I was seven years old in 1957 when my Daddy had a severe stroke. He died seven years later. My family was in such dire financial straits I cut the grass at the funeral home to pay to bury him, then continued to do that and odd jobs to support the family.
My Momma was left with a broken heart and bare cupboards.
There was one saving grace that stopped us from starving: a monthly $200 Social Security benefit check.
It was enough to put food in our bellies and keep a roof over our heads.
Growing up poor helps me better appreciate everything God blessed my family with today. I’ve lived the arc of the American Dream.
Through God’s grace, hard work, and my incredibly supportive wife Linda, we built a successful business in Beaumont, Texas.
As a young man I worked in construction, hung iron, and built bridges that still stand today. I noticed one impractical problem: work stopped in heavy rain when big machines got stuck in mud.
Back then bosses laid down one plank at a time to build a base so heavy equipment wouldn’t sink. It was slow, costly, time consuming, and impractical. Reminds me of the bloated bureaucracy called our federal government.
That’s how I came up with the idea of interlocking, heavy duty mats that allow big machines to keep working no matter the conditions. That’s what our business Quality Mat Company does.
Linda and I are able to share the bounty of our blessings with our five children, eight grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren.
The seeds of that success were planted by that Social Security check my Momma received to keep us afloat. I cannot imagine how life would have turned out without it.
Sadly, politicians in Washington mismanaged the budget so badly and spent too much of our money, that Social Security is at risk and the national debt is $34 trillion and counting.
Social Security is not an entitlement. It is not big government’s money. It’s yours. You paid into it and deserve it back.
If Congress doesn’t act, seniors might see benefits slashed by 2034. This will drive the elderly into poverty and force many to become dependent on their children.
The staggering national debt is another ticking time bomb politicians better take seriously as well. Right now every man, woman, and child in America would have to pay $101,000 to pay off the $34 trillion national debt. That number is rising because Washington keeps spending more.
Enough. This mismanaged madness must end.
I’m not a politician. I’m not a celebrity. I’m a hard working, God fearing, family man from Texas that loves America. I cannot sit idly by and watch politicians spend recklessly, destroy our great nation, then refuse to fix the problems they themselves created.
I’m going to spend whatever time the Lord has left for me, crisscrossing the country, to share a message to Washington politicians: stop fighting, get to work, reduce spending, save Social Security, and reduce the national debt.
The solution is simple. When times are tight, your family spends less, pays down debt, and saves.
Washington must do this right now.
If this matters to you as well, join me in this noble and critical endeavor, by visiting JoeFromTexas.com. There’s strength in numbers. Politicians can and will be held accountable with a critical mass of motivated taxpayers who want to save Social Security and reduce the national debt.
I owe it to my family, your family, and the greatest nation on earth worth saving: the United States of America.