diff --git a/timestamped/2026-03-14_08-24-04.md b/timestamped/2026-03-14_08-24-04.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1b7449a --- /dev/null +++ b/timestamped/2026-03-14_08-24-04.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +--- +id: 2026-03-14T08:24:04-04:00 +aliases: [] +title: 2026-03-14 08:24:04 +tags: + - authorship/original + - destiny/permanent + - status/draft + - type/periodic/timestamped +dg-publish: true +date-created: 2026-03-14T08:24:04-04:00 +daily: "[[2026-03-14]]" +weekly: "[[2026-W11]]" +monthly: "[[2026-03]]" +quarterly: "[[2026-Q1]]" +yearly: "[[2026]]" +--- +# 2026-03-14 08:24:04 + +My dad frequently tells me how people (especially immigrants) +are taking undue advantage of welfare and other government programs. +His favorite example right now is the "Somali daycare fraud". +He tries to bait me into agreeing that these people are lazy or selfish. +It's a frustrating line of argument, +especially from a man I know is intelligent, +because the blame is so obviously misplaced. +It's not logical to criticize the abusers of government aid +that you already believed was inappropriate. +Despite benefiting from regulation in every aspect of his life, +he fancies himself a small government type. +For a libertarian like he claims to be, +abuse of government programs +is just a symptom of the real problem, +that the programs exist in the first place. + +Complaining about something directly offensive to your personal sensibilities +is just whining, +and whining is a net negative for yourself and potential supporters, +since it negatively impacts perception of your cause. +Only the people responsible for the offense are unaffected, +they may even be benefited by your tantrum, +if (by pouting) you get the relief of catharsis, +and don't actually do anything about the real problem. + +Turning whining into belief requires considering +* why the the thing you don't like happens, +* what could be done to stop it from happening, +* what the secondary impacts of the solution would be, +* if the result is even worth the cost. +These are the bare minimum for discussing societal, +or even just organizational issues. +Until you have done them all several times +and understand the problem from all sides, +keep that shit to yourself.