Moochers U.S.A.

Kate's greed is representative of "a culture where handouts, bailouts, freebies and entitlements dominate"

Why take one free hat when you have have three?

Kate's latest (and still on-going) tweet war with Em Tanner, who was but one of many people who lavished the family with lots of free gifts, reminded us of just how many products and trips and other freebies the Gosselin family took over the years. Kate's entitlement and ungratefulness and shocking lack of shame may grate on our nerves, but a new book suggests that she is not alone.


Author Charles J. Sykes, who wrote A Nation of Moochers: America’s Addiction to Getting Something for Nothing is worried about what bailouts may do to our psyche and our future. When asked if he was worried about what this could do to kids, he said:


"Yes, I do. Other people take a slightly more optimistic view. They say the reality is that most Americans still have the belief of working hard and being rewarded for it, that we still have a middle class that wants to do the right thing, and that these folks don’t become somebody different even if we are in economically tough times. That’s true. But I also see a new class of dependency. How many generations does it take before the younger people look around and say, “Of course somebody else is going to pay for me. Of course there’s a bailout. If I screw up or don’t save any money, it doesn’t matter.” I say we’re living on borrowed time. We’ve drawn down the balance of our bedrock values. Once the stigma of being dependent is eliminated, more and more people want to be that way."