Unintended Consequences

There are unintended consequences to everything the government does. A recent chance conversation illustrates this point.

An acquaintance was telling me about her son, and his live-in girlfriend, and how they had been planning to get married this summer. However, the girlfriend recently discovered she was pregnant, so now the wedding is postponed.

Postponed? That seems counter-intuitive. Normally an unplanned pregnancy would accelerate wedding plans - but not in the age of Nanny Government. You see, as a single mother, this girl is eligible for a whole slew of government benefits - handouts she would not receive if she was married.

There is no reason her boyfriend can't step up to the plate and take financial responsibility for his child. But why should he? We have inculcated a whole generation with the idea that you should let the government take care of your problems. You won't be held accountable for your actions, because Nanny will be there to bail you out.

This couple could get married. They could pay their own way. People have done it for centuries without government assistance. Instead, they will take the path of least resistance, and become moochers at the government trough. You and I (assuming you are a productive, tax-paying member of society) get to pay for their prenatal care, hospital bills, formula, diapers, and on and on and on.

We have, in effect, discouraged this young couple from getting married. Nanny Government has become the surrogate father. Instead of encouraging responsibility, we are breeding dependence and immaturity.

How long can we continue this madness of rewarding people for making bad choices? How long can we keep taking away from responsible people so that irresponsible people can avoid the consequences of their actions?

Government assistance should be reserved for people who really need help. Our current welfare policies create a climate that does more to enable irresponsible behavior than it does to support the truly needy.

The entitlement mentality that now corrodes our culture explains why a junior senator, with no real world management experience, could become President of the United States. Barack Obama told everyone what they wanted to hear. The government is going to take care of you. We're going to spread the wealth around.

I will give President Obama credit. He told us what he planned to do, and he is busting his hump to get it done. We are rapidly becoming a socialist welfare state, with enough debt accumulating to crush any hope our children may have for a chance at prosperity. Nanny Government is spending money as fast as it can be printed.

And, inevitably, we all will eventually suffer from the unintended consequences.