Back in the early 1950’s the United Nations started pushing Halloweeners to collect pennies for UNICEF. Now, bring on the professional fund raisers, many save a life programs feature pictures of starving children. Only 60 cents a day will save a life. Really? How much of that 60 cents goes to supplying food and what goes for administrative costs? How long are we providing assistance?

Will it be like the United States welfare system? That was set up as a stop-gap to allow people to survive while looking for work. Now, some families have lived for decades on welfare, its become their way of life for generations of people – and our elected employees do nothing but exchange our tax money for their votes – and, what a revoltion’ development this is!

The third world countries, which we are becoming one of, never achieved the standard of living the United States once had. Are we trying to force our views on countries who wouldn’t even know how bad they had it, had we not told them. Are we trying to elevate them, or just lowering our own?

So, all of a sudden, the donations stop. Are those people any better off than they were, or, like some on welfare, become so used to the gravy train that the thought of work repels them.

Interesting, we have millions to spend of the welfare of other countries, yet we ignore our homeless and Veterans.

I’m working on a column about war and prisons, why not send the welfare recipients that say they can not find work, overseas, to fight for this country, which may not be their country anyway.

Jerry Riley comments for the News Bulletin. He is a retired telecommunications supervisor.