So, it appears that the fast food joints around here are having to close early or just period because they don’t have enough employees to actually stay open.

This makes me both incredibly sad and angry. Like I feel more angry than I should be. Possibly because I am pregnant and like to be able to get food whenever, but more likely because what the heck?!

I get it. You got your taxes. You got your stimulus. You get more on unemployment. You weren’t getting paid enough. etc…

I have a really hard time wrapping my head around this though because I was taught the exact opposite. I was taught that you start at the bottom and you work your way up. I was taught that if you work hard enough, you will get there. I was taught that your work ethic was a reflection of you.

I started working at 15. When I started working, I did odd jobs for people and also worked for a call center. I made 99 cents a minute and almost 75% of that income I had to pay back for using the platform. I was lucky to bring in $50 a week. Granted that was plenty for myself, but it took me YEARS to build myself and my business up. Working for literally nothing at times. There is a meme that floats around saying that no one tells you when you start a business you will work 80-90 hours a week for nothing. I am that meme. Now, 15 years later, I make enough to support my family and kids. I own a business and am in the process of opening up another one.

This isn’t a knock on people that receive assistance. Because trust me, we have been there. We still can’t afford insurance because I am self employed and it costs WAY more than I can reasonably pay. We ALL need help sometimes. Sometimes, that help needs to be for an extended period of time, and that is OK. I will NEVER knock on someone that gets help when they need it. That is what it is meant to be there for.

What this is a knock on though is the people that are choosing to live off assistance without even trying to work or make their lives better. Yes, there are circumstances where that isn’t going to be an option. Yes, there are circumstances that are just special. I have watched some really good friends try for months to get a job, but not be able to find ANYTHING. However, choosing not to work because you are making more money off the government… that makes you lazy and that is an incredibly poor reflection of you as a person.

What are you going to do when that money runs out? These businesses are having to scramble to adjust. Do you think they truly need your indisposable ass? No. So, when this money runs out and you go crawling back for a job, where are you going to go? What are you going to do when you have no work history for months and no way to give an updated employment reference because you decided you didn’t want to work? What are you going to do when everything goes automated because you were too good to build yourself up.. and there is no option then to build yourself. You are either built or you aren’t?

Everyone is blaming the government, and while I hate the government and don’t deny its part, I think this is more of a “self” issue than it is a government issue. You guys are not thinking enough of yourself to make the moves you need to be making to work towards your dreams. I wasn’t lucky. I wasn’t given all the breaks. I wasn’t born into a rich family. I made my way and continue to make my way through hard work and dedication.

Have more love for yourself than this shit. When you live off the government, remember.. the government makes the rules and I have a feeling the deeper we get into it, the more you aren’t going to like it.

Sorry if I sound like a jerk. But if your momma won’t tell you, I most certainly will.