This item by Gary Bauer of Campaign for Working Families is posted in its entirety with 
permission. It is a sad commentary of an incident that occured in spite of the humanity shown by a concerned corporation. We hope does not foretell the wilding of America. More about the incident can be read here.
An unbelievable thing happened this weekend that helps to explain why 78% of Americans say we are headed in the wrong direction.
For a brief time this weekend, the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system broke down. Recipients of the government-issued food stamp “debit cards” discovered that they had no limits. In Louisiana, reflecting the values of the American heartland, Wal-Mart stores said to their customers with these food stamp cards, “We understand the cards show no limit, but we trust you. Come in, make your usual food purchases and we’ll sort it out later.”
What they got instead was hundreds and hundreds of people grabbing multiple shopping carts and literally sweeping the shelves bare. In the middle of this mayhem, the system was restored. Folks abandoned their carts and walked out of the stores.
The impulse of Wal-Mart reflected the America we have known and loved: Help your neighbor. Go the extra mile. Offer a helping hand.
The reaction of the welfare state citizens reflected everything that is going wrong with the country. They saw the glitch as a chance for another rip off. After all, this is the country offering “free” Obama phones. Significant numbers of people claiming disability benefits are in fact ineligible and are scamming the taxpayers.
Ted Cruz and other fiscal conservatives are trying to get the country to come to grips with the fact we are headed toward national ruin, and it’s not the fault of the Tea Party. While the entire political establishment continues to attack people like Cruz for being unreasonable, what happened this weekend at some Louisiana Wal-Mart stores demonstrates the continued breakdown of values caused by America’s growing “virtue deficit,” perhaps the biggest crisis confronting the country.
Bauer’s entire End of Day Report is available here, free by e-mail subscription.
