Rewarding Bad Behavior!

One can not refute the fact that we are in a recession currently, and that jobs have been harder to come by. I have read several articles discussing one issue in particular. Apparently, teenagers have found the job market for summer jobs almost completely closed to them. This is due to several factors; the biggest of which is adults with degrees are applying for these same jobs. To his credit (and this is possibly the only positive comment I will ever make about this man) Mayor Tom Menino (D-Boston) has aggressively tackled this issue. Over the past few years he has allocated funds to create summer jobs for teens living in Boston. This program has worked positively, because it serves to not only help out the economy, but, it teaches kids a good work ethic and skills they will need for the future.

With that said, I was recently reading the Boston Herald when I ran across this article. According to the article, your tax dollars are going to help "at risk kids" to find summer jobs. The Department of Transitional Assistance has gotten its hands on some cash from the federal stimulus bill to give jobs to people who should not be given priority. It includes jobs for: court offenders (i.e. criminals), school dropouts, pregnant teens, and people who don't speak English. The kicker to it all is that this is available to kids whose ages are between 14-24. Since when is someone over 18 (or even 21) considered to be a kid?

While these people do need help in some form, there are two issues I take with this. First, shouldn't this go to kids who deserve it first? This is a program which rewards bad behavior. These "kids" made a decision to be deviant in some form and they should be punished for it. Even if that punishment is being pushed to the back of the line. Second, why are my taxes paying for people who I feel don't deserve it? You and I had no say in this program, at all, and many of us do not support these decisions. It's just unacceptable!

The final issue here is that the jobs are disappearing in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Many local pools are closing (due to budget cuts), many local parks are hiring less, and many public works can't afford to employ as many. Given this and the issues of adults taking summer jobs, what are teens suppose to do this summer? Those who deserve these jobs are not getting them and your government is now saying "too bad, these poor kids who made deviant decisions need more help." Its sad when we reward those who don't deserve it and punish those that do. Good job Massachusetts.