RUTHFULLY YOURS

That America is slowly sinking under crushing public debt is indisputable. And while cataloguing this burgeoning nightmare is easy, discerning its roots is more complicated. Let me suggest one under-appreciated factor: government itself is training Americans into dependence on state handouts so pandering politicians enjoy a ready-made market for their irresponsible bigheartedness. To be blunt, government is infantilizing its own people, creating a nation of well-dressed, well-spoken beggars seeking endless handouts. It is thus futile to place all the blame on free-spending elected officials; they are rationally satisfying entitlement addicted constituents, though to be sure, government helped manufacture this entitlement addiction.

Recall when the federal government decided to re-introduce wolves into the wilds of Yellowstone Park. They raised the pups, brought the cages to the woods and opened the doors expending the now juvenile wolves to race out and hunt down Bambi. Instead some listlessly stayed put waiting to be fed by their handlers. In less than a generation these naturally predatory beasts had been domesticated, and why not? Handouts certainly beat chasing Bambi in the cold wilderness. The media labeled these critters “welfare wolves.”

America is increasingly coming to resemble these welfare wolves and what makes this dependency especially odious is that it is wrapped in lofty intentions. But let me begin with something I know first-hand, the government’s “enlightened” effort to help minority students graduate college. Yes, some will succeed, most do not, but outcome aside, nearly all will learn a “valuable” life-time lesson: succeed is beyond reach without constant government intervention and rest assured, this lesson will endure long after the book learning is forgotten.

Some background. In today’s credential obsessed world it is assumed (falsely) that everyone should own a college diploma and since blacks and Hispanics lag behind whites and Asians, government must redress this inequality. To this end, Washington pressures high schools to graduate more minorities and, that accomplished, pressure is then directed to colleges to admit them. But, since sink or swim is now antiquated, these academically unprepared students require lots of help. One way or another, government rides to the rescue.

Academic outsiders cannot possibly imagine the scope of this push-them-through commitment. In 2007, for example, the University of Texas-Austin established a Division of Diversity and Community Engagement that annually spends $30.4 million to attract minority students and then supplies multiple assistance to help them graduate (see here). The school has a vice president of diversity and community engagement. This Texas-sized effort may be extreme, but rest assured, nearly all of today’s universities have similar, politically-driven programs.

In many schools help typically begins before classes start with a pre-college summer school, often with a stipend, where students acquire college skills like learning how to ask questions. Once in the door there are multiple remedial classes, special counselors, extra tutoring, centers to help with homework and research papers plus advisors who can steer troubled student to professors famous for generously awarding “A” or demanding little for a passing grade. Colleges also frequently offer group-identity majors like Black Studies where life experiences can be converted into academic credit. In some schools failed courses can be repeated and “F’s” removed from the transcript. Cheating may even be tolerated by making it nearly impossible for instructors to prove a case.

In other words, putting aside what is learned in class, one lesson is inescapable: don’t worry about being a grind, foregoing social life to read Shakespeare, struggle with hated math and on and on. Far more efficient is to leverage political influence to force schools to compensate for years of sloth and ineptitude. Uncle Sam now resembles a Mafia Don who makes colleges an offer they cannot refuse on your behalf. When the cash-strapped University of Texas considered cutting back its effort, affected students demonstrated and, naturally, accused the administration of racism. The option of working harder probably did not cross too many minds. One suspects that dropouts explained their failure by claiming insufficient help, not their own shortcomings. So much for a nation, supposedly, built on “rugged individualism.”

This “kindness” is totally unlike an earlier era where half-assimilated immigrant kids, many with limited English and desperately poor, struggled to gain admission to the Ivy League. Even when quotas and other admission policies were imposed to keep them out, government did nothing. Just imagine Harvard in the 1920s establishing a well-funded Center to make Yiddish-speaking Jewish children, one generation removed from rural Poland, more comfortable in this WASP-ish setting? All they wanted was a shot at a first-rate education and they were totally on their own.

The diploma hardly ends this government mandated life support system. Many can now count on government intervention to find employment (affirmative action), receive extra training if not initially qualified and enjoy legal protection against termination plus guarantees of equal pay even if not performing equally. Encouraged dependency is rampant in health care, home mortgages loans, automobile insurance, and almost every other aspect of life subject to government regulation. As a fish has no concept of water, at some point these beneficiaries of unrelenting government help view the arrangements as “normal.” Picture a youngster who survived college thanks to repeated bureaucratic interventions showing up for his new job and nonchalantly asking, “Where are my role models, mentors, counselors, and tutors?”

Important messages reside here for those worried about out-of-control, hugely expensive entitlement programs. It took a half century to recognize how public assistance encouraged debilitating dependency, often over several generations. That system was eventually ended by requiring beneficiaries to find jobs (see here). Central was the aim of breaking the psychology of reliance on government handouts. Unfortunately, those specific welfare programs may be extinct but the idea of encouraging dependency via nonstop help still flourishes. If this is doubted, try to recall the last time you encountered phrases like “promoting a sense of independence,” “individual initiative,” or standing on their own two feet” in discussions of public policy? A University of Texas official who suggested that minority students should be weaned from this extra help by the junior year would probably be denounced as a cold-hearted racist.

The bottom line is that helping others is an enterprise fraught with often unseen and troubling consequences. The urge “to help” is human nature and “helpers” reap wonderful moral highs so withholding assistance can be painful. Hard to say “no” to earnest but unqualified students who would be the first in their family to attend college even if this help does more harm than good. Yet, saying “no” is often the wisest policy. My mother always warned me not to feed stray dogs since once fed they would never leave. After a few stained carpets the message sank in.

This is not to argue that the needy do not require some help. Rather, excessive help easily breeds dependency, and in the long run it is far better to encourage a citizenry capable of thriving without government-funded rescues. The alternative to independence is even more debt to satisfy these burgeoning cravings. America is the land of opportunity but opportunity requires occasional failure and without failure, America becomes the land of permanent dependency and rest assured, this will not come cheap.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Robert Weissberg is emeritus professor of political science, University of Illinois-Urbana and currently an adjunct instructor at New York University Department of Politics (graduate). He has written many books, the most recent being: The Limits of Civic Activism, Pernicious Tolerance: How teaching to “accept differences” undermines civil society and Bad Students, Not Bad Schools. Besides writing for professional journals, he has also written for magazines like the Weekly Standard and currently contributes to various blogs.