Support for those who are Struggling Most

 

                                       

                                                                         Dumb and Dumber?

I'm a pay your bills on time, don't buy what you can't afford kinda guy, so I tend to be exasperated when governments, provincial and federal decide to hand out cash to "hard working (fill in the blank)" even though they are borrowing that money to do so and saddling taxpayers with the bill. First it was the Ontario government promising $200 "rebate" cheques. Now the feds are proposing to give $250 to wager earners across the country, right up to income of $150,000, but not to seniors who still pay their taxes and who vote with greater frequency than younger generations. What are they smoking up there in Ottawa? 

These are dumb and desperate schemes but I'm not annoyed that I won't get my sliver of the federal pie. I figure that our governments should be supporting those who actually need it and I'm even willing to have them borrow for that purpose. Sure, lots of struggling families will benefit from the handouts, although it won't go far. For many others this will be chump change and, in the end, cost them money down the road. 

There are a ton of ineligible people who would benefit far more, including those who are jobless and disabled and seniors who are trying to get by on meagre government pensions. Both the Ontario and Canadian governments could have done a lot of good by focussing on those with the greatest need in these challenging times. There are reasons that the number of people using food banks is growing exponentially.  

I believe this as a Christian and as a concerned citizen who would really appreciate governments using good fiscal sense rather than coming up with lame vote-getting measures. Don't get me started on the GST rebate...