00:00Prime Minister Kamala Pissad-Bissassa is making no apologies for her government stance on certain government programs,
00:07saying the law-abiding, productive citizens should not, quote,
00:11have their taxpayer dollars used to indefinitely fund politically motivated government programs
00:17to repeatedly bail out people who made bad personal choices while chasing the sweet life that eventually turned sour, end
00:25quote.
00:25In a lengthy social media post on Friday, the Prime Minister drew a distinction between citizens who work,
00:33obey the law and contribute to the country, and those, she said, repeatedly rely on government support after making irresponsible
00:42choices.
00:43Pissad-Bissassa said, quote,
00:45Everyone makes mistakes, but citizens who continuously make bad life decisions should not expect the state to use hard-working
00:53taxpayers' money to support them in perpetuity, end quote.
00:58The comments come as debate continues over government spending on programs like CPAP
01:03and chastising from the opposition for having thousands of such persons now unemployed.
01:09The Prime Minister said, quote,
01:11Law-abiding, hard-working citizens are fed up of being taken advantage of by a social system
01:17that punishes lawful behavior, responsible decision-making, and personal sacrifice, end quote.
01:23In addition to CPAP and what economists call make-work programs,
01:28successive governments have maintained a range of welfare initiatives including public assistance grants,
01:33disability assistance, senior citizens' pensions, food support, housing assistance,
01:38and temporary relief programs aimed at helping vulnerable citizens.
01:43However, governments have also faced criticism over whether some programs create long-term dependency
01:49instead of encouraging self-sufficiency.
01:53Pissad-Bissassa said, quote,
01:55Citizens who make good life decisions, abide by the law, make personal and professional sacrifices for self-improvement,
02:02and contribute their fair share to the state should not have their taxpayer dollars used
02:07to indefinitely fund politically motivated government programs, end quote.
02:12Without identifying any individual or specific program,
02:17Pissad-Bissassa also took aim at people who publicly criticize government decisions.
02:22She said, quote,
02:22Before you go on TV or social media complaining that any government refuses to waste taxpayers' money,
02:29sit down and think about the poor choices you made in your life that put you in the bad situation
02:35you are in, end quote.
02:36The Prime Minister ended her message by acknowledging that mistakes are a part of life,
02:41but argued that personal responsibility means learning from them
02:45rather than expecting the state to repeatedly intervene.
02:49The Prime Minister
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