My 2 Political Cents

Let me just start by prefacing this post with the fact that I know I am blessed to not be faced with being in a situation that would require me to use these services. But that I also have friends who have had to use the services provided by these organizations and government entities.

There are 3 thoughts in this post: The Planned Parenthood issue, getting intentionally pregnant when you can't afford the child you have, and drug testing for food stamp usage

Planned Parenthood Issue
There has been lots of talk in the news about the federal government pulling funding for Planned Parenthood. I have been thinking about this with mixed reviews for the past few days, but today I was watching The View and I learned that the majority of those who use the services of Planned Parenthood are 150% below the poverty line. Yes, I could have heard that wrong, or the person saying it could have been wrong on that number too. However, all I can think about right now is "personal responsibility".

As a person who has now been categorized as having an unplanned pregnancy, I feel that I have some perspective on this whole topic. Planned Parenthood does provide lots of great services - cancer screenings and HIV testing for examples. But why does the federal government need to provide money to this organization for pregnancy prevention and prenatal care? Maybe I don't know exactly how the government funding works, but isn't that what Medicaid is for? Or Medicare?

I am going to go out on a limb here, and I know this might offend some people, but what ever happened to personal responsibility? If you can't afford to go to the doctor, if you can't afford birth control, if you can't afford to have a child, WHY ARE YOU HAVING SEX? Like I said, I am part of the unplanned pregnancy crowd, but if I knew I couldn't afford medical care or food for my child, I wouldn't have put myself in a situation that would result in becoming pregnant. It goes along with my consumer responsibility theory (see older posts).

Why does the tax payer have to support individuals who make poor choices? How are we raising a responsible society if we just feed the fire and fund these programs? Once again, if you can't afford to have a kid, don't have sex.

Taxpayer Money Funding Additional Pregnancies for Those Who Can't Afford the Kids They Have
I know a person who has a 2 year old. She and her fiance can't afford the child they have. They can't afford the medical bills that remain unpaid at the hospital for services in the past. They can't afford their own place or vehicle. Basically they can't afford much of anything. This person was put on a fertility drug by her doctor to "help control" her messed up periods (not to get preggo) or something like that, at least that is what I was told. My assumption is that she wasn't getting pregnant on her own because of this messed up period stuff and she got on this drug to actually get pregnant. As it is, the state is picking up the tab for medical bills for this family already, providing WIC, etc. Guess what... the fertility drugs worked. She is pregnant. I wonder how many hundreds of people are doing this exact same thing every day?

Now I am not one to say that someone can't have kids, but come on. You struggle already to make end's meat, so why in God's name are you purposely getting pregnant? As a tax payer, I am going to be supporting this child. Once again, WHERE IS THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY??? Her selfish moves are now taking money out of my pocket and my child's college fund because they wanted to have another child when they can't afford the one they already have.

Drug Testing for Food Stamps
NH is trying to pass a law that will require those on food stamps to pass a drug test in order to receive the benefits. Amen! No, I do not think that all recipients of food stamps are drug users. But, I do believe that there are people who take advantage of the system, causing a massive waste of taxpayer money.

Now, some people are saying that the poor children are going to be punished for their parents' actions. First off, there is going to be a strike system so it is not like food is going to be yanked out of the mouths of kids if their parents fail their first drug test. That would be irresponsible of the state.

But once again, I can't help but ask about the personal responsibility of the parents. If everyone is so scared of losing their food stamp benefits because of a failing drug test, perhaps they shouldn't be spending the money they do have on illegal drugs. Am I off on this? Why am I, as a tax payer, supporting a drug habit? That is what it is, correct? Why is the state supposed to support those parents with food stamps when they are not responsible enough to put food in their child's mouth or money into other bills instead of getting high?


Now, that all being said, I do believe that there are situations where state and federal funding are needed. You can't help it if you lose your job due to economic reasons. I never know, maybe someday we will need some support for our family. But, I do know that we will be making responsible decisions. If we can't afford to have another child and can't afford birth control - we will not be having sex, especially during the most fertile times of the month. If I can't afford food for my children, I better have already canceled all of my services such as cable, internet, basically everything that is non essential because food is way more important. And I sure am not going to go on fertility drugs to have a second child when I can't afford the one I already have.

I may be over critical, and I have never been faced with such tough financial decisions. I have been blessed with parents who raised me to be responsible and to prioritize. I was raised to do what every I needed to do to be a responsible and contributing member of society and to provide for my children. We are lucky enough that one of us doesn't need to work full time once our child is born, but if weboth need to, we will. It just drives me nuts to see people getting assistance when they work part time and can't even show up to work on time on a regular basis. To see people complain that they can't afford their apartment but they have a really nice car.

I guess my final point is that where is the personal responsibility for those who do not have legitimate reasons for being on these programs? Milking the system hurts everyone in the long run, including those on the system. I feel that audits need to be done, and for those who are on the system that are found to be abusing it should have to pay back every penny that they received either in money form or community service.

I am sorry if I have offended anyone, but this is just how I see things.

Beach Baby

St. John was awesome! We had a great time relaxing with family. One week was not enough time to soak up the sun after a long season at work! I spent a full day and a partial day at Salt Pond Bay, one of my favorite places on the island. Here is proof that at 30 weeks pregnant that flying, swimming and wearing a 2 piece bathing suit are perfectly acceptable!