Help Is A Word That Needs Broader Definition

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There is a common misconception that conservatives don't care about the poor and have no interest in ending poverty. I am not even sure where this ever came from, considering 1) it cannot be farther from the truth and 2) it has never been reflected in the policies of the right. So, let me at least try to explain our position if you will be so kind as to entertain me for a moment here. The big difference in the right's position vs. the left's position is really in how we define the word help. And I think it is an important distinction to make when comparing the interests of the two sides while at the same time avoiding too much of the political argument that typically gets in the way of the discussion. From the left's perspective, helping someone is giving them food, money, shelter and energy assistance. From the right's perspective, helping someone is getting out of their way and offering the opportunity for one to seek and achieve success on their own. The right prefers to create jobs and opportunities and to support strong economies that lift wages, encourage more employment and thereby provide more opportunity for people to participate in an active and successful economy. The right prefers that there be less regulations to reduce the impact to businesses that have to spend more time complying than building their businesses in a practical way and being able to hire more people as a result. At the same time, the right prefers strengthening programs that encourage entrepreneurism than to support programs that simply encourage maintaining the status quo. We strongly support the SBA for example, which provides loans to those who wish to start their own businesses. And less regulation even means it becomes easier for the average person with less resources and means to be able to enter into business. It allows one to focus on starting their business as opposed to spending all their time learning all the rules they must follow to get started. Many of which people see and then determine it's just too much. Too confusing. And too costly. The right wants to see people have a chance to be independent of government, not depend on government. We prefer there to be an actual way out of poverty. We prefer that someone collecting benefits from the government see the benefit not as help, but as a crutch. We prefer the sentiment to be, when that welfare check comes in, "I am better than this. I can do this on my own. I don't have to live this way." The right is not a group of people lurking in the shadows trying to decide what they can take away from you. They are a group of people wanting to find a way to let you know that the biggest thing taking something away from you is the very government support being received. As the old adage goes, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." The right knows you can fish, so why not offer a pole and a lesson in how to bait the line and catch some fish? And when it comes to business? You never know. Some might be really good at catching fish, and then they have a wonderful business opportunity to sell it. Ultimately, the right does not see poverty as something to assist someone with. We see it as something to actually fix. We don't see the poor as stupid or incapable. We simply see them as people needing better opportunities to get ahead in the world. And if you dig deeply into the policies of the right. That's the aim of them.