Ready. . Set. . Start!

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I've talked about these kinds of things before. Duplicate things, I mean. And the senselessness of them.

Things always seems accumulate over the years. Have you ever gone through that shoebox full of photos that you've taken over the years and noticed that you sometimes have more than one of the exact same picture. Blame it on the "Double Print" offer that Walmart had if you want. Now days instead of shoe boxes many of us keep our digital photos on some sort of computer storage thing, but the idea is the same; Retention of so many useless things. Duplicate things. Surely we can all think of the stuff we need to sort through and throw out the duplicates.

In Those Days, my children realized they could hit me up for a buck or two, then hit their Mom up for a buck or to more, without either of use realizing the kids had been overpaid. At least not until they had spent all the money.

Just the other day I was asked to drive a bus transporting "Head Start" youngsters home in the early evening. It seemed odd that these kids appeared to be only 4 or 5 years old. Perhaps some were even younger. Much too young for school like they had in Those Days.

So after I got home I did research only to learn that the Head Start program is Federally funded but operated by the County. It provides no cost, door to door service to and from a preschool, to give "under privileged" kids, aged 6 months to 5 years, the chance to be better prepared for kindergarten when they get old enough. Meals are also included. Turns out "under privileged" means kids whose parents don't work, or don't work enough. Why would non-working parents need the services of a day care center anyway.

So why is it that if a child is simply poor, he is also deemed under privileged? And why is it that if the parents are home because they do not work, our government sends the kids to this pre-school, which is nothing more that a day care center. Yet, if one does work, most often day care is very expensive. And why is it that the Federal government pays for the children's lunches, when the State government also gives lunch money for the children through Welfare. Seems much like having two duplicate photos in the shoe box, especially when neither one is good.

And I'm sure that neither the Federal, State, County, or Local governments ever realize (or care) that these same families also receive money from churches, food share programs, their family, and from begging on the street, or perhaps selling dope or stealing some one else's property.

And Head Start is just the tip of the iceberg of thousands of entities that have overlapping or duplicate social funding to the "under privileged." Federal, State, County, and Local governments each offer relief for utility costs, as well as the utility companies them selves. Duplicate rebates for water conservation gadgets, home insulation, renewable energy, are just a few. Funding to off set the costs of small business start up, college education, home mortgages, unemployment and welfare are duplicated everywhere. And most times, one entity is not even aware that another is also helping out. It's kinda like a child hitting her father up for funds, then doing the same with the mother without ever divulging she already got funding.
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And we wonder why our governments are broke!
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