Okay, first off, I must say there are some people out there who need help. Really. I get that, and I am not against a safety net or the need for the government to provide aid to some people. Really. I am all for helping those out who truly need it.
Now, on with my rant. I am fed up with people taking advantage of the system. There. Call it the true Middle Class revolt, but I am sick of it. I am sick of the fact that I have to go to the RiverPlex which I pay taxes for and spend $19 for my family of four to swim while a group of eight people (one adult and seven kids) get in for $8. They came in at the same time and they left at the same time. Guess what, they came in two cars that are nicer and newer than both of mine.
I am fed up with the people whining about the child care crunch. Before you hit that send button on the flames or the death threats, let me say I get that some people need help. And I get that for single parents, they need all the help they can get. After having my kids alone or a night or two, I think Murphy Brown was a saint, not a pariah as Dan Quayle made her out to be.
But I am angry that there is literally no help for the true middle class. Without going into my finances, let’s just say we are paying nearly half of our take home pay on day care for our two kids. Yet there is nothing from the state to help us. Nothing from the day care center. Nothing. I was in paying my bill and some lady was screaming at the director of the day care because she had to pay $200 a month for her infant. I am paying six times that. She left in an Chevy Tahoe, late model and in pretty good shape. Oh, she was smoking which is about $5 a pack. I’d love to pay $200 a month. I offered to pay that and the guy said no. Hey, I tried.
Look, I know it’s tough all over and that people are struggling. I know that there are those out there who make pennies on the dollar and for whom government aid is huge. But there are a whole host of people who cheat and rip off the system. Like the gal at my wife’s work who reports other kids on her income taxes so she can get more money (How she hasn’t gotten caught is beyond me). Or the people who use the ER as their primary care doctor. Or the people who are at the grocery store or the drug store and using Food stamps or whatever they called now to get Ding Dongs or Twinkies.
Again, I am not cold hearted, and maybe it’s just the heat. But you know, I wish I could get a bit of help. It’s hard on those of us who are working as hard as we can just to make it. Do I want help? Not really, but I would like those who can pay up, be forced to pay and not cheat the system. You want to help the state budget deficit. That’d go a long way, I’d bet. Clear out all the cheaters and the liars. The Public Aid rolls would likely drop by a quarter or more. I don’t know but I could only imagine.
There. Let the flames begin. Hell. At least, I’ll get comments and hits. 
