The Big Oil subsidy outcry is just another ploy by the American left to bash the very fossil fuel that has been the main producer of affordable energy in America ever since the invention of the various versions of electricity generators and the subsequent evolution of the energy industry. As with any production company, the free market energy system is based on competition-driven cost controls, where affordability is job one. Allow big government to completely control the energy industry and the results will be higher prices for everyone who can afford to pay, while also using it as a tool for stealth wealth redistribution and vote-buying to stay in power. Now that the big government myth about the big oil companies not paying their fair share has been busted wide open, and some of the reasons behind that power grab have been theorized, let’s take a look at one of the biggest energy subsidies ever handed out by the U.S. Government. Personal, welfare-dependence-driven energy subsidies that cost U.S taxpayers billions of dollars every year.

In a democratic society, fairness, and equality are supposed to be the cornerstone of the system. When certain groups or sectors of society are given preference over another one by a government through the usage of tax dollars, this becomes a blatant example of taxation without representation. ( of ALL people not just some of them) Other words that may be used to describe this scenario may include Fascism, tyranny, socialism, and political oppression.  So how can big government manipulators explain why one sector of American society has to pay for their utility usage, while another very large sector receives a personal energy subsidy from the U.S. Government that the rest of society is made to pay for?

While the oil companies “subsidies,” which are in fact tax breaks, have been put at around $4 billion dollars a year, how much do the personal energy subsidies cost the taxpayer each year?   All states have their own personal energy subsidy programs, which are at least partly funded by federal tax dollars. The website Welfare Info is a good place to explore the current welfare system, and just what government “subsidies” the career welfare class receives.

[Note: There is a big difference between an American tax-paying, energy producing company getting legal tax breaks (unjustly termed "subsidies" by the leftists and enviro-terrorists) and a non-producing, non-taxpaying career welfare sector receiving personal energy subsidies to pay their utility bills at the expense of the working class in America.]

From the above welfare info site, the following personal energy subsidies are outlined as follows: (emphasis added)

Another of the welfare programs is the energy or utility assistance program which is intended to help those who cannot afford to pay for basic utility needs, such as heat, electricity and/or gas and water. Like the child support program, it will supplement part of or provide 100% of the monthly utility costs.

Although the state by state personal energy subsidy programs are unique, they all contain on commonality: One sector of American society is being made to pay for another sector’s energy bills through government programs, many of them consisting of utility companies forming “partnership programs” with state and local governments. So who qualifies for  these taxpayer-funded personal energy subsidies? Can a non-U.S. citizen have their utility bill paid by U.S. taxpayers, or receive other welfare payments ?

Again from Welfare Info: (emphasis added) “You must be a citizen of the United States or a qualified non-citizen legal resident, (restrictions apply).” So, not only are U.S. taxpayers being made to subsidize career welfare people’s personal energy bills, they are also being made to subsidize what amounts to payments to criminal illegal aliens who broke the law while entering the United States.

Again, how much do these personal energy subsidies cost the U.S. taxpayer?  The fact is, that the big government bureaucracy now has so many personal energy subsidy programs that it is all but impossible to put a total cost to the taxpayers on it, which appears to be have done by design over decades of nanny-state planning and dependency program creation. Utibility Bill Assistance  has a complete rundown of state by state personal energy subsidy programs, along with this explanation about another pair of federal personal energy subsidy programs:

There is also a federal program to provide utility bill assistance. The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association is a primary educational & policy organization for the state and other organizations of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which is often referred to as LIHEAP. LIHEAP is a federal government program that provides grants to states to help struggling with assistance on their their electric, heating and cooling utility bills.

In addition to LIHEAP, another program available is the weatherization program, which over 5 million Americans have taking advantage of, and which can save over $300 per year in utility bill costs. ( several spelling corrections made)

When discussing taxpayer-funded “subsidies” and entitlement programs, the Liberal nanny-state worshipers have proven incapable of seperating retired, career-taxpaying Senior citizens receiving SSI payments ( and in some cases personal energy subsidies) from the non-producing, non-taxpaying career welfare sector of society. This is done to obscure the facts that tax dollars have been used to create a welfare dependency in America in exchange for the welfare class vote, which is the base of today’s Liberal Democratic party. Liberal political operatives disgustingly disrespect working-class Seniors by lumping them in with the non-producing welfare class, in an attempt to falsely paint themselves as champions of the poor.

In summary, should America end all energy subsidies, as Democrats have been demanding in Congress recently? That would have to include ending the above-explained personal energy subsidies, along with the Democrat-sponsored green energy fraud and power-mongering usage of taxpayer dollars to spread misinformation designed to keep them in power by enriching their crony-capitalists and tax dollar thieves as was seen in the Solyndra scandal.  To end all energy subsidies would in fact crush the base of today’s fake Democrats, their environmental green energy fear-mongering, and their welfare-dependent vote begging fraud they have hoisted upon the American people under the guise of “helping them.”

Footnote: While several personal energy subsidy programs do indeed help deserving people cope with today’s skyrocketing energy prices, as Barack Obama promised America during his 2008 election campaign, the creation of the welfare class dependency in America has deteriorated family values, work ethics and the very foundation of American exceptional-ism, personal responsibility and the idea of working for what you want out of life. For a very serious look at some of the results of this systemic destruction of American values, please see The Ugly truth of America’s Welfare Class.

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Jeb Bush, the first Republican to be elected to consecutive terms as Governor of Florida, is the newest signatory of the Right On Crime statement of principles, which aligns the conservative agenda on criminal justice reform with long-standing conservative principles such as accountability, limited government, and fiscal responsibility.

“States across the country, including Florida, are proving that policies based on these sound conservative principles will reduce crime and its cost to taxpayers,” Gov. Bush said.  ”Many of the signatories of this statement of principles are respected leaders and friends, and I am pleased to add my support.”

“Jeb Bush’s track record as Governor of Florida was marked by consistent and visionary conservative leadership,” said ROC senior policy advisor Marc Levin.  ”Gov. Bush’s endorsement of these principles increases the credibility of the conservative criminal justice reform movement on a national level.  Gov. Bush’s support will also provide valuable momentum in Florida, which presents one of the best opportunities for implementing these reforms that better protect the public and reduce the costs of crime.”

The conservative statement of principles was unveiled last December by Right on Crime, an initiative spearheaded by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and based on measures implemented in Texas that have reduced crime by more than 9 percent while saving taxpayers more than $2 billion.

The campaign grounds itself in the basics of conservatism: personal responsibility, free enterprise, limited government, and family. Using a model that has been successful in Texas since 2005, Right on Crime promotes data-driven solutions that are proven to restore victims, decrease the number of repeat offenders, and save taxpayer dollars.

Ten states across the country have enacted reforms this year that are aligned with the Right On Crime statement of principles.  These reforms include:

• Juvenile justice overhauls in Florida and Texas;
• Closure of no-longer-needed prisons in Colorado and Texas;
• Evidence-based diversion programs that will offset the need for new prisons in Arkansas and Ohio; and
• Parole reforms in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina.

The conservative statement of principles and a current list of signatories are available online atwww.rightoncrime.com/statement-of-principles.

Too often, when that well-adjusted, highly responsible person we thought we knew gets out of our sight, the lure of the impulse purchase overtakes the good sense we know they’ve got.

They feel the need to keep up with their friends. They justify unneeded purchases by employing such creative reasoning that we can’t help but be a little proud, if not for that glaring red indictment on bottom line.

And if they’ve gone completely hog-wild with the purchase power, and maxed-out the card, there are only two real options…

We call the company to raise the spending limit- or we cut the card.

Those supposedly responsible folks we’ve sent to Washington, D.C., the ones who swore to spend our hard-earned tax dollars only for necessities and emergencies, have gone completely hog-wild with purchase power. They’ve maxed out our national credit. Now we’re faced with only two real options…

We allow them to raise the debt ceiling.

Or we cut the government credit card.

Both alternatives have inherent problems. Raising the debt ceiling is a false fix. It actually doesn’t ‘fix’ anything, merely allows us to kick the debt can a little farther down the road while we hope for some miracle to change reality.

Not only does raising the debt ceiling worsen the problem, it drags our children and grand-children down that same barren road. The most frightening aspect of this option is that while it enables us to keep playing kick the can just a little longer, the road we’re kicking it down gets cut shorter.

The only other viable course of action is to cut the card. Quit spending. Go into bare-bones necessity and emergency spending mode.

The troubles with cutting the card are many, though that’s the route that will more likely enable us to get off the debt track and back onto the self-secure highway.

For starters, all those expensive programs and entitlements that would be cut are beloved. One man’s pork is another man’s precious funding, and no one wants to be the one to ‘pull the plug on Grandma’, as the Democrats put it. Funny, but they seem to have no problem putting our children in chains, making them slaves to those who hold debt they aren’t responsible for.

Medicare, Social Security, funding for social programs and arts and entitlements, these are among the sacred cows that evoke knee-jerk, hysterical reactions at the mere whisper of reduced funding. All are as creatively and vociferously rationalized as a college freshman defending that credit card statement to bewildered and disappointed parents. During the recent budget discussion in the House, former speaker Nancy Pelosi tossed about phrases like “investing in our future” and “honoring our elderly”, catch-word phrases meant to yank at our heartstrings.

It is indeed worthy to invest in our children’s future. But if we don’t take drastic action now, their future will be one spent in shackles of indenture to countries like China. Countries whose interests and values are the antithesis of a free society. Nations who suppress opposing viewpoints. Governments who incarcerate those who speak out against their leaders.

Perhaps Madame-former-speaker could explain how handing our children over to the very conditions our grandparents fought and died to prevent is, in any way, “honoring” them?

We stare into the face of a national deficit so deep most of us can hardly fathom its true immensity. And while some of our elected public servants, up to and including the Public Servant in Chief, try to rationalize and justify more spending as ‘winning the future’, it’s time to get honest about our situation in the here and now.

Programs are nice. Project have benefits. Entitlements create a comfort zone. And no one disputes that we want our society and our children to grow, to advance, to be more than we once were. No one disputes that we want to ‘invest’ in our future or ‘honor’ our past.

But there’s a time to grow the tree, and a time to prune branches that have grown out of control, in order for the tree to thrive.

The cold, hard reality is that we as a nation must cut back now, and cut back hard. Nobody says the cuts must be permanent. Once we’re clear of the overwhelming debt looming over our heads, reinvestment could restart. But you don’t (or at least you shouldn’t) splurge on a shiny new flat-screen t.v. when you can’t afford to put food on the table.

And it’s not just the government that needs to get the splurging out of its system.

Uncle Sam isn’t alone on the list of culprits causing our condition. Unions have earned their share of the guilt, forcing prices higher by forcing companies into lucrative benefit packages and ever-increasing wages for their members. They shoulder a fair amount of responsibility for companies seeking out less-expensive pastures, driving businesses out of states once heralded as beacons of industry. Detroit, once the gem in the crown of American ingenuity, sits as a hollow shell of its former self.

We as individuals share the blame for the condition we’re in.

We’ve grown accustomed during boom times to instant gratification, to the feeling of entitlement to luxury, to the availability of cheap goods. It’s hard to tell our children “no, we can’t afford that new video game today” when all their friends are raving about it.

By gravitating to the cheaper goods, we’ve all but driven American industry out of America. We don’t want to pay twice as much for an item just because it supports our economy. We’d rather buy the less expensive version, even if it means another U.S. company has to close its doors and put workers into the unemployment lines. We’d rather pay less at the register, despite the fact that some underpaid worker overseas is slaving away to make that price happen.

Until we get our own spending under control, our elected public servants, including the Public Servant in Chief, will have a hard time taking us seriously when we tell them:

“Cut up that card!”

         We brown-bagged our lunches, which many times contained the dreaded bologna sandwich which we all hated, but ate anyway, lest we go hungry. Mother always tried to make sure we had fruit and other healthy foods when possible, but sometimes we just had the plain old bologna sandwich. We sometimes had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and lemme tell you, we considered ourselves to be the richest kids around when we saw the P B & J in ourlunch !  Imagine my disgust when I encountered the following announcement in a local newspaper about the breakfast and lunch for irresponsible parents in Pasco County, Florida. Keep in mind that a good percentage of these students are enrolled  in the “free” program. Of course it isn’t free to the taxpayers of this nation. Here is the menu for Pasco County Schools:

   Pictured at left are children in a Pasco County School.

Elementary breakfasts

All elementary breakfasts include a choice of one main fare item, one fruit or 100 percent fruit juice and one milk choice plus an option for cereal with graham crackers or yogurt with graham crackers.

Monday: Sausage in a pancake.

Tuesday: Scrambled eggs with wheat toast.

Wednesday: Cinnamon French toast.

Thursday: Breakfast combo roll.

Friday: Zac Omega Bar.

Elementary lunches

All elementary lunches have a choice of milk and two side dishes. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are available daily. Daily side dish options include fresh fruit, vegetables and juice.

Monday: Hamburger, cheeseburger or chicken BLT salad.

Tuesday: Home-style turkey and gravy with mashed potatoes or a tuna salad sandwich.

Wednesday: Fiesta tacos or Mexican pizza.

Thursday: Breakfast for Lunch: Pancakes with sausage, a breakfast sandwich or a breakfast burrito.

Friday: Big Daddy Pizza Wedge or peanut butter or yogurt dipper platter.

Middle and high school breakfasts

All secondary breakfasts include a choice of one main fare item, one fresh fruit or 100 percent fruit juice and one milk choice.

Monday: French toast sticks, breakfast combo, yogurt fruit parfait, ultimate breakfast round, muffins or cereal with muffin loaf.

Tuesday: Hot breakfast sandwich, yogurt fruit parfait, ultimate breakfast round, muffins or cereal with Pop Tart.

Wednesday: Cinnamon French toast, breakfast burrito, yogurt fruit parfait, ultimate breakfast round, muffins or cereal with muffin loaf.

Thursday:Pancakes, waffles, yogurt fruit parfait, organic Zac Omega bar, muffins or cereal with Pop Tart.

Friday: Breakfast pizza, whole wheat cinnamon bun, whole grain oatmeal chocolate chip bar or cereal with muffin loaf. 

Pasco County Schools are serviced by FNS, or Food and Nutrition Services.

Current meal prices

Reduced Price Breakfast: $0.30
Reduced Price Lunch: $0.40

Full Price Breakfast
Elementary: $1.25
Secondary: $1.40

Full Price Lunch
Elementary: $2.00
Secondary Classic: $2.50
Secondary Alternative: $3.00

We are a self-funded department, using only federal funds, grants,and monies generated from the sale of school meals and catering to provide a nutritious, low cost school lunch and breakfast to Pasco County students.  

     Excuse me, but what part of self-funding includes the heavy dose of Federal tax money you admit to above ?  While the mission statement sounds great on paper it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this program needs to be looked into further here. Just what gives the school board the right to take breakfast time away from responsible families in order to further dig into tax funding that promotes less family time and  ignores personal responsibility? A further look at their web page mentioned above talks about things such as “summer feeding.”

Pasco County FNS offers breakfast, lunch, summer feeding, and after-school snacks programs to Pasco County students enrolled in public and charter schools, day cares, Headstart and Early Headstart programs, and infant feeding programs.  We also offer an Adult Meal Program for administrators and their staff, and cater meals for school-based functions.  We serve approximately 2.25 million student breakfasts and 6.2 million lunches annually. (emphasis mine)  

        After school snacks? Why not dinner too? Why send the children home at all, if irresponsible parents want the government to feed and raise their children ?

    Under the school price menu above, how many of the students that qualify for the next to nothing cost of those meals are also receiving food stamps ?  Are there checks and oversight to ensure that an irresponsible parent(s) that doesn’t make the effort to properly feed their own children at home, has the equal amount deducted from their food stamp entitlement  to prevent them from being a double-dipping deadbeat on taxpayers wallets ?  I will tell you that the answer to that is no.  This is an extension of welfare benefits for largely irresponsible people that feel it is the job of the hard working people to support their irresponsibility. Breakfast, Lunch and summer meals when school is out ?

     Meal time was a family bonding time in our house. Problems were discussed and dealt with together. Lessons were both taught and learned at the table. This instills family unity and teaches personal responsibility in helping to prepare the family meals and cleaning up afterward. It also helps build a substantial work ethic, that says if you want to eat, you will help prepare the meal and clean up afterwards, or at least it did in my upbringing.  Today,  the nanny-state welfare mentality is not only proving to be a big cause of America’s economic problems, but it is also enabling the destruction of our society’s family values, where children are no longer taught the value of a dollar, and the fact that you have to work for what you want out of life.

    Yes indeed breakfast may still be the most important meal of the day for our children, but the true value of it comes from the family bonding and parental guidance we receive at the table, not just the nutrition. This is a start to their school-day,  so why not send them off  with the confidence and support that only a parent’s love can give.

Update from Pasco County Schools  Free meals program.

Free & Reduced Price Meal Information

Information regarding free and reduced-price meals is included below. To continue directly to our online free and reduced-price meal application, click the button below.

 The District School Board of Pasco County participates in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.  Through these programs we offer free and reduced-price meals to students from families who meet certain income requirements determined by the U.S. Government.

Free & Reduced Price Meal Information

Information regarding free and reduced-price meals is included below. To continue directly to our online free and reduced-price meal application, click the button below.

 The District School Board of Pasco County participates in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.  Through these programs we offer free and reduced-price meals to students from families who meet certain income requirements determined by the U.S. Government. Each new school year all students that wish to participate in the free and reduced-priced meal program must submit a new free and reduced-price meal application. Students are qualified for free or reduced-price meals through three (3) different methods. The first method is through direct certification; the second is through students that are identified as a homeless or migrant student; and the third is through the free and reduced-price meal application process.

Qualification Methods

Direct Certification

This process involves a computer match of district students to information provided by the Department of Education, which marks students in families receiving Food Stamps, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), and FDPIR benefits as eligible for free meals at their school sites. If you qualify, you will receive written notification on approval.

Homeless, Migrant and Runaway Students

Students that are identified by the district as Homeless, Migrant, or Runaway are entitled to free meals at their school site. For Homeless, Migrant, and Runaway students to receive free meals, the district’s Homeless, Migrant, and Runaway Liaison must certify, sign and submit a listing of students that are recognized as homeless or migrant. Food and Nutrition Services District Office must keep the student list on file at the Food and Nutrition Services District Office. These students do not have to submit a meal application.   

       Who says there is no such thing as a “free lunch?”  It is all free for the non-tax paying career welfare families. It is just the fact that the working families carry the burden of supporting the irresponsible baby-makers which are the mainstay of career welfare families, which is  the disgusting part they don’t want you to know.  This FNS  ”company” should be made to operate without any taxpayer funding. Waste, fraud and abuse are always rampant when you have a company that is half-private and half government-run. I am going to pursue the FNS salary structure, and see just what that turns up in the near future.

In Pasco County, Superintendent, Heather Fiorentino, makes $136,776 which leads a list of 15- hundred thousand dollar employees.