Conservatives are attacked as “heartless” by the left. They imply we are selfish, greedy, and make life even for the poor and needy.

While there are selfish people of all political persuasions, this is an unjustified attack. Small business owners and hard-working Americans grow the economy and create more opportunities for those in need, not less.

They contribute billions each year to charity to teach the poor how to fish, not just give them handouts.

If socialist economics really worked, the states adopting them should have low poverty rates. But surprise, surprise, that never happens.

So liberals say they need more socialism to get it right. If socialism really worked, it would make life better for those in need, not worse.

And so it comes as no surprise that the most socialist state in the Union is also given the dubious title of “Poverty Capital of the USA.”

From the LA Times:

Guess which state has the highest poverty rate in the country? Not Mississippi, New Mexico, or West Virginia, but California, where nearly one out of five residents are poor.

That’s according to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, which factors in the cost of housing, food, utilities and clothing, and which includes noncash government assistance as a form of income.

Given robust job growth and the prosperity generated by several industries, it’s worth asking why California has fallen behind, especially when the state’s per-capita GDP increased approximately twice as much as the U.S. average over the five years ending in 2016 (12.5{75726800c12fe2ebed14402fd98444a61f7eda42751f92330bc58faf20bd8821}, compared with 6.27{75726800c12fe2ebed14402fd98444a61f7eda42751f92330bc58faf20bd8821}).

That certainly is a question worth asking. And more importantly, one for which we need the correct answer.

Here are the gory details:

It’s not as though California policymakers have neglected to wage war on poverty. Sacramento and local governments have spent massive amounts in the cause.

Several state and municipal benefit programs overlap with one another; in some cases, individuals with incomes 200{75726800c12fe2ebed14402fd98444a61f7eda42751f92330bc58faf20bd8821} above the poverty line receive benefits.

California state and local governments spent nearly $958 billion from 1992 through 2015 on public welfare programs, including cash-assistance payments, vendor payments, and ‘other public welfare,’ according to the Census Bureau.

California, with 12{75726800c12fe2ebed14402fd98444a61f7eda42751f92330bc58faf20bd8821} of the American population, is home today to about one in three of the nation’s welfare recipients.

Keep in mind that the following conclusion is from an op-ed column in the Los Angeles Times, not us.

“The generous spending, then, has not only failed to decrease poverty; it actually seems to have made it worse.”

Socialism does create poverty. Or at least it diminishes wealth.

What it also does, however, is create dependents who will draw welfare benefits. Addicted to these benefits, they will vote for those who promise to keep them coming.

It’s a crude way of describing the problem. But there is no reason to make things any more complicated than necessary.

Welfare programs in our country are not designed to be safety nets to help people out until they can get back on their feet. They are vote-generating systems for the left.

And that’s more tragic than any nasty title that California might have earned.

Source: LA Times