do moral guys really die broke

My Husband takes morality to a whole new level. it can be downright annoying. Both of us being raised in households where "doing the right thing for the sake of doing it" was almost unheard of, I find it hard at times to reconcile where all this morality came from. My father was a  used car salesman, and while he did not fulfil  all of the stereotypical requirements of that role, he was also not the most moral of people. I would say he walked on the fine line between crooked and straight. He never set out to hurt people but he also lived high and wanted to make sure that fortune favoured him. Max's father is know to bend every rule in the book and has left a long line of decimation behind him; so, I suppose when Max decided that he would do everything opposite from his father, he felt the need to walk the straight and narrow to a whole new level. as a result, he has never cheated on anything, never misused the system, never lied to make extra money and is well known as a "straight up" guy. I know that this is something that any woman should be proud of, indeed boast about and for the most part I do. however, very occasionally, I do wonder if the universe somehow has things very messed up.
the biggest Karmic mess that i have noticed in our lives is the financial fall out from following all of the rules, specifically in how it affected our ability to care for and provide for our sons over the years. indeed, how it still affects our ability to provide for our sons  and each other. Let me explain: financial assistance to persons with disabilities is based on income. when it is a child, it is based on the parents income. the government system encourages parents to either quit their job, divorce/separate from each other, lie about their income or simply go almost bankrupt trying to provide for their family. One government worker, when i questioned the logic of this plan, told me that I was choosing how I was raising my family. I told her "yes, I was choosing to work and put food on the table and not raise my son in a tent!" the fallout from this medical funding model can be devastating. I don't even have to exaggerate to make my point. I knew of at least 2 families that lost their homes, 1 couple that got a divorce on paper and 2 families who gave up their child to foster care. the irony of that is that the government pays $1800 a month to foster parents as well as paying for all of the equipment, braces and medical needs. supposedly, it evens itself out because if you spend the money, you should be able to claim it on income tax. unless, you happen to live in the no-mans land known as the middle class. I don't need to tell you where we ended up; not being able to claim a single thing and paying for it all out of pocket. my main argument with this philosophy was that it was based on MY income, not Connors'. after all, I would not have been buying all of the equipment and braces and having Dr.s appointments if Connor was able bodied.
still, we stuck to the moral high ground, believing that we were teaching our children that it was the right thing to do. over the years, we managed creatively to keep a roof over their heads, celebrate holidays and even take the occasional family vacation. I worked permanent nights while Max worked during the day. Sometimes I would work a second job to make sure that we would have enough money, believing that all good things come to those who wait.

Over the years it has become more and more difficult to support this morality; after all we have been waiting a long time!. While we followed the rules and almost have drowned in debt, co-workers, friends and even family members have worked the "system" to their advantage. While Max refused to entertain ideas of charity or inheritance, others had no such compulsions and racked up quite the savings account. while he would never take money "under the table" or pad his income tax return, while others would boast about how they bested and cheated the system.
this morality went so far as to refuse even the slightest bit of help or charity for Connor such as a fundraising dance or golf tournament. so instead, we went to fundraisers for other people. not for disabled people mind you, for over indulged suburban kids in various kinds of sports so that they could stay at Holiday Inn's instead of Econo lodge!
I  assumed that once Connor was in university and of the age of majority that the inequities would end. however, I could not have been more wrong. OSAP, scholarships and bursaries are all based on financial need; included in that assessment is the parents income and, you guessed it, based on their funding model, Connors parents made too much money. It was about this time that I wished I had of gotten the faux divorce so at least I would not have to put Max's income on the application. Instead, other students, who's parents did not worry about their consciences bothering them, lied on the applications and got the funding. We on the other hand have redone our Mortgage twice since Jarrett and Connor started university.
In 1984, Max and i enjoyed a movie called "Garbo Talks". a son was trying to find Greta Garbo for his mother. it was the mothers life long dream to see Garbo in person. in one part of the movie the son asks his wife for some money, which he knows she has. she answers him "touch the principle! that is like spitting on God". we have never forgotten that line, mostly because so many people seem to give you reason to believe that they are like the wife character. they have the money for their child's education, for sports, to be able to help the people in need, yet they would rather cheat the system out of some money instead.
So although I know that Max is right and it is better to live a moral and ethical life and that I am glad we can tell our children that we did it together with no ones help, just once, I would like to have had some of the principle to touch. after all, at this point, our oldest son just thinks that we are bad with money; not that we just never had any money in the first place.
I believe that we are actually good with money: we have a house, property, two sons that have graduated from their programs and still like to be around us and most of all we have each other and we did it all together, without once cheating or bending any rules or laws.
So as I sit here sipping cold coffee because the microwave took out 2 outlets as it imploded on itself, and I cannot afford to get another one right now because unemployement does not pay enough after knee surgery I do question slightly the wisdom of playing by the rules. they dont seem to get us anywhere. but then again,
perhaps, Max is right. it is better to take the Moral high ground that is straight and narrow, than to cheat the system and risk falling down the bad Karma abyss. But occasionally, I will still fantasise about what it would be like to be given an extra payload of cash and not have to work so darn hard for it!