Many Canadians are applauding the federal government’s financial relief measures aimed at helping both individuals and small businesses weather one of the most challenging disasters we’ve seen in a while. I’m part of that group, even though I think there were things we could have done sooner in order to make such measures less necessary – then again, hindsight is 20/20. Here’s the thing about the relief efforts though: they cost a crapload of money. Maybe even two craploads. The government has run up a heck of a deficit while trying to make sure everyone is taken care of through this downturn. It’s the right thing to do. But what happens when we come out the other side?

The short answer is that that deficit is going to have to be paid back, little by little. And who do you think is going to foot the bill? Yep, you guessed it: we all are. And don’t you go complaining about it! We all have to do our part to foot the bill that comes with making sure people don’t lose their houses and businesses, and personally I’m happy to do it. That support network is part of what makes Canada a great place to live, and I’m not going to turn my nose up at being asked to contribute to the system that I choose to be a part of.

Yet I know that tons of people are going to complain. But here’s the thing: people fall into two camps through all of this: the many who needed financial aid due to the sheer volume of layoffs that have happened, and those who were lucky enough not to have to take part in it.

If the relief efforts helped save you and your family from financial ruin, and you feeling complaining afterward, then quiet down. You benefitted exactly the way the system intended. You owe society a debt for bailing you out of trouble, and there will come a time – when you’re financially-stable again – to pay it back.

If, on the other hand, you were unaffected by all of the insanity that’s going on around us right now, and are still complaining… then quiet down. You were one of the lucky ones to escape unaffected by all of this. The least you can do is show some gratitude by contributing back to the economy and helping to pay down the deficit!

Either way, you don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to coming out of this crisis on the other side. The government helped the less fortunate weather the storm, and now we need to pay it back, end of story, full stop. What goes up, must come down.

Wrapping it Up

Today’s post is a little more sour grapes than I normally put into my writing – sorry, not sorry. I’m tired of hearing about people complain when something inconveniences them, even if they benefitted somewhere else along the line as a result. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

When there’s spilt milk on the ground, there are two kinds of people: those who point at it and yell about how messy it is, and those who grab a mop and starting cleaning it up. Don’t be that person who falls into the former; just grab a mop and get to work.