99ers

The 99ers? I remember as a child and young man reading about the 49ers, those hardworking men and women facing danger and hardships virtually unknown today. Men and women that headed for California and Alaska willing to work themselves to the bone in search of a better life. Today we have the 99ers. Americans that have used up or will use up, 99 weeks of unemployment checks and still don't have a job or means of earning an income.

Big difference between the 49ers and the 99ers! The 49ers had the spirit that made America great. Free men and women not beholden or living under the thumb of a tyrannical ruler. Nor were they willing to blindly follow corrupt politicians promising them a better life. These men and women took responsibility for themselves and their family and willingly worked hard as masters of their own destiny. Not all succeeded, most never found gold. Yet their journey through life is the stuff of heroes and legends. The 49ers came from the mold of American man and woman that seems to have been lost.

The 99ers? As of this writing there are over 1 million people in the United States that have been collecting unemployment checks that have now come to an end, they will be receiving no more checks from the government or at least unemployment checks. There are millions more Americans that are going through the 99 week check collection process. How many of those Americans will end up becoming a 99er?

Will you become a 99er or do you have the spirit of a 49er? It is time for Americans to dig down deep, find some intestinal fortitude and start taking control of our own destiny. Politicians promise us free health care, unemployment checks, food stamps, free or cheap public transportation. a society and life that is "fair" for everyone. What is fair? Is it fair to take from a person who has and give it to person that does not, in the name of the law? Or is that just legal thievery?

It used to be that unemployment checks would last 26 weeks. Now they last 99 weeks. Who is footing the bill here? It is a well known fact that the American government is printing and spending more than it takes in. A large percentage of our society does not even care if they are passing a stupendous financial burden to our children and grand children. It is the "all about me" society.

I think about the 49ers, I think about John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wraith" and I think about the stories my grandmother told of life in the Great Depression. The women that took in sewing and did laundry to help support their families. The men that sold apples and mopped floors. The entrepreneurs that made sandwiches and sold them door to door. Americans that did not take charity. Americans that did not have Ipods, computers, flat screen TVs. Americans that had dignity, pride and a willingness to do what it takes to survive and thrive in a tough economy.

The 99ers and Americans in general need to wake up! Big Government is not your friend, all those promises from the seemingly progressive politicians will do nothing but move us closer to a society in which we are all ruled once again by Kings and Tyrants.

Maybe it is time to stop the engine of the world, after all "Who is John Galt?"