Democrats say they want to protect those who can’t help themselves

The Friday commentary by Carl Leubsdorf, “Liberal extremists feeling emboldened,” stated that a basic tenet of the Democratic Party is that “government is the necessary protector of those who need help they can’t provide themselves.” The word “can’t” is a very important part of that sentence.

It seems that too many people substitute “won’t” for “can’t.” I have no problem with giving a hand-up to those who try and, through no fault of their own, fall short. I object strongly, however, to giving handouts to those who see that their neighbor got some welfare and think they are entitled to the same, ignoring that the neighbor worked hard yet got slapped down by bad luck.

When I was a kid, my father died and my mother went on welfare for a short time. She worked hard and succeeded. In the meantime, we had no TV, no designer clothes and no fancy toys. We ate a lot of beans and hot dogs. Now mom is 100 years old and lives well, and her three kids all learned to be self-reliant.

Welfare payments are killing our economy. To paraphrase JFK: Ask not what your government can do for you, ask what you can do for yourself.