Wyoming - The Welfare State

I have shared this plan with family and friends and have received mixed reviews. Usually those who are not conforming members of a political party are in support, and those who are staunch party members call me a radical. Well as a non-party affiliate AMERICAN I take their label as "a radical" as a great complimen. Once upon a time Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin were all viewed as being a little radical too. My plan, although a little unique, will not only save us money, but will make our country more productive.

My plan is to move everyone who receives welfare to Wyoming. YES - WYOMING. No, I am not proposing concentration camps, nor am I proposing slave labor reservations. If you think about it, we have done with our poor, exactly what we did with the indigenous people (Native American Indians) - we have relegated them to reservations. We don't call them reservations, we call them housing projects or trailer parks. I shared with you my experience in the inner city projects and how welfare was becoming the "family business." The current model is that we are offering money for nothing. I have known people who would not look for jobs because, if they made too much money, they would lose their welfare benefits. They figured that the difference between their welfare checks and their employment checks was not enough for them to actually HAVE TO go out and go to work. They would rather not have to be somewhere and just collect their check. A unique conundrum.

Not anymore - you want a check? Go to Wyoming. Randy you can't do this.. . .You're CRAZY.

REALLY? I believe, if I ran for president with welfare reform and the renaissance of American productivity as my platform, I might only lose two electoral votes - Wyoming. Maybe not. The increase of population may gain them a larger tax base and additional representation in congress, so they might even vote for me too.

Why Wyoming, and what are we going to do once we get there?

Wyoming is a landlocked state almost in the center of the country. It is also the least populated state. Both of these items are important.

Item 1 - Life is NOT a beach:

The bulk of our country's poor is located on the coasts and/or near our major metropolises. So, not only do they receive the "free check," they get to spend their days of non-work near a beach or near our cultural centers. Lets pay people to go to the shore, or hang out in the theater district and municipal parks. Wyoming has no such shore, and is not really known for its theater district and museums =). If you want to receive your check you need to give up the beach and develop your own cultural arts district.

Item 2 - Earn that check.

In moving to Wyoming, recipients will be trained in a career that will benefit the country. With Wyoming being quasi-centrally located, and having vast farmlands, we will train people in farming, construction, and new technologies. We will send the first set of trainees to build towns (not housing projects), factories and roads that will house the soon to be relocated families. Careers in the production of alternative energy sources - turbines, solar panels, REAL electric/solar cars, alternative fuel sources, etc. will be farmed, manufactured and distributed from Wyoming. The great grid that our president has alluded to will be centralized and created out of Wyoming. We will offer people training in positions that will benefit their new community. From sanitation workers to teachers to police officers and independent business owners, we will offer them an opportunity to earn the checks we are currently giving them for free. Wyoming would become the hub of innovation and the state whose farms feed the world and fuel the country.

I am sure American industry would be more than willing to assist in the creation of factories, railroads, and townships. Think of what Milton Hershey did in Pennsylvania. Disney also envisioned EPCOT as a real city - not a theme park. It was to be the Experimental Prototypical Community Of Tomorrow (EPCOT). We might have Pepsi, Wyoming, whose High School's rivals are Coca Cola Regional. You may see the birth to two technology towns Apple, Wyoming, and its rival Microsoft Falls, Wyoming. The Grammy's would be held at the state of the art iTunes Theater in the heart of Pixar, Wyoming.

Item 3 - But Randy, I don't want to go.

You have choices. 1. You get a job in the current region you are in and pay your own rent, 2. you get your check and are placed in a new career opportunity and restart of your life in Wyoming, or 3. You leave the country. You don't get your cake and eat it too. You earn your check or you become a productive member of society. The current housing projects will be either upgraded or knocked down and replaced (sounds like new jobs right there) and will be converted into condos that those who decided to not go to Wyoming will have an opportunity to purchase. If you do not go to Wyoming or get a job that will allow you to afford the home, you will be homeless - which will be unacceptable. Homeless shelters will no longer be available, because we will not have any homeless people. There is a home for everyone - in Wyoming. The other option you have is to relocate yourself to another country. We will pay for a one-way ticket to another location in the world, where you will then give up your U.S. citizenship and the items you leave behind will be auctioned off to counter the expense of your flight or ship passage.

Item 4 - How are we going to pay for this?

We already are paying for it. Now, we will get something out of it. We will no longer have to outsource our factory production to China or Mexico. We will develop a fair wage scale and quality of life for those participating in the Wyoming project. Production of goods will not be inflated because we will make it illegal for unions to inflate the cost of production. We will have representation from the welfare recipients in a democratic board that will include leaders of industry, government officials, and the common man. A three house approach will be established - like the federal government - to ensure fair treatment of participants and to avoid the need for unionization. Picture it. . . our tax dollars going towards building our country's infrastructure and gross national product, instead of paying people to stay at home and watch Oprah, Wendy Williams, and SoapNet. Additionally, as formerly mentioned, we would be able to license out the naming of towns like we do our stadiums.

So there it - solving homelessness, welfare abuse, and our dependence on foreign manufacturing and power development. Obviously, I have other sub-plans regarding training and education but this is a blog - not a government paper - anyone get through that healthcare document yet? Talk about saving a tree =)

WELCOME TO WYOMING - WHERE EVERYONE GETS A FAIR CHANCE TO LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM.