As I have acknowledged before, I am a recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid and Food Stamps. My wife and I purchased our home through a subsidized loan program of the USDA. Each time I applied or have been recertified for each of these programs, I have been required to submit copious amounts of documentation to prove that I am legally disabled and needy.
In order for me to receive the benefits I need to survive from month-to-month, I must willingly open my books and allow the government to pore over every nook and cranny of my finances. I must supply copies of my bank records, my wife's payslips, property tax records, insurance policies, credit card bills and anything else that factors into the financial activity of our household.
The reason I must jump through all these hoops is obvious: The government needs to verify that what I'm telling them is true. Because a lot of the services I utilize are derived from taxpayer dollars, the government has a responsibility to the public to insure that the expenditures made on my behalf are true and valid.
I don't begrudge my responsibility in these matters. It is the way things should operate. The best way for others to know that my claims are truthful is to examine my books so that they can be reviewed and verified.
What gets me is that this general rule only seems to apply to those of us on the bottom rungs of the ladder. When wealthy corporations go begging to government for all sorts of tax breaks, subsidies and loans, they rarely are required to open THEIR books to be examined. Government simply takes them at their word.
When private sector unions try to negotiate a new contract and the company claims they don't have the resources to meet certain union demands, does the company generally open its books for union officials to verify the company's claims? Yeh, righto! Who has ever heard of THAT happening?
For those of you who are pro football fanatics, I'm sure you've heard that the owners have locked out the players in their ongoing labor dispute. One of the sticking points that led to the current impasse is that the owners claim they are losing money and so the players union said, "Prove it. Let's see your books." And, of course, the owners have not been forthcoming in this regard at all.
All I am suggesting is that fair should be fair. If I need to open my books to receive benefits, why don't General Electric, Boeing or the NFL owners have to open their books to receive what they want?
In order for me to receive the benefits I need to survive from month-to-month, I must willingly open my books and allow the government to pore over every nook and cranny of my finances. I must supply copies of my bank records, my wife's payslips, property tax records, insurance policies, credit card bills and anything else that factors into the financial activity of our household.
The reason I must jump through all these hoops is obvious: The government needs to verify that what I'm telling them is true. Because a lot of the services I utilize are derived from taxpayer dollars, the government has a responsibility to the public to insure that the expenditures made on my behalf are true and valid.
I don't begrudge my responsibility in these matters. It is the way things should operate. The best way for others to know that my claims are truthful is to examine my books so that they can be reviewed and verified.
What gets me is that this general rule only seems to apply to those of us on the bottom rungs of the ladder. When wealthy corporations go begging to government for all sorts of tax breaks, subsidies and loans, they rarely are required to open THEIR books to be examined. Government simply takes them at their word.
When private sector unions try to negotiate a new contract and the company claims they don't have the resources to meet certain union demands, does the company generally open its books for union officials to verify the company's claims? Yeh, righto! Who has ever heard of THAT happening?
For those of you who are pro football fanatics, I'm sure you've heard that the owners have locked out the players in their ongoing labor dispute. One of the sticking points that led to the current impasse is that the owners claim they are losing money and so the players union said, "Prove it. Let's see your books." And, of course, the owners have not been forthcoming in this regard at all.
All I am suggesting is that fair should be fair. If I need to open my books to receive benefits, why don't General Electric, Boeing or the NFL owners have to open their books to receive what they want?
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