America Needs Us. Since we lost our jobs by no fault of our own through a national emergency, we were compensated by the government. They deposited money in many of our accounts. Please understand. The government has no money of its own. It’s your money and mine that they have. The government doesn’t sell a product to make money. It legislates, enforces the law, and discovers and applies the law. So, the only money government has is our money. So, taxpayers now have their money to help them during this national COVID-19 emergency.
Americans have done their part to stop the spread of the virus. We want the nation to re-open. (You couldn’t find a parking spot at the local big box store last weekend in my city). People are at home. The sun is out. We want our lives back. We want to go to work.
But wait. Not everyone wants to go back to work. When your bank account gets a lift by $1200, it’s much easier to think along the lines of, “I don’t want to go back to work. I’m afraid of catching the virus.” True. There are industries where the virus has spread throughout the plant. But with social distancing in place, mandatory hand-washing, and other health-related restrictions, one could argue that it is time to roll out a return to economic viability.
Now is the time for a spirit of self -reliance. Life on Easy Street is not realistic. Only the corner of Main Street and Work Place can provide the best chance for success, personal fulfillment, and purpose. If the government gives you money (even your own tax money), it can take it away. Money, if you are not earning it, actually belongs to someone else. With all due respect, we do not have a constitutional right to someone else’s money. Our Founders never meant for us to pursue happiness at the expense of another.
Going back to work and resuming life will involve risk. It also requires a keen desire for self-reliance, not perpetual government handouts. The money eventually runs out. It always does. Even for the Federal government. The currency of self-reliance is work, saving money, and faith.
America needed us to stay home so that the invisible enemy could be defeated. Now, it needs us to return to work.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.
