Before you read the rest of this article, there is something you need to do to prepare: take a moment and find your most recent paycheck stub. You know, the paper attached to your paycheck that details your earnings and explains the deductions from your money.
Look at the largest financial loss you suffer on payday: the taxes which are taken away. Typically, taxes remove between a quarter and a third of your money before your paycheck reaches you. Imagine what you could do with that money you never receive, even though you have earned it. Now, consider that there is someone making a great deal of money by instructing others on how they can get their hands on your earnings.
Matthew Lesko, the best-selling author who acts and dresses like a cartoon character in his television ads, has built a lucrative career on exploiting the government's recklessness with and waste of your money. Lesko's "Free Money From the Government" book series does nothing but show people how to apply for and receive for themselves the money that you work for. Among the offerings the "Guru of Government Giveaways" promotes are the government sources and methods to apply for:
* $100,000 in grants to start a home based business
* $75,000 housing grants to remodel your house
* $3,000 in grants to help buy a car.
One of Lesko's marketing claims is "The government grants $750 Billion in small business grants and free government grants each year. Let Matthew Lesko help you get your share." Free is an interesting and ignorant choice of words, of course. This money is not free. Take a look at your paycheck stub and you will see who pays for these "free" handouts. Lesko is merely facilitating the exchange of money from your pocket into the pockets of others, via the government.
Lesko's website even offers a new, updated 770-plus page book for 2003. The book is pitched with the following statement: "Billions of dollars are given out every year that you can use and Lesko's book will show you how to get it." In other words, send in $30 and you learn how to pilfer the hard work of others. Apparently, our society has become so jaded to government waste, so conditioned to governmental theft that we not only reward someone who markets a way to get in on the looting, we celebrate him and marvel at his resourcefulness.
Both the government's and Mr. Lesko's ethical standards are so low that the latter is able to offer a special edition entitled Free Stuff for Pet Lovers. Advertisements for the publication brag that you will learn how to get "free pet day care for emergencies", "free advice from a pet lawyer", "free bird cage cleaning" and "free pet coffins". Every time you look at the paycheck stub and remind yourself of the 25 to 33% of your money that is taken every pay day, remember that some of that goes to giveaways that allow Matthew Lesko to sell books so others can find out how to obtain "$500 to pay (their) pet's veterinarian bills."
Right now, the debate over a puny tax cut proposal is taking place in Congress. Most Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans are furious about this idea and claim that the cuts, regardless of how miniscule they may be, would harm the government's ability to function. They call the plan irresponsible, reckless and a recipe for economic disaster. Some of the Democratic candidates for President are even campaigning - and winning support - on a platform of repealing previous tax cuts. When you hear a politician complaining about how much tax cuts would hurt our nation, keep in mind that those same Republicans and Democrats continue to use the money they take from you to provide "free government grants to put on poetry readings" and "government grants to become a French chef" to others. If the debate is truly over "priorities", as I have heard it argued, then the priority should be to stop stealing money from hard working people in order to provide gifts to the lazy who want to do nothing more than write a grant application to obtain your money.
We, as a society, are confusing "opportunistic" for "entrepreneurial", "laziness" for "resourcefulness" and "dishonesty" for "getting your share". Worse, we reward those, like Matthew Lesko, who encourage this degeneration of the basic ethics that demand honest pay for honest work.
The answer is that we should blame both the government and Matthew Lesko for this slap-in-the-face of everyone who pays taxes. Obviously, the government has no business redistributing our money to others. Lesko, however, would do more to help Americans by pointing out these financial abuses of taxpayers as a way to end these programs instead of using them to get people excited about participating in them.
Lesko is able to sanitize blatent theft by calling it "government grants" and "free money" that someone will get. The fact is, though, that the money - your money - is out there for basically anyone to grab. Do not think that these programs are only for the economically disadvantaged. In fact, Matthew Lesko is sure to maximize his target audience by pointing out on his website that "Everyone qualifies". His advertisement points out that "government money programs aren't only for the very needy. Even those who make $35,000, $50,000, even $85,000 a year can qualify for many of these programs. And other programs have no income requirements at all. You can be a millionaire and get free money from the government (like Donald Trump, Sam Donaldson and even George W. Bush and Dick Cheney did)!"
Changing the public's attitude towards profiteering off government theft, waste and arrogance is one way to shut off the demand for immoral marketing and business like that of Matthew Lesko. The real solution, though, is to shut off the supply. Lesko has a right to do business within the law as he apparently is doing, so I do not advocate banning his freedom of speech regardless of how commercially repugnant it is. Shutting off the supply of these government handouts is the answer. Every member of Congress should make it a goal to put Matthew Lesko out of business by ending every one of the "free money" programs he sells information about. The real agenda item I want to see Congress debate is not if but how much will taxes be cut. "Tax cuts" is just another way of saying that the government is allowing people to keep more of the money they actually earn. The government is not entitled to your money, and neither is anyone else.
The next time you hear someone balk at the "irresponsibility" of reducing taxes, the next time another liberal editorial writer whines about the "priorities" of government being out of whack by considering "tax cuts" while "cutting vital social programs", take a look at your paycheck stub. Remember how these people want the government to be trusted with your money instead of you being trusted with your money. After all, you might not be responsible enough to provide others with "free lizard food" from your pocket.