This is why we can't have nice things around here....

Warren Meyer, the blogger at Coyote Blog, runs a seasonal business. If I worked at a seasonal business, I'd recognize I would be out of work for part of the year, and, if necessary, take another job during the off season.

It seems, though, that some of Meyer's employees don't see it that way.

Unemployment insurance is a disaster for a seasonal business like mine. As background, most of my employees are retired, and don't really need to work. They work for me in the summer, and then frequently take the winter off. Unfortunately, some of the more unscrupulous ones will file for unemployment over the winter, telling the state office they are looking for work (usually a requirement) when in fact they have no intention of working. I had two employees last year for whom I received a notice of their unemployment filing the very same day they called me to tell me what a great time they are having over the winter fishing in Mexico.

The sense of entitlement inherent in government welfare programs (in fact, they are called entitlements) is a large reason behind this exhibited behavior. Before these programs existed, of course, it was very difficult to live like a leech. If you could work, you worked, and any assistance received by your family, church, or countrymen was temporary. The government lacks the ability, currently, and I suspect lacks the will to enforce this type of morality with its entitlement programs.

For every government program that is designed to help people in need, there will be people who view it as something they deserve. And until that attitude changes, we shouldn't be considering more government entitlement programs. And when we do, we should anticipate any estimated costs for these programs to be off by a considerable margin.