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Recently I attended a “coffee meet and greet” with my state senator and state representative. I was astonished how every constituent, except for me, requested the state government address their uncomfortable issues. Here are some examples: “How can I get reimbursements for my high rent? Where can I get reimbursement to build my wheelchair ramp? Why can’t the state make these benefits easier to find? How can we get better healthcare? Can you do something to prevent the recently passed Big Beautiful Bill from impacting my Medicaid coverage? How can the state provide relief for expensive housing?”
Every question revealed their priority and expectation, “the government needs to give me more”! They revealed their addiction to government handouts. A very famous quote by President Kennedy at his inaugural address in January 1960 expresses a completely different priority.
“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country" – John F. Kenndy
Although my experience at the “meet and greet” is anecdotal, I can make a convincing case that Kennedy’s command for us, to serve our country first before we are served, is lost in the minds of Connecticut residents and likely the entire nation. We all seem to be addicted to being served. President Ronald Reagan once quipped, “The closest thing to eternal life on earth is a Government Program”. My experience at the “meet and greet” certainly confirmed this witticism.
Recently, at the Capital in Hartford CT, Democrat protesters expressed their distress about the cuts to Medicaid that they believed to be caused by the recently passed Big Beautiful Bill (BBB). These people were protesting a lie because they were addicted to government spending. The BBB removes illegal aliens from the Medicaid roles, creates enforcement of work requirements for those who are fully capable of working, and eliminates those who are ineligible for benefits and currently defraud the program. All these actions would lower the cost of Medicaid for the taxpayers and make more services available to those really in need. Yet, they were protesting. They’re addicted and were demonstrating their addiction to government benefits. They were unaware of or ignored the BBB details, namely there are no cuts for those eligible and in need. Even though removing waste, fraud and abuse makes the program more effective for those truly in need, they still insisted on keeping the fraud.
What is Addiction?
An addiction is an intense compulsion. It’s a habit that is either psychologically or physically motivated and extremely difficult to stop even though it causes negative consequences.
When someone asks for grant money to fix their home, are they an addict to handouts, or are they just being smart to save money? When someone asks for help to pay their rent, are they addicted to handouts or a smart consumer? When people claim healthcare is a human right, are they smart consumers or are they addicted to government handouts?
When we expect these government handouts, aren’t we ignoring our personal responsibility to solve our own problems? Even animals in nature must act to help themselves to share in God’s blessings.
“God feeds the birds of the air. He just doesn’t throw the food into the nest.” – Anonymous
The Bible Says Trust in God
The Bible gives us another option other than dependence on government benefits: trust in God! Addiction to government handouts ignores the role God must play in our lives.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7), Jesus explains to us how to pray and how to behave when we are in need.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7
Instead of relying on our addiction to government handouts, aren’t we encouraged to frequently pray to God for what we need? Doesn’t addiction to government handouts deny God’s lessons in Matthew 7:7?
Drug Dealers Encourage Addiction
When the Covid-19 “plandemic”[1] hit, the government lied to us. It instituted policies that closed our churches, our schools, our businesses, and our hospital visits to loved ones. The government's rules turned our world upside down. My business was thriving right before Covid-19. After Covid-19 hit, and when these tyrannical rules were applied by the government, my entire business disappeared.
The government then created the Paycheck Protection Program Loans. This was part of the C.A.R.E.S. Act to provide funding during the Covid-19 “plandemic”. Many of us needed to take advantage of this program to help our families to survive. It started out as a loan. I thought I was only borrowing money. Eventually the loan was forgiven.
The government created the problems with its dystopian tyrannical policies. It then created a solution that encouraged dependence and reinforced our addictions.
There are many examples of government programs designed to relieve the pain that was caused by the government policies. The government is acting like a drug dealer that is creating addicts.
Government is the Drug Dealer
A drug dealer benefits when the number of addicts increases. “Big” government is acting as a drug dealer when it creates policies that cause dependence. The Covid-19 “plandemic” created addicts for the Paycheck Protection Program Loans. The excessive government regulations cause increased building costs and reduce housing supply. When supply doesn’t meet demand, costs increase. When costs increase, affordability is reduced. People then (as in our meet and greet) are encouraged to ask for more government support. That’s why Connecticut has five new housing developments across the state.
In our “meet and greet” I asked my State Senator a question: “Which is more important for reducing housing costs, 1) reducing government regulations or 2) providing governmental support.” His answer was predictable. He said, “a combination of both”. He is a “drug dealer” for constituents to be addicted to government benefits.
Drug dealers create more addicts. More addicts translate into more voters who support big government. Addicts need their “drug dealer” to supply more “drugs” (benefits). “Drug dealers” need more addicts to stay in power.
Therapeutic Intervention Needed
Alcoholics Anonymous helps substance abuse victims by encouraging the use of the 12-Step Program. We can follow the same steps to rid ourselves from the addiction to government benefits. The summary action in the 12-Steps are: admit you need help to become more self-sufficient; decide to turn to God for help (Matthew 7:7); humbly ask for His help; recognize your addiction to government benefits is damaging your life, the lives of your family and the entire country; continue to pray. This approach can help each of us to choose a different priority so we can: shift to trust in God and stop trusting the government.
We must elect candidates who want smaller government because those candidates are not “drug dealers”. We must also look for systemic answers. This includes using Article V in our Constitution which provides us with a powerful option to permanently stop the “drug dealers” by supporting the calling of a Convention of States to amend the Constitution for long-term permanent solutions to our addiction to big government. The Convention of States initiative calls for term limits, reducing government overreach, and implementing fiscal responsibility. Our $36 trillion national debt must be paid by someone. Are we willing to ignore our addiction and dump the debt result into the laps of our grandchildren? Or, are we willing to be responsible adults and admit our addiction and change our habits?
[1] I call Covid-19 a "plandemic" (not a pandemic) because of the harm it caused:
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