Editor:

The Department of Agriculture has signs in our national parks that say “Don’t Feed the Animals.” Why do you suppose that is? It is because the animals may grow dependent and not learn to fend for themselves. The same department brags about distributing the greatest amount of food stamps ever. It seems to me that the Department of Agriculture is made up of a bunch of hypocrites.

Don’t get me wrong; I know that there are those who actually need assistance to put meals on the table; many of them are working and still need assistance. Others are unemployed or underemployed and looking for employment, handicapped, or have some other legitimate reason for needing assistance.

I am talking about those who choose not to work and become dependent on government assistance as an easy way out. Many of these people have big screen TVs, computers, nice cars, ipads, cell phones and other unnecessary valuables.

I feel that something needs to be done about this. Some of these people, I think, with some job skill training or job-search assistance can become useful members in society. We need to come up with some kind of a plan to get these people off of the welfare program. We need to build better relations with successful people and social workers, immersing welfare recipients into a successful environment and becoming active members instead of placing them into “affordable housing projects.”

Unfortunately, I don’t think we will see any improvements soon. For one, our current president needs the votes of these people as part of his base in November. It goes to show that there are way too many of us that fall in this category.

Mark Rogers

El Dorado Springs