Free Government Grant? Consider This…

The people seeking Free Government Grants and Grant money are often basically looking for free money that will allow them to do whatever they want with no strings attached.

In this way they are not unlike the governors of our several states who, seeing a shortfall looming, run to Washington hoping to load up on the debt financed “stimulus” money.

But now some are balking at Washington’s cash. And this should be illustrative for people seeking free government grant money. You see, there’s no such thing as free government money with “no strings attached”. There’s no “here, please do whatever you want with this money! It’s on the taxpayer!” There are always conditions… sometimes so burdensome they’re not worth the money you’d get in the short term.

Take the “free help” for unemployment insurance. A state can take it, but they have to agree to permanently re-write their unemployment laws. When the free money runs out after a short time, these states will be required to collect higher unemployment taxes from businesses because of the permanent change in unemployment that occurs.

The higher the cost to employ workers – and in this case even part time workers – the less long term incentive to hire. Some states like Minnesota already have such laws in place, so taking this money doesn’t change the way they do business. They are already taxing businesses at a higher rate than other states. That’s probably why Minnesota is ranked #31 by Forbes in the area of the cost of running a business based on the cost of labor, energy, and taxes.

That’s why governors like Jindal, Barbour and others are saying they have to scrutinize every dollar to make sure the “strings attached” don’t hurt them in the long run.

Instead of giving money to states to help their existing programs, these government dollars are being used to manipulate the states to conform to Washington’s dictates. The check looks nice, but the fine print is the killer to this deal for people who actually read what’s involved.

So if you’re still looking for the “Free Government Grant”… check the fine print. You might not like what you find. You may find the administrative reporting burdens outweigh the benefits of taking the cash.

For the average person, Pell Grants and training scholarships through a local career center are the ones least likely to have “strings”. But they’re still not “do whatever you like grants”. There are limitations on the type of training paid for and the providers which can be used. At least you don’t have to pay money to find out how to access them. That information is as close as www.fafsa.ed.gov