things we are not to reveal, or it could cause harm." She
said, "Oh. I have to accept that. But some things?" I said, "He had
choices. He made them. I HAVE to respect that." She sighed, and said,
"Yes, you do." We hugged with love.
Kam said to me in secure contact, "Good thing she didn't ask me." I
said, "True." She said, "You're protected from time diving, and you did
that for Dad, causing you to have his complete memory in yours. Didn't
tell her that, either." I said, "Wasn't intended, but happened,
anyway." She said, "With what I know of you, you're going to have to do
it to me, too." I said, "Got a secret. I know all who can time dive.
I'm monitoring them. They try it on you, I'll block them." She said,
"Can't they hide that from you?" I said, "No, actually. The process
alerts me, and I can track what they do, even if it's from a hidden
partition. And if their stones know, they'll tell me, too." She said,
"Oh! Interesting. My stone agrees. She loves you!" I said, "I've er,
helped them a little." Chuckles. She said, "But you should still
protect me." I said, "Alright. Done, and it will carry forward,
automatically." She said, "Can you break through it?" I said, "I don't
know, and I don't intend to try. No, there will NOT be another like me.
May not even be for you." She said, "Makes for lonely." I said, "Yes,
but for the privilege to serve, all is accepted. But when I get to be a
CNN asked to meet with me. One said, "You were right. Some tried to
manipulate your words. We got on our high horse as your official
archivist, and er, corrected them." I said, "What you're really trying
to say, was it alright to claim what you did. Yes it was." He said,
"Oh, thank you very much!" I said, "But you were wrong about correcting
them. Reaming them a new one, was more like it." Chuckles. One said,
"Object?" I said, "Not in the absolute least!" More chuckles. I said,
"As long as you're fair and honest, you have my er, unofficial support
for that, and at times, my admiration. Make it funny, and I might be
motivated to add to it." Grins. I said, "Oh. Some private requests for
that are being made, and loudly." More grins and chuckles. I said,
"Making Hawk laugh, is worth extra bonus points. Oh, there he goes!"
Laughter.
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