There Are No Free Lunches - Coxey's Army

Years ago, Jacob S. Coxey led a march on Washington D.C.. His had assembled nearly 400 unemployed people, who actually made it to our capitol, where Coxey was arrested for trespassing. With that the army was dismantled. The phrase, "Coxey's Army" has become a symbol for ragged groups parading for lost causes.

What was Coxey's Army after? They wanted the federal government to finance a half billion dollars public works, that would provide work for the unemployed. James Coxey believed it could be accomplished by the government simply issuing that amount of new money. He may be gone, but proposals like Coxey's Army are still with us. It seems as if everyone still looks to Uncle Sam for help. And we are hearing this more and more as we move toward that far off Presidential Election in November.

But is that what our ancestors fought and endured hardships for? To build a government to take care of us, like a king in England? No! The founding leaders sought to build a land of opportunity, not dependency.
Our nation's future depends upon this nation being a people in search of opportunities and not handouts. How can that be done? Let us look at our own community. I have seen, first hand, people looking for opportunity and those looking for a handout. I don't like what I see when I look into the eyes of those wanting a handout. Am I looking at the great -grandchildren of Coxey's Army?

We have an under 6% unemployment rate in my county, with many companies desperately looking for qualified help. Confused? Don't be. Many of those persons classified as unemployed have no intentions of changing their status. They are busy searching the land far and wide for government handouts. "I don’t work, I am pregnant with two children and I need my rent and utilities paid every month, can you do that?"
When I have attempted to employee some of the modern day members of Coxey's Army, they said they would work, but had no transportation. Provide transportation and they said, no one was there to wake them up on time to be picked up.

They said they were desperate for money. They came late the first day with some excuse about children. Then they worked a few hours before leaving and promising to see me the next day. But I would never see or hear from them again. They said they wanted this or that but were never willing to follow all the rules to get there.

How do they survive? Many are recipients of some form of disability. I suppose that is what our ancestors called "to lazy to work" or irresponsible. Now before you get on my case, I know there are true cases of disability, but not as many as the Government seems to indicate exist. Can’t a person with a bad back still get an education and be retrained to find a different means of survival if they really want to or have to do it?

All of the Coxey's Armies through out history needed to join that revolution that says each person is responsible for there own lot in life, unless incapable of taking care of themselves. Is that a change? Today’s hopeful politicians want us to believe that this is a new concept. But it is as old as the hills. It is the bricks that the founding fathers used to build our nation.

The government is not responsible for us. We are responsible for us. The government is responsible to us to protect us from outside dangers and internal commerce. That is why we are a land of opportunity. Everyone has an opportunity to learn in school and graduate knowing how to read and write. Everyone has a choice to give an honest days work for an honest days pay. Everyone has an opportunity to better themselves, it just takes determination and hard work. It's time to dismantle Coxey's Army again. There are no free lunches. Handout recipients seem to be lost causes.

Perhaps if the candidates told us they would help us bring back the County Farms and let people pull themselves up by their boot straps we might get somewhere. Maybe some of the food can be used to feed the prisoners in our overcrowded jails. Of course we would have to cut the welfare umbilical chord. Is that liberal? Conservative? Socialistic? No it is Patriotic, in the original sense.