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2053108 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-if-we-got-rid-of-welfare/What+if+we+got+rid+of+welfare%3F2010-04-02+17%3A43%3A52Sam+Richards to What if we got rid of welfare?
Although welfare sometimes gets a bad rap, it is a necessity in our country. It is a great program for people who do not have the means to support themselves and/or their families. The problem is that many people abuse it. People just want the east paychecks, and choose not to go out to look for a job. This is robbing much more deserving people of what they need. It is very sad that people are that selfish and lazy, but unfortunately it is just a fact of life in this country. There are always going to be people like that. But back to the main question, I do not think that it would be smart to discontinue welfare. Welfare provides much needed assistance to the poor and needy. It allows them to buy food, clothing, and all other essentials that they would normally have no other way of getting. The most affected would be children. They did nothing to get into the position of being poor. They were born into it and can do absolutely nothing about it. It would be a crime to strip these kids of the already bare minimum that they are receiving. Millions of people are starving in our country everyday because they do not have enough money to buy food. This number would only grow if welfare was to be taken away. Therefore, welfare should definitely not be removed as a program. If anything, it should be revised. I think that it should be more heavily monitored and have stricter regulations. Too many people take advantage of a great program that is set up to help the needy in our country. You should have to give proof that you are out searching and applying for jobs, and making a true effort to get yourself set up and on your feet. It is only fair to everyone else who desperately needs welfare.
As far as social status goes, I think there would be some changes. While today, being on welfare is seen as having a low social status, people would be even poorer and have lower status if there was no welfare. Many people would be homeless out on the street because they would have no other options. They would have no job, no source of income, and nowhere to go. It would really put people in a bad situation and I think it would be a terrible decision by the government if they were to get rid of welfare. Not everyone is fortunate enough in life to have the means to take care of themselves, and it is the duty of a country to take care of all its people. Welfare definitely needs to stay.
I personally feel that if welfare were to be taken away from people that would cause more problems than the ones that we currently have in our country. Welfare is a helpful thing for people and that is why it is still in place. I also feel that it wouldn’t matter in the trying to change other’s view of people. I feel that they use the fact that the people who are on welfare are on welfare to use a categorizing character or a easy way o0f picking on others. I think that if it were taken away that the people who are making it a issue would just find another way of making the a distinction among the levels in society. The status of the country would be affected because this would change a lot of things for many groups of people and I believe that this would bring on many more serious problems such as a higher crime rate as a nation. There are many people that do abuse the system but what about the people that are actually in extreme need of the help welfare offers them. I feel that if this were to be done it would just be another form or example of “The Man”, which is the people in power or the majority, oppressing the minority. I don’t see a reason of even thinking about getting rid of it. I could see a reason to think about working on the issues it has, to make things better for both the people in power and the people benefiting from the help. By finding a way to better these things I could see it helping others and maybe even getting them off of welfare. Things that can be done would be having programs to teach the people on welfare ways of maybe getting off of it. This would help separate or minimize the separation in levels in society..
I think it would be complete crap if we cut welfare while rich people are getting tax breaks and while the middle class is getting taxed in a way that impacts them way more. I think the nature of our capitalistic society makes it necessary for the government to have plans in place to help those in need, especially since our society is imperfect with factors like prejudice and nepotism affecting social status and class in society. Until we’re all on an even playing field and have the same opportunities then there’s no way we’ll be able to do away with welfare programs.
Of course as with all programs there is a chance to take advantage of the system or to get stuck, but that’s for those who don’t really try in my opinion. It’s not fair to punish those who actually benefit from welfare in the short-term for the abuse of others.
Personally if it weren’t for welfare then I can honestly say that my family and I would not be where we are today. My mother and father emigrated from their homelands (Algeria and Bangladesh) and after living in Canada eventually settled in America before having my two siblings and me. They split and my mom was left to raise us 3 kids alone. Despite the fact that she had TWO masters degrees from Purdue University and New Castle Upon Tyne she was rejected from the most menial jobs for being “overqualified”. How can someone be “overqualified” for a job? If anything an employer should graciously hire them since they’d clearly be a great addition to their team. Because my mom was Muslim and wore the traditional hijab (Muslim headdress for women) no one in our predominantly white rural town in Indiana wanted to hire her. Being a single mom of 3 young kids she couldn’t let us starve and so she went on welfare. Getting food stamps, free lunch at school, and Medicaid were vital in our survival. My mom wasn’t one of those people to just sit around, she was still working as a permanent substitute teacher all the while. Of course this job alone wasn’t enough to support all four of us but she couldn’t afford to work more because she had no one to take care of us.
Eventually my mom got a better job in Maryland so we moved, but we still had to stay on welfare for a bit until she was able to get a better job in the wealthy (and diverse) Montgomery County, MD. I can’t even imagine where we would be now if the welfare system wasn’t there to help support us when we needed it. I think this is a pretty good case of how prejudice was the reason our family wasn’t able to better themselves. It’s complete crap because I know damn well that if it were a white man or maybe even a white woman who was applying for any of the jobs my mom did, with her qualifications, they would have been hired.
That’s why we NEED welfare….because we live in an imperfect society where those who are the poorest often are because of things outside of their control. People always blame others’ choices for their positions in society, but I really don’t think my mom’s choices of getting two graduate degrees were the reason she couldn’t make money.
As a kid I lived on welfare for a while when my parents lost their jobs and found that many of the people on it simply needed time and resources to get to a level where they no longer needed the help. so to get rid of welfare for me is a horrible idea because we don't give the options to people on welfare that they need to get settled and off it. not that people don't abuse the system but we need to make it so the system helps with more than just food and housing we need to fund schooling for jobs and making these services mandatory, because if you lost a job you basically grew up doing what is there for you to do latter? welfare has such a negative connotation that people on it feel low extremely low, but we don't treat them as people who deserve respect or teach them to remember that they can do whatever they want. if we help these people with job and self esteem issues then maybe we could limit or even abolish the multi-generational welfare issue. I think that people who were raised to believe that they can achieve better than their parents do. that is the lesson we need to help the people on welfare that they can and will be able to improve their lives if they want with help from the system, this is something the system doesn't really do well and so we have the issue of multi-generational welfare families. welfare is necessary to aid the people who have been struck down by circumstances beyond their control, so I support the system just not the implementation of the system.
I feel like I should preface this by saying that I by no means have a great understanding of the welfare system or the inner workings of it. This happens to be my humble opinion of what would happen if we chose to abandon the welfare system. Should you get rid of welfare altogether, there would be a massive wave of homelessness across the United States. This is just because the economy at this stage would not be immediately able to handle the amount of people that would have to find employment. However, the money used for welfare eventually would get poured into jobs and hopefully at equilibrium everyone could find employment. While this does give more opportunity for advancement for children born into the system, it also has a few problems associated with it. The first is that there is no safety net in case someone gets screwed by the system, which inevitably will occur. The other problem is that as opposed to now when a common misconception about being on welfare is that you are lazy and cannot get a job if you are on welfare. Eliminating the welfare system I feel would give a certain incorrect but sort of implied validity to the statement more, and may not necessarily directly affect the class system, but it will definitely convince people that the struggle isn’t worth learning about. Another point that I feel needs to be brought up is the issue of the welfare system being better than actual jobs. I know this is a point of contention, but even if this isn’t true, no one can dispute whether or not the gap is too small. There should be a large difference between minimum wage at a full time job and the money gotten on welfare. If this happens, there will be an actual incentive to leave the welfare system behind because it will blatantly be too ineffective compared to a normal job to support someone. I think the whole generational wealth thing would remain for the most part unaffected by the elimination of welfare, but it at least could give people a fighting chance to get ahead. It’s pretty universally agreed that the current system keeps way to many people in it. You are never going to start out rich if your parents were poor, and even if you make it big you still have a lot of ground to cover to make up the difference. However, if they money spent on welfare let you get a job at a young age and you had an opportunity for advancement, then you have a chance to work your butt off and hopefully catch a break, which you would not have had when the system was in place before.
Thats an interesting question. Although welfare benefits underprivileged population, the system is abused by many. Welfare is one of the tools of balancing social inequality that we are born with. If people decide they will take advantage of the system and stay in welfare for their life, the purpose of welfare wasn't met. The government should have better programs in monitoring welfare so that children that really need the support get it. It is unfair for tax payers to pay for citizens that are capable of working and earning a decent salary. If welfare was eliminated, more and more people would be tempted to commit crime, which would deteriorate the state of the country.
As we all know, welfare is a very interesting and controversial topic today. Personally, I am not a fan of the current welfare system. But do I think that we should abolish the welfare system all together? Probably not. I don't think that getting rid of the welfare will in any way solve the problems associated with it, but it would instead make things worse. I think that the answer to the welfare dilemma is that the entire welfare system needs to be reworked, but not eliminated.
The main reason the welfare shouldn't be stopped is because there are too many deserving needy people out there. Many of the welfare recipients are hard workers in unfortunate circumstances who just need some help along the way. Welfare offers these people this help. It is important to understand that not everyone can help the financial situations they are in. For these people, welfare can be a source of hope, and may eventually get them out of their unfortunate financial circumstances.
While the welfare system helps out many people who deserve assistance, we cannot forget those who abuse the system. For every hard working person on welfare, there is another person abusing the welfare system. Many of the welfare abusers don't have a job, not because they can't find a job, but because the voluntarily choose not to work. These people just sit around and collect welfare checks for a living. I actually learned in my Econ class that some people would make more money in a year by not working and collecting welfare checks than by working a minimum wage full time job. I'm sure many welfare recipients are aware of this. Although it is morally wrong to cheat the system, I see can understand why some people do. Many times, welfare recipients don't even use the welfare checks for what they should be used for, which is things like food and other basic needs. Instead, they put the welfare money towards material items like expensive cars that they can't afford.
So, the suggestion that I am making is that we keep the welfare system, but modify it. Modifying the system isn't enough though. We also need to make sure that any changes to the system are monitored and all the rules and regulations of welfare are enforced. First of all, it is important that only deserving people receive welfare checks. This means that they must have and maintain a job or must be actively pursuing a job. Also, we need to better monitor how welfare recipients are spending their welfare money. The welfare money should only be going towards essential goods and needs, nothing else. If all of this is done, I feel like the entire system of welfare can be a lot more successful than it has been in the past.
Although welfare helps tons of people out, there are still people out there who abuse it, giving welfare a bad name. I’ll admit it sometimes I wonder what would happen if there was no welfare. I think, would it motivate more people to work? Then, I stop and realize that there are people out there who truly need it. For example, I’m thinking back to the class video where the woman was very poor and worked at Burger King. That woman needed welfare to survive. She lived in a trailer, with no car, no boyfriend or husband for second income, and needed to support two kids. I give her a lot of credit that she works at Burger King for minimum wage and has to walk 10 miles to work. If that isn’t someone who deserves welfare, then I don’t know who should. She is trying to make ends meet, but she is unable to. Welfare has some negative stereotypes around it. A lot of people just assume that people on welfare don’t work and that the person sits on the couch all day and just collects money in the mail. Although this may be true for some people, the majority of people on welfare are in desperate need of it. I’ve worked retail and seen both ends of this. There was a woman who had three kids and her husband left her. She did not have a college education but still worked hard. The money she earned was not enough to support her family. The opposite situation is when I worked a town pharmacy and some welfare plans require a customer to only pay $1 for their prescription. This woman came in on her cell phone obnoxiously and had a co-pay of $1. I knew she was on welfare because of her medical plan. She did not have the $1. I wouldn’t give her the drugs. She was so irate and stormed out of the store. When I see what kind of car she gets into, my mouth dropped. She was on welfare and was diving a HUMMER. If that isn’t a huge slap in the face to everyone who supports federal welfare programs, then I don’t what is. Honestly, how can someone on welfare who can’t afford $1 prescription drive a hummer? It shows the many flaws in the system. Some stricter regulations of keeping eyes on people on welfare are needed. This way, the people who abuse it can be stopped, and the people who need it can potentially more funding. I think if welfare was to just completely go away, the social classes will drift even farther a part. There are people who can’t find jobs, so probably end up homeless.
I have a problem with people who look at social welfare systems and complain: About the expense, about freeloaders, about inefficiency—all sorts of things. The reason that I take exception with such complaints is not that they are necessarily invalid, but rather that for most people, they exist within an inconsistent framework of understanding. The thing to understand with social welfare systems is that they are absolutely not necessary in society. Societies have long existed and still do exist where social welfare systems are minimal or non-existent, and for most people, the reality of day-to-day life in such societies is basically comparable to that in our system.
The difference between our society and societies with more limited social welfare systems lies in what happens to that minority of the population which falls into hard times. What happens when you get sick? What happens when your house burns down? When your bank goes under? When an earthquake strikes? What happens when the unthinkable occurs? In a society where social welfare systems are limited or non-existent, the answer is obvious: Nothing happens. There's no system in place to protect against catastrophic events, so if it happens to you, you're stuck with it. You lose your home. You go bankrupt. You die of illness. These things can and do happen all over the world, and in many cases, people just have to deal with it.
The question that we have to deal with as a society is whether this is what we want to have happen. Some societies have chosen the libertarian route of leaving individuals to their own devices, but the alternate route is to put checks in place which keep the fallen from hitting the sharp rocks of poverty and demise. These are the safety nets, the social welfare systems, which most industrialized nations provide to their citizens. The underlying idea is that we want to protect ourselves from the unlikely possibility of catastrophic events impacting our lives, and in order to do that, we agree to band together as a society to pool our resources to offer that protection. In such an arrangement, every individual must pay into a pool in the hope that they never personally need take advantage of that communal service.
Social security. Welfare. Private and public insurance. All of these systems are based on the assumption that people want to avoid catastrophic failure, and are willing to pay into a communal pool, possibly never to take advantage of the resources in order to do so. Certain problems do arise when considering how to implement such a system, and these are the ones often cited by people who propose to remove such systems from society. However, the fundamental fact remains that these are symptoms of implementation, not of underlying function. The question you have to ask yourself is: Do you want to protect yourself and others from unlikely catastrophe, or do you not? If the answer is negative, then that is acceptable. If it's positive, then you need to rethink the thesis of your argument, and stop complaining about how the damn welfare system is ruining our nation's financial future.
I don’t know much about welfare. Actually, I know little to nothing about it. I know a few facts based on things I have heard about it. Many people are ashamed to be on welfare. I think this is mainly because they are frowned upon by our society. Many people take advantage of welfare, by just collecting the money from the government instead of actually trying to find a job. But, I also I know that welfare is helping a lot of people that are struggling to make ends meet.
Eliminating welfare completely, to me, would be a bad decision. Even though there are those people that take advantage of the welfare system, there are also people in it that truly need the government’s help when it comes to buying food and etc. Eliminating welfare wouldn’t be fair to these people. These people that actually need it. That no matter they do they aren’t able to provide food on the table and a roof for their families. This doesn’t mean that these people are lazy. I have learned that sometimes certain people just don’t have the means to get a decent education, and through this class I learned that sometimes something as simple as your race can determine whether or not you get the job or whether or not you can even get a decent job. Yes, some people take advantage of the welfare system, but should we eliminate it just because of the handful that does? Yes, some people on the welfare system are just being lazy, but not all of them. Eliminating the welfare system won’t make these handful of lazy people find jobs. They’ll find another source, or another loophole. Eliminating welfare will hugely impact those people that solely depend on it, in many ways. If they weren’t able to get jobs due to their education means or race, they still won’t be able to. The elimination of welfare won’t change that fact. In fact, they will be worse off. Now, they’ll have no jobs and no help from the government. How are they suppose to get through life day by day? So, in my opinion, people don’t need motivation to find jobs, jobs need to stop being discriminatory to them. And also, eliminating welfare won’t help the handful of lazies find jobs either. The elimination of welfare wont change the fact that they are still lazy.
Overall, even though welfare system has its flaws, it is also helping a vast majority of people. Everyone and everything possesses its own flaws. Flaws are things that can always be fixed, if we put forth the time and effort. We can’t expect things to be one hundred percent perfect. It just isn’t really possible. In my opinion, the elimination of welfare would lead to greater problems.
i think that the answer to this question is more than about just welfare… although I do think that poor people would go crazy and have no idea what to do if we got rid of welfare. I think that the answer to this question is more about change in society. We are so incredibly reliant on the way things are set up now that to change anything essential in society everyone would lose it. For example, if they got rid of trash men and collection of trash services, there would just be trash all over the place right? because it would be so hard for us to just bring our own trash to wherever the trash men bring it to? how would we do that? what a crazy idea. when in reality, if we never had trash men, we wouldnt think that it was a big deal that we had to drive five minutes to drop our trash off at whatever facility the trash men bring it to. we would just do it and be thankful that we had a place to bring all our trash and they would do something about it.
I think the same principle applies to welfare. Welfare in itself goes against everything democratic and having a free market in the united states. If we continue to give people hand outs they will continue to rely on hand outs and never learn how to do anything for themselves. My belief is that programs that give people a hand… welfare, affirmative action, etc…. are only making those people weaker. I appreciate the fact that people are born into worse situations than other people but I have seen examples very close to me where people are born without anything and become incredibly wealthy. My grandfather was born dirt poor. His father worked odd jobs and they lived in public housing and projects in various cities. By the time they made it to the Philadelphia area, they would live in apartments for 29 days and on the 30th day of the month they would leave in the middle of the night because they never had the rent money to pay. He spent most of the first years of high school living in slums, until he dropped out of high school. Sounds like someone who is going absolutely nowhere in life right? Exactly, however, he found a camera in a dumpster and fixed it and began going door to door taking photographs for people. He built up his business until he got a place in the mall, and then partnered with Macy's one year to set up a santa claus photo booth in the middle of the mall. He patented his idea, and now he is disgustingly filthy rich. He has four houses, upwards of ten cars, three boats, owns dozens of buildings, etc. Point being, he didnt have welfare and he made it, while I have seen people with welfare live on their check and sit on their ass doing nothing to advance their lives because they know they will have enough money to at least feed themselves. People should stop making excuses to live their life like that, but it isnt easy for them when the government makes it harder for them by labeling them worthless and sending them petty cash to live with.
I do not think that getting rid of welfare is a good idea. The Online Dictionary’s definition of welfare is, “Financial or other aid provided, especially by the government, to people in need.” There are so many people in our country that rely on this system to help them get by. It is very sad that there are people in our country who abuse the welfare system. I also understand that many people use the money given to them for unnecessary things. Also, a lot of people on welfare are simply taking the money, without going out to look for a job to support themselves. However, there are those who desperately need it to survive and help their families. By eliminating the system, there would probably be a huge increase in poverty. The solution may be to revise the current welfare program, but not to get rid of it completely.
Welfare is a difficult and complicated issue to address. It does help a lot of people who live in a difficult economic state but it also creates a comfortable situation in which a lot of people can't seem or want to get out of. Welfare helps keeps people in the "system". As a tax paying society governed by the corporate world, poor people are necessary. Its how wealth is based and the value of money contorlled. Poor people stay poor rich people stay rich and without poor people or wealth distribution would completely shift. Some politicians have pushed to have welfare regulated and making sure people are not just sitting on their asses and still receiving checks while hard working middle class citizens work to maintain the welfare people. The upper class is exempt from paying taxes which i believe to be ridiculous but rich people are the ones making these laws so of course they are going to be looking out for their own best interest. Its just how it is. The rich are going to want to maintain their wealth and have the middle class take care of it. The middle class is always the majority in society yet the few people who sit at the top get to distribute the wealth the way they feel like doing. They control everything including the government because when it comes down to it the one with the money makes up the rules. Welfare is like a vicious endless but necessary cycle. I feel that it should be regulated and should be used as a rehabilitative program to teach people with low incomes who never had the same opportunities to succeed as other people with more financial advantages. They should be taught certain job skills that will help them succeed in the future. There will always be poor people because there will always be richer people in the world but at least autonomy from government assistance could be reached. I'm not saying i have the answer to the welfare dilemma but i feel it should be monitored and not seen as a long term solution. I feel like a society who does not help the poor reach the potential that they can it is unfair and with our country trying to have equality for all, it would be hypocritical not to extend affirmative action to welfare recipients. WE are a country who has based its success with hard working people trying to reach the best of their potentials. Welfare can not be a long term solution.
The way that I view welfare is as a way to try to bring the poorest people in the country to a standard of living that gives them the ability to survive. Many people in welfare do get trapped and drain it for all that it's worth without even thinking about joining the working class. Other people try to utilize the time that they are given to acquire skills to get a job and the ability to keep a job. Many people on welfare are single parents, or young parents who are struggling to get by. These people may have made choices that have caused their monetary disposition, but they are still people and they should be treated humanely (being fed, being housed, schooling for their children, etc). The fact that welfare members are seen as free riders definitely puts welfare in a bad light, but people need to realize that these poor people, in many cases, did not live luxurious lifestyles in the beginning of their lives and then dream of being on welfare where they would have to do nothing and get paid. Many people dream of lifestyles where they work hard and make a lot of money, but instead, life paths are altered and people are thrown into lives of despair and they need monetary assistance to get out. I feel it is our duty as not only citizens, but also as fellow human beings to help these people.
I agree with many of these comments before me. I although am not an expert on welfare by any means. I have not bee around welfare growing up, and much of the aspect of welfare has not been brought up around me. I feel that welfare is looked down upon and i do think it is a shame for people who are born into welfare because their lives are set up to be less fortunate then those born into richer families as children. Talking with my roommates about this topic, we have just discussed a couple weeks ago about how some actresses and famous people are adopted into very rich and powerful families. This goes to show more how unfortunate for those who are born into welfare families how just by being adopted or being born into richer families can cause a life changing experience. It is just unfortunate that those who are no so lucky to be taken in by someone wealthy their lives are not as planned out for them.
i feel that if the state cut off welfare that would just hurt those who are using welfare. I feel that welfare is helping out those who are poor and those who are born into poorer families, because welfare is suppose to help the poor and not change their social status. I feel that social status would be affected because if those who were on welfare were no longer known as people being "On welfare" then maybe others views would be different. i feel that welfare is suppose to help those who are poor so whether they are on "welfare" or not, these people still are struggling individuals who need help paying their bills and surviving. i think social status would not really change unless there was help in the world who could help and change those poor people into no longer struggling human beings. i think status is always going to be an issue but i feel that for those on welfare there is more important things out there to worry about then what their status is in society. i feel that if i had to be on welfare i would be so consumed with trying to figure out how i am going to live and pay for my family then what status i am in society. However, it would be a great thing if changing welfare could change status in society but i think when it all comes down to it, people who are less fortunate still need help and still need ways of getting help from society who has more money so they can survive themselves and so their families can survive.
i feel that status is society is such a cliche thing, whether we are born rich or poor, we can't change who we are. Whether we are poor or rich in society on welfare or not, we all still have our family and friends to keep us going. Taking welfare away will not change the status of society it will just reduce the help that poor people get from our society.
I definitely don’t think it is a good idea to cut off welfare completely. There are people in our country who do need legitimate monetary help in order to stay alive and exist. However, I do think that there should be more of a screening process or selection process on who receives welfare. I don’t think that 100% of the people who receive welfare fully need it or deserve everything that they receive. I also think that we should establish a better monitoring system for the people who do receive welfare. There should be more of a focus of getting these people back on their feet and providing for themselves instead of just simply giving them money to keep them existing.
Cutting off welfare from those in need would probably have adverse effects. It would limit the potential for improvement of those who are in need. The results would cause more problems in the long run since the resources would either be nonexistent or severely limited. I think you are looking at welfare from the wrong perspective. Those who are on welfare or get food stamps or some other assistance like that, aren't on it because they want to, it's more of a means for survival and a way to support a family. Because of that welfare is needed to change the cycle so the next generation of those on welfare learn how to live a "normal" life without assistance. Although there are cases where people are lazy and are taking advantage of welfare for the wrong reasons.
Although I think there are people in America that abuse welfare. There is no way I would ever agree we need to get rid of it. With the economy being so bad and the unemployment rate so high, there is no way people with survive without it. After reading the book “Push” I also think that people who need welfare also abuse it but once again there is NO way we could get rid of welfare completely. People need this to eat and pay bills and this can sometimes not be done without a little extra cash. Welfare is also good for the economy, when people get money they spend it on things they need, usually; Therefore stimulating the economy. If they aren’t given the money they can’t spend it.
I think the welfare battle is a very difficult one. if we got rid of welfare all together then many people who are on it would just fall in to a bigger economic slump. It may potentially make those who are just on it for bad reasons like being lazy or unmotivated, (because im sure there are some people who have the potential to succeed and just arent trying) attempt to better themselves. it might be used as a crutch for some people similar to the unemployment payments that some people take when they are not even trying to get a job. I know personally some people who said that x y or z happened and they lost their job, but instead of going job searching they are just using that money to stay on their feet. That same principle might apply to welfare , it might motivate some people to get moving. On the other hand, those people that grew up in welfare and did not get the opportunity to go to schools with AP classes, or a good academic program will always be left behind. As sam mentioned in class those people that start out in front, stay in front and those that were in the back generally stay in the back unless some other force may act on them to help out, in this case welfare. So back to what i was aying, those poeple who grew up in bad schools werent able to go to a good college and then get a good job therefore putting themselves back in welfare. people can take this path or turn it around by working their way up from the bottom, being a janitor or something and at least make a livable salary. I dont believe that people who grew up on welfare dont have the abilities to get a job, so why dont a majority of them at least try? i say, if it can be proven that welfare is being used as a crutch it should be taken away.If it is helping those poeple that are struggling to make ends meet who have been left in the bottom due to growing up in welfare and are really trying very hard to succeed, they should reap the benefits for a few years, maybe not their whole livces, but just to get them on their feet to get good clothes for work or buy transportation of something. It definitely should be given out in moderation, just enough time to get the people who need that little boost to get the boost and begin living independantly. So in general i think that welfare is a good thing, when used in moderation and for peopel who seriously need the economic boost. if it were to be taken away, we would be able to see just how many people were using it for a crutch or how many people would begin to work harder to make their life comfortable.
IN my honest opinion, Welfare should be left out of the equation. Too many people have been using the government in a way that shouldn't. There are a lot of families on welfare at this point in time that are actually cheating the government out of its money. Not to mention the whole booming of young pregancies happening. Too many times have I seen or heard someone using welfare as their first resort and not their last. It is enabling the person to do for themselves. Of course there is the proper meaning to it, people are on welfare to get some kind of head start on their lives, and the money thay they receive is supposed to be helping them start their lives. However, most people do abuse that program. The Welafre system also turns those away who actualy need the assistance, not to mention it is aimed at a "certain" group of people. For example, my father was struggling at one point in time in his life
IN my honest opinion, Welfare should be left out of the equation. Too many people have been using the government in a way that shouldn't. There are a lot of families on welfare at this point in time that are actually cheating the government out of its money. Not to mention the whole booming of young pregancies happening. Too many times have I seen or heard someone using welfare as their first resort and not their last. It is enabling the person to do for themselves. Of course there is the proper meaning to it, people are on welfare to get some kind of head start on their lives, and the money thay they receive is supposed to be helping them start their lives. However, most people do abuse that program. The Welafre system also turns those away who actualy need the assistance, not to mention it is aimed at a "certain" group of people. For example, my father was struggling at one point in time in his life; trying to provide for the two daughters he was taking care of on his own. His job wasn't reaching his financial needs and so he decided to go to the one source he knew there was available and that was the Welfare office. They denied him plenty of times. It took months and endless proff of documentations before he could receieve any assitance. I honestly feel as though if he was a woman he would've receievd the assitance without any types of delay. Which brings me to my point of saying the people who don't deserve to be on welafre are messing it up for those who do. IN my neighborhood, some of my friends; around my age or less, will become pregnant. The first thing I ask them is, "What areyou going to do?" The first thing that comes out of their mouths, "I'm going to the Welfare office." The part about actually getting a job didn't come out of their mouths. The government is enabling these people. People are using Welfare to cheat life and not try to work hard at it. Most people are acutally comfortable with being at the bottom. That's why Welfare should be limited even more. The requirements should be more specific, and there should also be a date when a person has to get off of Welfare. There should be more boundaries and actual investigations to who can be on Welfare. And those who don't try to show the effort shouldn't be able to participate either.
Shutting down welfare completely is unthinkable, and impossible. As we know a large proportion of the people on welfare are children so by shutting down the system you would effectively be allowing many millions of children to starve to death. Welfare serves a very important purpose, and whilst changes are undoubtedly necessary, there will never be a system that suits everyone, that is the nature of welfare. However perfect the system someone will always miss out, or feel they are entitled to more, or feel they need not pay taxes to help 'x' group of people. The overall purpose of welfare is to help people to get out of it, and whilst this may not be currently happening at the required rate, canceling the system altogether would simply set the country back several decades of progress, and leave the country in a state of chaos.
I think I have touched on the topic of welfare in a previous post in the very beginning of the semester. Some people are born into welfare, yes, but that does not mean they have to follow suit and stay on welfare for the rest of their lives. There are many different issues with welfare. People do try to "cheat" the system and then their children might follow along and continue to "cheat" the system as well.
In regards to the socio economic social status, I think that welfare is looked at to be on the lower end of the spectrum (poorer people have welfare). I know some might judge others for being on welfare as being lazy or lethargic and not wanting to work and getting free money.
If we took away welfare all together this instant then I am sure chaos would rear its ugly head. It would not be fair for the children who are born into welfare, to have it taken away right away. They should be given the chance to make their own decision about whether or not they want to continue being on welfare as they grow older.
I think welfare is a very touchy subject. I myself have never been on welfare, although I do know others that have been on it. If it was mentioned around some friends of mine that they were on welfare they would be embarressed. I know some people have no shame whatsoever and could care less what people think of them and like to take advantage of the system.
Welfare could be structured in many different ways if the government would be willing to get control over it. I know that it is a project in progress and things cannot happen overnight but the welfare issue has been an ongoing problem for a while now. As for taking away welfare completely, I do not think that is a good idea in any shape way or form. I think people would probably go into shock, seeing as welfare has been around for so long. It also would be unfair to have a child born into the welfare system then they do not have the benefits once they are of a certain age. Some kids might not know anything but welfare and that would be unfair to assume that these children would be ok without the welfare.
Does anyone else think that welfare is kind of a scam to some people? Or could it be that everyone is taking advantage of the system? I do not think that every single person on welfare is scamming the system because I do know single mothers who work three jobs and still cannot support their family. But i also do know single mothers who work and spend their money on drugs and alcohol then use their welfare check for food and other necessities. I do not want people to think i am so against welfare, but I do believe that it is misused.
I don’t think about welfare issues very much, because I am fortunate enough to not be on welfare, and hopefully never will be. I feel like the perception of welfare is very negative in this country and most people that complain about it either are ill informed, or don’t have a better way to solve it. It bugs me when people continuously complain about something that is going on if they are not willing to offer a better solution and spend time implementing it. I feel that if there was a better solution to the problem, it would have been put into law. Therefore, since that has not happened, welfare is intact today because it is the best solution available at this time.
The perception of welfare is that it enables lazy people to avoid getting jobs and continue to be lazy. My eighth grade law teacher told us a statistic that only about 5% of the people receiving welfare are able bodied males, that could otherwise find work. I have an aunt who is mentally retarded, and she receives welfare. She is 45 years old, and is not mentally capable of holding a job. Not only is she not able to work to support herself, she lives in a group home that requires around the clock care. She must pay for her rent at this house, along with the staff there. She has many doctors that she must see and her health expenses must be paid for also. How can she do this if she is not able to work?
As a society, we’ve decided many years ago that we would support people like this who cannot help themselves. We all agreed that we would give up some of our money, in the form of taxes, to support those who are less fortunate than us. May aunt is one of them, so I am very thankful that America believes it is necessary to help people who are mentally disabled. When I think of welfare, these are the people that I think of. I don’t think of the select few who abuse the system and are at risk for ruining it for everyone.
What would happen to these disabled people if the welfare system did not support them? They would probably be at their parents burden for the rest of their lives. Many of these people come from homes that simply do not have the resources to care for them in the way they need to be cared for. In my family, we are my aunt’s primary care givers, beyond what the government gives her. If my parents did not give her additional money, she wouldn’t be able to buy adequate clothes, personal products, or any entertainment.
I think if we got rid of the welfare system, it would only stand to “light a fire under” a few people’s butts, but tragically hurt the majority of people who actually do need it.
Like most people have said, I do not really know much about welfare. However I do remember Sam saying that most of it goes to children. So I do not really think that we could get rid of welfare. It really is not the children’s fault. But at the same time you have adults who like to stay on welfare their entire lives and just never have to do anything. No matter what is done there will be a problem. I think that getting rid of it will essentially cause more problems down the road for these children, but maybe something else could be thought of to stop adults from just riding on welfare checks their entire lives.
If our government eliminated welfare all together it probably would cause a lot more problems in the system. And I'm sure the government has other issues to be working out right now. I personally feel that welfare should be related. I understand many individuals are born into the welfare system and can not help it but I feel that the government should set up a program to help get these people back on their feet. I think I am so against welfare because I have grown up to see my parents and family members work forty hours a week. My dad owns his own business and as the economy as gotten bad I see my dad working more hours a day and working weekends. I respect hard work and my parents made me get a job right when i turned 16. I feel that parents should instill this characteristic into their children at an early age. At the age of 16 I got a job at a local grocery store back at home. I have seen a numerous amounts of different people during those years. But, the one thing that gets on my nerves so bad is when people who are on food stamps buy the most expensive steak on the shelf. Then after they purchase all this luxurious food they then proceed to order cigerattes. I don't know for some reason this gets on my nerves so bad.
i think that the whole issue with welfare shouldn’t just be about completely eliminating welfare or just keeping welfare. Im sure there are people who absolutely need the welfare program, but there are also those people who abuse the system and I feel like if there were some kind of oversight over it that would keep people from abusing the system it would have us in a better position than we are today. I think that there should be requirements into receiving welfare instead of just sitting around and not doing anything productive with their lives except cashing in the checks that they receive. otherwise the problem will just keep happening over and over again.
This is a very thought provoking question. Personally, I think that taking away welfare completely would cause even more problems in our country than we already have now. I think that welfare should only be thought of as a temporary solution. It should only be assistance to help people get through hard times until they are able to stand on their own two feet. If welfare is taken away, the people who really need the assistance will most probably wind up on the streets. Furthermore, in many circumstances, taking away welfare will affect children as well. How can you take welfare away from a mother who is using the money to feed her child and keep a roof over her head.
However, I feel that the system can easily be taken advantage of. If people on welfare are happy or okay with living on welfare, and know that they will keep receiving it, they might not even try to become independent. This raises the question of whether or not taking away welfare will encourage and motivate people more to go out and find a job. However, what happens when a hundred-and-ten percent effort is being made by a person, but that person still cannot land a job. There seems to be no answer! We need to come up with a way to improve the distribution of welfare to weed out those who think of it as “free money”. Getting rid of it completely is not the answer though.
I personally know someone on welfare. For years she has been on and off welfare. I know that she would much rather have a job and work for her money. She is ashamed to be on welfare but knows that the alternative is much, much worse. The thought of taking welfare away from this woman completely, scares me.
With regard to social status, I think that cutting off welfare will definitely increase the amount of people in the country living in poverty. Welfare eliminates a lot of the degrading differences that can be seen by others in society. Welfare allows people who cannot support themselves to somewhat “blend in”; subsequently they are generally accepted by society on a day to day basis. Without welfare, many people in society would be sleeping on the streets, and digging through trash to get food to eat.
Welfare puts people in better situations and allows them to function somewhat normally in society. Despite this, the conditions that people on welfare live in are still not ideal. In order to better the conditions that people on welfare live in, these people need to find jobs. People’s social statuses becomes higher when they are working and receiving higher income.
Of course it makes me mad to know that there are people out there who cheat the welfare system. Nonetheless, I feel better thinking about those who desperately need assistance, and are able to get it from the government.
I think welfare is and was created to keep the economy balanced and keep a balance between consumers and producers. When we are in an economic slump people usually do not spend very much money and in turn businesses and corporations that make many of consumer consumption will suffer. That’s why the government has programs in place like social security, welfare, minimum wage, unemployment, among others. These programs are relatively static and inelastic except for social security which seems to be depleting as time goes on. These programs are very important in keeping our economy stable if they were not in place then in a tough economic time like we have now middle class would shift to lower class and the lower class would shift to the lowest class with the upper class being relatively unaffected. This money from the government is pumped into our economy for a purpose and whether or not our economy is doing well there will always be a minimum wage and welfare.
I do not know if it is necessarily a good thing but I know if protects us from having a huge great depressions although some argue we are approaching one. Another way of looking at it is that poor people that collect welfare have little motivation to go out into the real world and get a job. I think that can be true because it is like a security blanket knowing that you have money for your next meal, not glorifying unemployment because I know it is not a lot money. But lets face it, it is very tough for a low class person collecting welfare to turn around their life and get a well paying job in today’s world. Most jobs come from a connection or networking and most companies would be hesitant to hire someone with a lower class tract record. That is why affirmative action is in place. It is sometimes the only opportunity they get. Overall I think people are most motivated by dignity. Poor people do not want their neighbors to be paying for their health care and other people’s tax dollars to be paying for their food. They feel a sense of dignity from human nature to know whether or not they earned something or deserve it and I think we need to emphasize that when it comes to the motivation of lower class citizens. Sometimes they need to be thrown out of their comfort zone to compete in today’s world.
Overall I think welfare has pros and cons, the pros is that it helps keep the economy stable for everyone but a con is that it can cause lower class citizens to lose motivation. Although everyone is different that seems to be the main point.
I think there could be many benefits and many negatives to shutting down the welfare program, but overall, I think it would be a pretty bad idea. I say benefits because I think a lot of identifying with poor socioeconomic status comes from whether a person is on welfare or not, and that seems like welfare just stamps an unwarranted label on someone’s forehead that they need special treatment. Also, I think sometimes people who are on welfare are more likely to rely on it more heavily for money to buy food and other necessities, and might be less likely to venture out and find that job and find those means to get ahead in the economic world. However, I think getting rid of it would be a bad idea too, because the job of the government is to help out the citizens who they represent. What would happen to those who really, seriously, could not afford food and clothing on their own? This might drive more to go out and work harder to make more money, but in reality , society doesn’t work that way . When you’re down, you’re more likely to stay down. The welfare program needs to find that happy medium where they can provide for those who qualify and need it, educate those who are on it about getting ahead and saving, but it shouldn’t ever be used as a crutch.
If we would just stop the welfare program all together there would definitely be major problems later in our society. Many people and their families would be struggling to get through each day… more than they already do. For most people it takes them a lot of courage to come out and say they need financial help. After they have the strength to ask for help the welfare program really does help them out. If we would take this beneficial program away then these people would be left out to dry. They would be in a very bad situation. However, I do not agree with getting rid of the welfare program all together, I am for improving this program. There are too many people out there that take this beneficial program for granted. The individuals who do have jobs, but get paid under the table do not report this money. This would then allow them to qualify for welfare. Each month when they get their money from the state they use it for ‘luxury’ things instead of their necessities. Although, this is just some of the people out there, the other side of this program is great! Welfare provides food stamps and money each month for families to get by. In addition, child care is provided for those who are qualified. Therefore, this program is allowing individuals to work even though they have to care for their children. This program also does encourage individuals to get back out there and get a job. I think that the best way to implement welfare is to encourage, and help, people to get on their feet and obtain jobs that can support their families. You know the saying, give a man a fish you have fed him a day, but teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime? I think that is a good way to look at welfare. Maybe give them a fish, or a few paychecks in this case, to help them out, but if you can teach them to fish, or earn their own paychecks, then they, along with society, will be better off in the long run. This is not something that can happen over night, nor is it something that can work for everyone, but I think that it should be a long term goal of the welfare program. It is so tough to say, because there are some people who are on welfare who I am sure hate the fact that they are on welfare, and would do anything to earn their own incomes and are truly trying to do so. But there are also people out there who are perfectly content with where they are. They have food, shelter and some money, so why would they need to go get a job? All in all, I think welfare is a necessity, and it is a good program that cannot be done away with, however, I feel that some sort of programs to get people back to work would be beneficial.
I think if we got rid of welfare things would be more chaos then it is now. I feel that people do take advantage of being on welfare though. I think people should only have to go to on welfare when they really need it, not because they are “lazy.” I don’t really think it’s a legitimate way to get food and everything else. I feel like people use welfare as an excuse, not a way to provide for their family if they cant receive a job do to whatever the bad circumstances are. I just feel like people in the United States can work around being on welfare.
i do not think it is possible to cut off welfare. These type of people need some sort of income and with the way the economy is today, if they cut off welfare, where are these people going to find jobs? there would be a lot of people out on the streets and it was cause major problems and i believe even the crime rate would go up. They should not do this just for the fact that some of these families need to provide for their children and that if you cut off their parents it affects their children as well. I do not believe this will happen because everyone already knows what will happen.
I think this is a very interesting and pertinent question. I have always been curious about this myself. I am not sure what other countries have implemented not having a welfare program. In my personal opinion, I think a country could be perfectly sustainable without welfare. People who fall down on their luck might have to work a little harder to make sure that does not happen to them or they might make sure that they create savings for a period when they might not be unemployed.
However, the argument could be made that welfare is needed to help those who are in need. There are some people who are at the bottom and have no way of getting up without the welfare. Sometimes we hear that people are abusing welfare and are using it to pay for their cable bill. These are people who obviously do not need welfare but are abusing the system and of course it is made public.
Social programs, if implemented correctly, can be beneficial to society. But we hear the negatives often because there are many who are opposed to this. They can benefit people who need the assistance. These people who benefit from the programs greatly appreciate the assistance.
I think that the welfare program was first established to be a short term solution for people who are going through hardships. It was not designed to enable people to get used to living on the small amount of money, and keeping the poor poor. Instead of being a short term crutch, people have used this money as their means to live on. They should instead be using it to get resources they need to find a job, which would be the long term solution to their problem.
Overall it is difficult for me to decide if we should do away with welfare, though, because I’ve fortunately never been in a situation where I had to depend on the government or someone else for my survival. I’m sure many of the people that receive welfare use it in the way that it is intended for, so it would really be a shame to take that away from these people. I read a statistic from an earlier blog post that stated that only 5% of the welfare beneficiaries are able-bodied males. There is this preconceived notion that people who get welfare have the ability to work, but choose instead to get “free money” from the government to live off of. Statistically this is not the case. I think instead of posing the question of if we should get rid of welfare or not, or if welfare is a positive part of our society, we should ask how we can improve the existing system so that we are helping those who truly need help, and helping them by pushing them to find a better long term solution to stop the cycle.
I think a lot of people do misuse to welfare system and are more likely to be on welfare if they are born into the system. Also, you see people with food stamps in the grocery store but somehow they have perfectly manicured nails…funny how that is. The problem is that there are people who are born into poverty and try everything to better their standard of living, but many are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, unemployed, single-mothers with multiple children. That is why the welfare system has implemented many restrictions in the last 10 or so years such as the recipients have to be looking for a job and cannot get money and aid for more than a set number of years and only one time in their life. At this point, I do not think there is a way to completely eliminate the welfare system but there is a lot that can be done to continue to improve it and limit the amount of money that is going to families and the total amount of money used in the welfare system.
While the welfare system may have a ways to go in the terms of efficiency and how the standards on which it is allocated, I do not think we should eliminate it from the country altogether. There are some people in the United States that actually need welfare to survive and there are others that simply abuse the system. After reading some other blog posts about how welfare should be ended, I think it is very easy to simply say we don’t need welfare since WE don’t use it. Do some people abuse the system? Absolutely, but some people actually do need welfare to survive. Being someone that doesn’t receive welfare, it could be very easy for me to say that I do not think our country needs it. However, for every person that cheats the system, there are probably five more that actually benefits from welfare. Some people act like welfare is providing this perpetual stream of sizable income that is letting them live home in luxurious lives without working. This is not the case, and as Sam said, most of the people that receive welfare are children. How can someone justify taking away something that benefits people who don’t even have a say in their upbringing? Also, how can people make the generalization that if these children are raised on welfare, they will continue to take advantage of it for the rest of their lives? These are huge assumptions.
What our country really needs is a different way of allocating welfare or investigating the people that do receive it. Realistically, this may not be feasible in terms of costs and time, but if people see a problem with it, they must come up with a better solution than simply getting rid of it. Just recently, I heard of someone in my area that collected welfare because of the way they claimed their income, and this infuriated me. Here they are, a middle/upper-middle class family that is getting food stamps for their children’s lunches that they can absolutely afford and there are families that can barely afford basic living expenses. This example is why everyone assumes people take advantage of welfare. I don’t have a solution but there needs to be some kind of middle ground that can be reached upon in order to have a fair system that can still provide for the needs of the people that actually need help surviving. I don’t believe that it is okay for people to simply live off welfare but in our country’s current situation, there are people with bachelor’s and master’s degrees without jobs, so how can people without any higher level education expect to be employed somewhere that is paying enough to support themselves and a family? Nothing is ever going to be perfect, and people will always criticize things that aren’t benefiting them, but we should really sit back and look at the good welfare does for our country, rather than the bad.
I have actually thought about this before, I always have wondered like what makes someone eligible for welfare and why the government lets people who are most of the time lazy go on welfare. I mean I obviously now know what it takes to be put on welfare from like a financial stand point but some people that are on welfare in my opinion are just working out to beat the system and in some cases they have. Some people are just determined to have kids and go on welfare, because I believe that you need to have kids to be on welfare, while others desperately need welfare in order to support their family. In some other cases some people who could really use welfare don't go on it because they have too much pride and they don't want to be another welfare case. But I think if we got rid of welfare it would probably make a noticeable difference. By that I mean I think people will use their potential more and go out and try to make something of themselves because they will no longer have welfare to fall back on and maybe people will be smarter about what children they bring in the world because they wont have welfare to support them. I think that it will increase the amount of people who are homeless and more people will be in poverty. I also think that the crime rate will increase because people will need to support themselves or there family some way if they don't have welfare to fall back on and can't get work. So with "survival of the fitess" in mind I do believe that people will start robbing others and maybe selling drugs in order to provide for themselves and family. There will probably be more prostitutes and pimps so that women can support for their kids if there is no father figure or no one to help support them. I think that although some people abuse welfare and use it to their advantage because they are lazy and not actually in serious need of it because they are trying to make a life for themselves, for them and other people that actually need it and use it, there could be something seriously out of control and the people who use welfare but that wont be able to have it make have to look at alternatives for survival and they may not be the best way to make a life for themselves and their family, but will be the best way that they know how and that could make our world crazy. If people are stealing and selling drugs are crime rates will go up and it will be terrible for our society as if it is not already bad. But in my opinion although welfare can and has been abused it is a good thing, because it helps a lot of people who need it and keep alternative ways to get money that may lead our society into the crapper down.
I think that removing the welfare system would be both good and bad. On the positive note, it would eliminate the problem of people that abuse the system, thinking that having a kid is just one check per month and the more children then the more checks would come in. However there is another perspective. If you take away the welfare system the people that genuinley need it may fall off the map. Without some sort of income people will die. That would definaltey increase the problem we face as Americans, both looking at it from a moral standpoint, and an economic one.
Welfare is something that I am certainly no expert on. I see its purpose in society and I see the problems that are associated with it as well. People certainly abuse the welfare system. That cannot be denied. But I think that eliminating welfare in this country completely would be a disaster. There are children and families who are dependent on this and we can't simply pull that support away from them without any thought. I think that the system could be reworked to provide support to families while honestly helping them get equipped and prepared to work in the world and support themselves. This way we could help eliminate the need and people would not abuse the system as much as they do now.
Being an employee at a WalMart back home, I’ve encountered many people who use the welfare system to get assistance for their families. While there are some people who use systems like WIC and ACCESS to benefit their low income families, I know there’s also a large portion of people who abuse these monies in hopes of a free ride through life. I think shutting down the welfare system entirely would be very detrimental. It may be a good way to save some of the government’s money, but it’s also putting people who really can’t afford their family’s health insurance or their month’s groceries into an even worse situation than they’re already in. I don’t agree, however, how the welfare system is currently being run. Mothers continuously have kids, without a care of who the father is, simply to keep getting free government money. These children aren’t being put on an equal pedestal with their “richer peers,” they’re simply learning to abuse the system and to not respect the usefulness of money.
Welfare as I beleive is something that can go either way. It can either be a positive thing or a negative thing depending on it's use. I believe that the United States should not abandon the welfare program. Since there are individuals out there that really needs its support. One of the problems I think that we have with the welfare system is that there are so many people that cheat and lie and get away with it. If the people that are on welfare are watched and screened more closely before they go on welfare as well as while they are on welfare maybe we would not have as many problems. There are some people that are on welfare and they find new jobs that are off of the books so to the government it seems like they still need assistance however in reality they no longer need welfare assistance. This is not fair because they are cheating everyone else. Welfare should be strictly for the people that truly do need it and it should only be for a very brief amount of time. Some people become so dependent on welfare that they forget the point of it, which is it meant to get you back into the working world and find a home of their own for them and their families. If the government stops providing people with welfare then, more people will become homeless, have less money, have no jobs, and there will be more people with an even later start in the race. Then the government will complain how we as citizens are not doing our part, or how they just have to rescue us. I wish they would make up their minds. As far social class goes, it seems that welfare will always mean you are poor. And even if they take it away, those who use will still be poor, mediocre, and looked down upon. Those in the middle class will continue to get taxed more and more, while working hard just to get the little money they do, and the rich will continue to get richer. Welfare should be based on a system of effort. Weekly or monthly checks should be made on the individuals receiving welfare. If they are making an effort to find or keep a job, then they should have a maintained or increasing welfare until they qualify to leave the welfare system. However, if their progress digresses and they start to take advantage by quitting their job or some other factor, then their welfare should decrease. Of course there are exceptions to these rules. Such as disabilities, medical reasons, car accidents, etc. In the end welfare can be a very thing to our society if used the right right.
I believe that getting rid of welfare will not help this country at all. What i think would happen is that all the people who rely on welfare to get by day by day will result to crime to make the money that they used to get from welfare. Because the people who are usually are on welfare are people who come from poor area mostly urban areas who are surrounded by crime and drugs. So they will get drawn into the fast money of selling drugs and this will create more crime nationwide. Getting rid of welfare is not something that im for and i doubt that i will ever be. Because i know people who are on welfare. And these people are good people who just didn't have the opportunities that people like us penn state students had. And they rely very heavily on that monthly welfare check to feed there kids and themselves. And they are people who live in pretty poor neighborhoods in NYC. Ive been to where they live and its no joke. The elevators smell like piss and there graffiti all over every inch of the hallway walls and you can smell marijuana throughout the whole building. And the worst part of it all is the people who hang around these buildings. Who are selling drugs and just looking to get into some type of trouble. The people who live in these buildings don't even let there kids out to play because there scared that they could get shot, stabbed, mugged or even taken. I have to admit that even i am scared to walk around in these neighborhoods. and these people having it hard enough because they have to live under these conditions, would not know what to do it they didn't get that little check that they get every month that gives them a sense of relief. I don't think that getting rid of welfare will help in anyway. It would definitely just worsen the situation. I believe that the US has to find a way to get more jobs in this country so that these people on welfare can find get better paying jobs so that they wont have to be on welfare. This would really be the only sure way to make the economic problem in this country disappear. But until this happens welfare must not be taken away from these people who rely heavily on that monthly check. Because if that gets taken away from them then they will most likely end up turning to criminal behavior to make up for the extra income they will be missing out on from the welfare check. And the last thing this country needs is more criminals!
Sometimes I think that we should get rid of welfare and other times I don’t. I am kind of torn between the issue. My father was raised on welfare when he was a child and grew up to be a successful businessman. I suppose this is not a statistical norm. I think that it’s a very cushy system and once you are basically helped you are in a position to most likely stay on welfare for the rest of your life because it is easy. I think instead of getting rid of it, the system of welfare should be set up differently so it isn’t abused. Well fare works when it is used appropriately but let’s face it; it is not always used in the way that it is intended to be used. The system is flawed and needs to be fixed.
It bothers me to hear people say that most people on welfare are lazy and don’t want to work. As Sam said in class, most of the recipients of welfare are children so they clearly cannot be labeled as lazy. The word “lazy” is thrown around so much when it comes to welfare and it truly bothers me! I’m first generation American and when my mother came from Africa she fought to establish herself in society. Even though we were not always wealthy, we never relied on welfare or any government assistance so I’m not an expert on this topic. I brought this up to say that one reason why my mother was able to succeed in this country after a while was because she was never exposed to the stigma of being a minority in this society. Granted there are white people that benefit from welfare but welfare is almost always associated with people of color. I think its so easy for people to say that welfare recipients are lazy just because there are a few people who abuse the system. People abuse EVERY single system that are government has in place so to pinpoint welfare just seems a little ridiculous to me. Also if people are being so “LAZY” then why was our unemployment rate so low prior to the recession? Welfare is NOT a system that has people living in luxurious places for free. Welfare really only gives you enough money just to survive so its not like there is really much room to grow when you only have the basics. The system is far more complex they people think and there are very different services that are provided such as, unemployment or disability benefits and social insurance. Social insurance would include Social Security and Medicare, which are things that many Americans not just the poor depend on.
I look at welfare as a system that was set in place to basically shut poor people of for a while so that the government doesn’t have to address the real problems with our society. If you want people to stop being “lazy” and make something of themselves then there needs to be something done with the system. People aren’t going to be able to get good jobs to support their families if they don’t even have a good enough education to meet the requirements. How about putting school books in poor neighborhoods so they can get a quality education? The government could also try to work on the minimum wage so that the people who do have a steady job can afford to live without government assistance Also, the United States is not the only country to have a welfare system in place so this obviously something that is important to other countries as well.
When some people think of welfare they think of people being poor. Welfare is initially designed to help the less fortunate. The people on welfare don't feel inferior to those that are not receiving public assistance. I do know from personal experience that it helps with health coverage, school supplies, monthly food and also provides stability for those who need the extra push. Without welfare I feel that alot of people will be struggling and our homeless rates would go up. Even our crime rates because some will resort to robbing others to feed themselves and there families.
Providing public assistance for those in need was a good intervention to keep people on track. Public assistance helps families all over the country. Best of all they provide meals for babies and guarantees health coverage for the young mothers. Welfare is not a pitty charity for the less fortunate but a successful program that help people eat and stay off the streets. I give my full support to this program and hope that its able to stick around.
Welfare is not the worst thing in the world if you give it a try. Its the reputation that society gives it.
If there was no welfare available all the lazy people who find an excuse not to get up and go to work would be forced to make ends meet or else live on the street. I think welfare should only be given to certain people for a limited time. For examplle young females who have babies and are enrolled in school, etc. people who actually NEED assistence should be given cash. It is not fair that taxes should be taken out of my check to provide lazy people with money. It makes no sense, sometimes I do not understand this country and their methods of finding soultions to problems. In order for the discontinuation of welfare to take place jobs must be found for people who are capable of working. young people should be urged to attend school, any school whether it is a tech, trade, or 2year, or university. instead of giving them pocket money and money fo food require that they attend school and pay for childcare. that would be much better. the requirements should be limited. The government is just taking money out of our pockets for lazy people, who had the choice to make a better life for themselves but did not. Do not be comfortable on government assistence.
Welfare is kind of a tricky topic in America, as many people don’t know too much about the actual laws and implications of welfare economics. They only know about popular arguments, which are powerful in shaping people’s minds, but worthless among academics. Anyway, for my own benefit on my economics exams, I will explain welfare through the mind of an economist.
In America, if there were no welfare, there would be an increase in the supply of labor as people who are not working, because they previously received money from the tax payers of their fellow Americans, must now work. Because there would be an increase in the labor supply, the real wage of Americans would decrease, especially in industries which require little skill, as these would most likely be the areas in which people on welfare would be able to work. The wage of Americans would decrease because an increase in labor supply will only match an employer’s (or an economy’s) labor demand IF the employer can pay the workers a lower amount of wage than they were paying their workers before the increase the labor supply. This is because of the idea in which “there are too many cooks in the kitchen.” There is a decrease in the marginal benefit of labor as the quantity of labor increases so that it may be inefficient for a company to hire more workers.
Anyway, so that’s one thing that would happen. There would be an increase in labor supply and a decrease in wages. Many people would then have a lower quality of life than they are having now because there would be more of a supply for their job. Additionally, there may be people who would be on welfare if it were available, and who wouldn’t want to join the labor force at all, so they would be homeless, may result to crime and be bad parents.
IN reality though, most of the people benefitting from welfare are children, and they wouldn’t really affect the workforce anyway.
If there were no welfare, I would assume that there would be a decrease in taxes. Here is the federal budget for 2010.http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/welfare_budge... Apparently, welfare pays for families’ and children’s’ “Food and nutrition assistance, Assistance and Subsidies, Public Welfare, Federal Categorical Assistance Programs, Public Welfare, Cash Assistance Programs, unemployment and housing.” In 2009, the federal state and local governments collectively paid 589.2 billion dollars for welfare. Ideally, if taxpayers were to keep the money and not give it to taxes, business would spend it on capital ventures to increase the labor demand and could in fact hire the people formerly on welfare. And, ideally, American families would spend their money so that they would also be helping businesses grow.
In classical economics, there is an idea is that markets will clear if the government does not mess with people’s incentives. There is an idea that supply will equal demand in the goods and services markets and in the labor markets. However, classical economics has never been able to explain unemployment, and today classical economists are having a hard time explaining why the unemployment rate is 9%.
If we did live in a world though, where there were no welfare and no government interference and unemployment, then ideally people would become a little bit more responsible. They would stop having premarital or unprotected sex and stop having babies when they aren’t ready to pay to support them. Of course, people aren’t like that. India is a prime example. They don’t have welfare, but people are having babies over there like there is no tomorrow, aka one baby is born every two seconds.
Overall, the welfare system in America is pretty effective at making people work if you’re an adult. You don’t get a blank check. You get subsidies. So if you have a kid and you work and send the kid to childcare in the day; you give the bill to the government and they pay it. That way you have to go to work to get the subsidy for your kid.
And if you’re a kid, while it is annoying that society has to pay for the fact that your parents didn’t think about ways to support you before they boned, we’d rather have you on welfare than starving and doing stupid things to find ways to survive.
Ok, I am gonna voice in on this matter. And my words come from an individual who was on the welfare system and saw all sorts of stuff going on that if all other hard-working tax-paying Americans saw, they would be going absolutely nuts!!!
First off, I am a single, white, custodial, father of two children… and the fact we are white, is where our problems started with the welfare / DTA system. We also live with my parents in a rural area, with no access to public transportation (enter geographical discrimination)
I had a job, and worked everyday, until shortly after I got custody of my children, and their mom started playing games, and I was let go. Then denied unemployment benifits, because my employer told them that I had quit??!!
From then I could not find any work, anywhere that was going to be flexible enough with my having the children and any that were paid horrible and to say "hire a baby-sitter" is void because baby-sitters would be charging more than I made per hr. Sooo.. moving on
I figured I should go to school for something to get myself into a better position to provide / support my children and I. Everyone told me "go to welfare they will send you to school"
So I went, and the first day I was told "There's no more section 8 so dont even bother trying" (which I found years later was #1 a lie and #2 obviously section 8 should not even been mentioned to me at the DTA office?
They said I can go to school for whatever I wanted and said "What do you want to go to school for?" I replied "What do you have?"
The answer = "Nursing, Secretarial.. or if you really want.. Hair-dressing" ??!!
Well, I was hoping to go for Some sort of Art / Illustration type schooling, having an artistic background as well as having attended a Commercial Art course at a vocational High School (and graduated) No deal
So now, I was sent to a career center to do "job searching" and take "workshops" on how to get a job.. What an absolute joke!!!
Not one single female in that place ever did anything to do with job searching.. and, they were ALL let go after lunch and never came back (EVERYDAY)!!! And the policy was "When you're here, you're here… When you're not here.. you're still here" ???!!! (can you say federal fraud??)
Every ethnic female I spoke with was getting 3 times more in assistance for cash / food etc than I was.. most were getting 3 times the amount for on kid, compared to my 2 kids??!!
And let me tell you… the majority of people in my area on welfare are specifically Hispanic/Latino women! And they are living better than people like my parents who have worked hard all their lives to get what they have, and now struggling to keep it all and these girls get it all (and more) for absolutely FREE and they dont have to do ANYTHING except be a Hispanic/Latino Single Mommie!!!
And it is very true… they can increase their benefits by just simply having more kids ! So dont tell me that is a farse because I KNOW THE FACTS!!!
When eventually I was told you have to get a job, any job and you can keep your benies… I went to a carpet store and got work as a sub-contractor, carpet installer. Having my children on my own I could only work certain times.. well I produced 2 pay checks to DTA for $200 each (before self-employment tax) and I also had to pay $50 per week for worker's comp insurance (which I cold not even collect on) to be able to work out of this store.. and I was told "Oh you make quite good money" by a gentleman who could barely even speak English and my children and I were instantly dropped from all assistance and when I begged and pleaded with this man he told me I could not get nor apply for ANYTHING for the next 5 years??!!
Come to find out now 2 years after that.. we were eligible for food stamps all along??!! (but this guy still has his job??)
I am since still unable to find employment, have no vehicle, no way to make $, no way to support my children and DTA/WELFARE does NOT CARE.. because simply.. we are not Hispanic/Latino and I am not a female!!!!!
I have NEVER seen a Hispanic/Latino single mommie got to welfare/DTA and have their lives spiral down a black hole??!! In fact most live the life of luxery and not in just run-down apt.. Many I know personally live in brand new condos, dont work, have 2-3 kids each from a diff man who is nowhere to be found, have repeadted new boyfriends living with them, go out every weekend dancing / clubbing, some have gotten completely free NICE CARS and nice cell phones with unlimited service they get free utilities, free food, fre $$$, free healthcare, free clothing.. they all have 1-2 big LCD tvs, nice furniture, NICE EVERYTHING and their kids are always dressed in the most expensive nicest clother ever way better than my poor kids.. and they have the phones too and the PSPs…. etc…
So tell me what's wrong with this picture???
Dare to challenge me on any of this!!!
Although welfare sometimes gets a bad rap, it is a necessity in our country. It is a great program for people who do not have the means to support themselves and/or their families. The problem is that many people abuse it. People just want the east paychecks, and choose not to go out to look for a job. This is robbing much more deserving people of what they need. It is very sad that people are that selfish and lazy, but unfortunately it is just a fact of life in this country. There are always going to be people like that. But back to the main question, I do not think that it would be smart to discontinue welfare. Welfare provides much needed assistance to the poor and needy. It allows them to buy food, clothing, and all other essentials that they would normally have no other way of getting. The most affected would be children. They did nothing to get into the position of being poor. They were born into it and can do absolutely nothing about it. It would be a crime to strip these kids of the already bare minimum that they are receiving. Millions of people are starving in our country everyday because they do not have enough money to buy food. This number would only grow if welfare was to be taken away. Therefore, welfare should definitely not be removed as a program. If anything, it should be revised. I think that it should be more heavily monitored and have stricter regulations. Too many people take advantage of a great program that is set up to help the needy in our country. You should have to give proof that you are out searching and applying for jobs, and making a true effort to get yourself set up and on your feet. It is only fair to everyone else who desperately needs welfare.
As far as social status goes, I think there would be some changes. While today, being on welfare is seen as having a low social status, people would be even poorer and have lower status if there was no welfare. Many people would be homeless out on the street because they would have no other options. They would have no job, no source of income, and nowhere to go. It would really put people in a bad situation and I think it would be a terrible decision by the government if they were to get rid of welfare. Not everyone is fortunate enough in life to have the means to take care of themselves, and it is the duty of a country to take care of all its people. Welfare definitely needs to stay.
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I personally feel that if welfare were to be taken away from people that would cause more problems than the ones that we currently have in our country. Welfare is a helpful thing for people and that is why it is still in place. I also feel that it wouldn’t matter in the trying to change other’s view of people. I feel that they use the fact that the people who are on welfare are on welfare to use a categorizing character or a easy way o0f picking on others. I think that if it were taken away that the people who are making it a issue would just find another way of making the a distinction among the levels in society. The status of the country would be affected because this would change a lot of things for many groups of people and I believe that this would bring on many more serious problems such as a higher crime rate as a nation. There are many people that do abuse the system but what about the people that are actually in extreme need of the help welfare offers them. I feel that if this were to be done it would just be another form or example of “The Man”, which is the people in power or the majority, oppressing the minority. I don’t see a reason of even thinking about getting rid of it. I could see a reason to think about working on the issues it has, to make things better for both the people in power and the people benefiting from the help. By finding a way to better these things I could see it helping others and maybe even getting them off of welfare. Things that can be done would be having programs to teach the people on welfare ways of maybe getting off of it. This would help separate or minimize the separation in levels in society..
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I think it would be complete crap if we cut welfare while rich people are getting tax breaks and while the middle class is getting taxed in a way that impacts them way more. I think the nature of our capitalistic society makes it necessary for the government to have plans in place to help those in need, especially since our society is imperfect with factors like prejudice and nepotism affecting social status and class in society. Until we’re all on an even playing field and have the same opportunities then there’s no way we’ll be able to do away with welfare programs.
Of course as with all programs there is a chance to take advantage of the system or to get stuck, but that’s for those who don’t really try in my opinion. It’s not fair to punish those who actually benefit from welfare in the short-term for the abuse of others.
Personally if it weren’t for welfare then I can honestly say that my family and I would not be where we are today. My mother and father emigrated from their homelands (Algeria and Bangladesh) and after living in Canada eventually settled in America before having my two siblings and me. They split and my mom was left to raise us 3 kids alone. Despite the fact that she had TWO masters degrees from Purdue University and New Castle Upon Tyne she was rejected from the most menial jobs for being “overqualified”. How can someone be “overqualified” for a job? If anything an employer should graciously hire them since they’d clearly be a great addition to their team. Because my mom was Muslim and wore the traditional hijab (Muslim headdress for women) no one in our predominantly white rural town in Indiana wanted to hire her. Being a single mom of 3 young kids she couldn’t let us starve and so she went on welfare. Getting food stamps, free lunch at school, and Medicaid were vital in our survival. My mom wasn’t one of those people to just sit around, she was still working as a permanent substitute teacher all the while. Of course this job alone wasn’t enough to support all four of us but she couldn’t afford to work more because she had no one to take care of us.
Eventually my mom got a better job in Maryland so we moved, but we still had to stay on welfare for a bit until she was able to get a better job in the wealthy (and diverse) Montgomery County, MD. I can’t even imagine where we would be now if the welfare system wasn’t there to help support us when we needed it. I think this is a pretty good case of how prejudice was the reason our family wasn’t able to better themselves. It’s complete crap because I know damn well that if it were a white man or maybe even a white woman who was applying for any of the jobs my mom did, with her qualifications, they would have been hired.
That’s why we NEED welfare….because we live in an imperfect society where those who are the poorest often are because of things outside of their control. People always blame others’ choices for their positions in society, but I really don’t think my mom’s choices of getting two graduate degrees were the reason she couldn’t make money.
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As a kid I lived on welfare for a while when my parents lost their jobs and found that many of the people on it simply needed time and resources to get to a level where they no longer needed the help. so to get rid of welfare for me is a horrible idea because we don't give the options to people on welfare that they need to get settled and off it. not that people don't abuse the system but we need to make it so the system helps with more than just food and housing we need to fund schooling for jobs and making these services mandatory, because if you lost a job you basically grew up doing what is there for you to do latter? welfare has such a negative connotation that people on it feel low extremely low, but we don't treat them as people who deserve respect or teach them to remember that they can do whatever they want. if we help these people with job and self esteem issues then maybe we could limit or even abolish the multi-generational welfare issue. I think that people who were raised to believe that they can achieve better than their parents do. that is the lesson we need to help the people on welfare that they can and will be able to improve their lives if they want with help from the system, this is something the system doesn't really do well and so we have the issue of multi-generational welfare families. welfare is necessary to aid the people who have been struck down by circumstances beyond their control, so I support the system just not the implementation of the system.
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I feel like I should preface this by saying that I by no means have a great understanding of the welfare system or the inner workings of it. This happens to be my humble opinion of what would happen if we chose to abandon the welfare system. Should you get rid of welfare altogether, there would be a massive wave of homelessness across the United States. This is just because the economy at this stage would not be immediately able to handle the amount of people that would have to find employment. However, the money used for welfare eventually would get poured into jobs and hopefully at equilibrium everyone could find employment. While this does give more opportunity for advancement for children born into the system, it also has a few problems associated with it. The first is that there is no safety net in case someone gets screwed by the system, which inevitably will occur. The other problem is that as opposed to now when a common misconception about being on welfare is that you are lazy and cannot get a job if you are on welfare. Eliminating the welfare system I feel would give a certain incorrect but sort of implied validity to the statement more, and may not necessarily directly affect the class system, but it will definitely convince people that the struggle isn’t worth learning about. Another point that I feel needs to be brought up is the issue of the welfare system being better than actual jobs. I know this is a point of contention, but even if this isn’t true, no one can dispute whether or not the gap is too small. There should be a large difference between minimum wage at a full time job and the money gotten on welfare. If this happens, there will be an actual incentive to leave the welfare system behind because it will blatantly be too ineffective compared to a normal job to support someone. I think the whole generational wealth thing would remain for the most part unaffected by the elimination of welfare, but it at least could give people a fighting chance to get ahead. It’s pretty universally agreed that the current system keeps way to many people in it. You are never going to start out rich if your parents were poor, and even if you make it big you still have a lot of ground to cover to make up the difference. However, if they money spent on welfare let you get a job at a young age and you had an opportunity for advancement, then you have a chance to work your butt off and hopefully catch a break, which you would not have had when the system was in place before.
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Thats an interesting question. Although welfare benefits underprivileged population, the system is abused by many. Welfare is one of the tools of balancing social inequality that we are born with. If people decide they will take advantage of the system and stay in welfare for their life, the purpose of welfare wasn't met. The government should have better programs in monitoring welfare so that children that really need the support get it. It is unfair for tax payers to pay for citizens that are capable of working and earning a decent salary. If welfare was eliminated, more and more people would be tempted to commit crime, which would deteriorate the state of the country.
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As we all know, welfare is a very interesting and controversial topic today. Personally, I am not a fan of the current welfare system. But do I think that we should abolish the welfare system all together? Probably not. I don't think that getting rid of the welfare will in any way solve the problems associated with it, but it would instead make things worse. I think that the answer to the welfare dilemma is that the entire welfare system needs to be reworked, but not eliminated.
The main reason the welfare shouldn't be stopped is because there are too many deserving needy people out there. Many of the welfare recipients are hard workers in unfortunate circumstances who just need some help along the way. Welfare offers these people this help. It is important to understand that not everyone can help the financial situations they are in. For these people, welfare can be a source of hope, and may eventually get them out of their unfortunate financial circumstances.
While the welfare system helps out many people who deserve assistance, we cannot forget those who abuse the system. For every hard working person on welfare, there is another person abusing the welfare system. Many of the welfare abusers don't have a job, not because they can't find a job, but because the voluntarily choose not to work. These people just sit around and collect welfare checks for a living. I actually learned in my Econ class that some people would make more money in a year by not working and collecting welfare checks than by working a minimum wage full time job. I'm sure many welfare recipients are aware of this. Although it is morally wrong to cheat the system, I see can understand why some people do. Many times, welfare recipients don't even use the welfare checks for what they should be used for, which is things like food and other basic needs. Instead, they put the welfare money towards material items like expensive cars that they can't afford.
So, the suggestion that I am making is that we keep the welfare system, but modify it. Modifying the system isn't enough though. We also need to make sure that any changes to the system are monitored and all the rules and regulations of welfare are enforced. First of all, it is important that only deserving people receive welfare checks. This means that they must have and maintain a job or must be actively pursuing a job. Also, we need to better monitor how welfare recipients are spending their welfare money. The welfare money should only be going towards essential goods and needs, nothing else. If all of this is done, I feel like the entire system of welfare can be a lot more successful than it has been in the past.
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Although welfare helps tons of people out, there are still people out there who abuse it, giving welfare a bad name. I’ll admit it sometimes I wonder what would happen if there was no welfare. I think, would it motivate more people to work? Then, I stop and realize that there are people out there who truly need it. For example, I’m thinking back to the class video where the woman was very poor and worked at Burger King. That woman needed welfare to survive. She lived in a trailer, with no car, no boyfriend or husband for second income, and needed to support two kids. I give her a lot of credit that she works at Burger King for minimum wage and has to walk 10 miles to work. If that isn’t someone who deserves welfare, then I don’t know who should. She is trying to make ends meet, but she is unable to. Welfare has some negative stereotypes around it. A lot of people just assume that people on welfare don’t work and that the person sits on the couch all day and just collects money in the mail. Although this may be true for some people, the majority of people on welfare are in desperate need of it. I’ve worked retail and seen both ends of this. There was a woman who had three kids and her husband left her. She did not have a college education but still worked hard. The money she earned was not enough to support her family. The opposite situation is when I worked a town pharmacy and some welfare plans require a customer to only pay $1 for their prescription. This woman came in on her cell phone obnoxiously and had a co-pay of $1. I knew she was on welfare because of her medical plan. She did not have the $1. I wouldn’t give her the drugs. She was so irate and stormed out of the store. When I see what kind of car she gets into, my mouth dropped. She was on welfare and was diving a HUMMER. If that isn’t a huge slap in the face to everyone who supports federal welfare programs, then I don’t what is. Honestly, how can someone on welfare who can’t afford $1 prescription drive a hummer? It shows the many flaws in the system. Some stricter regulations of keeping eyes on people on welfare are needed. This way, the people who abuse it can be stopped, and the people who need it can potentially more funding. I think if welfare was to just completely go away, the social classes will drift even farther a part. There are people who can’t find jobs, so probably end up homeless.
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I have a problem with people who look at social welfare systems and complain: About the expense, about freeloaders, about inefficiency—all sorts of things. The reason that I take exception with such complaints is not that they are necessarily invalid, but rather that for most people, they exist within an inconsistent framework of understanding. The thing to understand with social welfare systems is that they are absolutely not necessary in society. Societies have long existed and still do exist where social welfare systems are minimal or non-existent, and for most people, the reality of day-to-day life in such societies is basically comparable to that in our system.
The difference between our society and societies with more limited social welfare systems lies in what happens to that minority of the population which falls into hard times. What happens when you get sick? What happens when your house burns down? When your bank goes under? When an earthquake strikes? What happens when the unthinkable occurs? In a society where social welfare systems are limited or non-existent, the answer is obvious: Nothing happens. There's no system in place to protect against catastrophic events, so if it happens to you, you're stuck with it. You lose your home. You go bankrupt. You die of illness. These things can and do happen all over the world, and in many cases, people just have to deal with it.
The question that we have to deal with as a society is whether this is what we want to have happen. Some societies have chosen the libertarian route of leaving individuals to their own devices, but the alternate route is to put checks in place which keep the fallen from hitting the sharp rocks of poverty and demise. These are the safety nets, the social welfare systems, which most industrialized nations provide to their citizens. The underlying idea is that we want to protect ourselves from the unlikely possibility of catastrophic events impacting our lives, and in order to do that, we agree to band together as a society to pool our resources to offer that protection. In such an arrangement, every individual must pay into a pool in the hope that they never personally need take advantage of that communal service.
Social security. Welfare. Private and public insurance. All of these systems are based on the assumption that people want to avoid catastrophic failure, and are willing to pay into a communal pool, possibly never to take advantage of the resources in order to do so. Certain problems do arise when considering how to implement such a system, and these are the ones often cited by people who propose to remove such systems from society. However, the fundamental fact remains that these are symptoms of implementation, not of underlying function. The question you have to ask yourself is: Do you want to protect yourself and others from unlikely catastrophe, or do you not? If the answer is negative, then that is acceptable. If it's positive, then you need to rethink the thesis of your argument, and stop complaining about how the damn welfare system is ruining our nation's financial future.
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I don’t know much about welfare. Actually, I know little to nothing about it. I know a few facts based on things I have heard about it. Many people are ashamed to be on welfare. I think this is mainly because they are frowned upon by our society. Many people take advantage of welfare, by just collecting the money from the government instead of actually trying to find a job. But, I also I know that welfare is helping a lot of people that are struggling to make ends meet.
Eliminating welfare completely, to me, would be a bad decision. Even though there are those people that take advantage of the welfare system, there are also people in it that truly need the government’s help when it comes to buying food and etc. Eliminating welfare wouldn’t be fair to these people. These people that actually need it. That no matter they do they aren’t able to provide food on the table and a roof for their families. This doesn’t mean that these people are lazy. I have learned that sometimes certain people just don’t have the means to get a decent education, and through this class I learned that sometimes something as simple as your race can determine whether or not you get the job or whether or not you can even get a decent job. Yes, some people take advantage of the welfare system, but should we eliminate it just because of the handful that does? Yes, some people on the welfare system are just being lazy, but not all of them. Eliminating the welfare system won’t make these handful of lazy people find jobs. They’ll find another source, or another loophole. Eliminating welfare will hugely impact those people that solely depend on it, in many ways. If they weren’t able to get jobs due to their education means or race, they still won’t be able to. The elimination of welfare won’t change that fact. In fact, they will be worse off. Now, they’ll have no jobs and no help from the government. How are they suppose to get through life day by day? So, in my opinion, people don’t need motivation to find jobs, jobs need to stop being discriminatory to them. And also, eliminating welfare won’t help the handful of lazies find jobs either. The elimination of welfare wont change the fact that they are still lazy.
Overall, even though welfare system has its flaws, it is also helping a vast majority of people. Everyone and everything possesses its own flaws. Flaws are things that can always be fixed, if we put forth the time and effort. We can’t expect things to be one hundred percent perfect. It just isn’t really possible. In my opinion, the elimination of welfare would lead to greater problems.
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i think that the answer to this question is more than about just welfare… although I do think that poor people would go crazy and have no idea what to do if we got rid of welfare. I think that the answer to this question is more about change in society. We are so incredibly reliant on the way things are set up now that to change anything essential in society everyone would lose it. For example, if they got rid of trash men and collection of trash services, there would just be trash all over the place right? because it would be so hard for us to just bring our own trash to wherever the trash men bring it to? how would we do that? what a crazy idea. when in reality, if we never had trash men, we wouldnt think that it was a big deal that we had to drive five minutes to drop our trash off at whatever facility the trash men bring it to. we would just do it and be thankful that we had a place to bring all our trash and they would do something about it.
I think the same principle applies to welfare. Welfare in itself goes against everything democratic and having a free market in the united states. If we continue to give people hand outs they will continue to rely on hand outs and never learn how to do anything for themselves. My belief is that programs that give people a hand… welfare, affirmative action, etc…. are only making those people weaker. I appreciate the fact that people are born into worse situations than other people but I have seen examples very close to me where people are born without anything and become incredibly wealthy. My grandfather was born dirt poor. His father worked odd jobs and they lived in public housing and projects in various cities. By the time they made it to the Philadelphia area, they would live in apartments for 29 days and on the 30th day of the month they would leave in the middle of the night because they never had the rent money to pay. He spent most of the first years of high school living in slums, until he dropped out of high school. Sounds like someone who is going absolutely nowhere in life right? Exactly, however, he found a camera in a dumpster and fixed it and began going door to door taking photographs for people. He built up his business until he got a place in the mall, and then partnered with Macy's one year to set up a santa claus photo booth in the middle of the mall. He patented his idea, and now he is disgustingly filthy rich. He has four houses, upwards of ten cars, three boats, owns dozens of buildings, etc. Point being, he didnt have welfare and he made it, while I have seen people with welfare live on their check and sit on their ass doing nothing to advance their lives because they know they will have enough money to at least feed themselves. People should stop making excuses to live their life like that, but it isnt easy for them when the government makes it harder for them by labeling them worthless and sending them petty cash to live with.
screw the government
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I do not think that getting rid of welfare is a good idea. The Online Dictionary’s definition of welfare is, “Financial or other aid provided, especially by the government, to people in need.” There are so many people in our country that rely on this system to help them get by. It is very sad that there are people in our country who abuse the welfare system. I also understand that many people use the money given to them for unnecessary things. Also, a lot of people on welfare are simply taking the money, without going out to look for a job to support themselves. However, there are those who desperately need it to survive and help their families. By eliminating the system, there would probably be a huge increase in poverty. The solution may be to revise the current welfare program, but not to get rid of it completely.
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Welfare is a difficult and complicated issue to address. It does help a lot of people who live in a difficult economic state but it also creates a comfortable situation in which a lot of people can't seem or want to get out of. Welfare helps keeps people in the "system". As a tax paying society governed by the corporate world, poor people are necessary. Its how wealth is based and the value of money contorlled. Poor people stay poor rich people stay rich and without poor people or wealth distribution would completely shift. Some politicians have pushed to have welfare regulated and making sure people are not just sitting on their asses and still receiving checks while hard working middle class citizens work to maintain the welfare people. The upper class is exempt from paying taxes which i believe to be ridiculous but rich people are the ones making these laws so of course they are going to be looking out for their own best interest. Its just how it is. The rich are going to want to maintain their wealth and have the middle class take care of it. The middle class is always the majority in society yet the few people who sit at the top get to distribute the wealth the way they feel like doing. They control everything including the government because when it comes down to it the one with the money makes up the rules. Welfare is like a vicious endless but necessary cycle. I feel that it should be regulated and should be used as a rehabilitative program to teach people with low incomes who never had the same opportunities to succeed as other people with more financial advantages. They should be taught certain job skills that will help them succeed in the future. There will always be poor people because there will always be richer people in the world but at least autonomy from government assistance could be reached. I'm not saying i have the answer to the welfare dilemma but i feel it should be monitored and not seen as a long term solution. I feel like a society who does not help the poor reach the potential that they can it is unfair and with our country trying to have equality for all, it would be hypocritical not to extend affirmative action to welfare recipients. WE are a country who has based its success with hard working people trying to reach the best of their potentials. Welfare can not be a long term solution.
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The way that I view welfare is as a way to try to bring the poorest people in the country to a standard of living that gives them the ability to survive. Many people in welfare do get trapped and drain it for all that it's worth without even thinking about joining the working class. Other people try to utilize the time that they are given to acquire skills to get a job and the ability to keep a job. Many people on welfare are single parents, or young parents who are struggling to get by. These people may have made choices that have caused their monetary disposition, but they are still people and they should be treated humanely (being fed, being housed, schooling for their children, etc). The fact that welfare members are seen as free riders definitely puts welfare in a bad light, but people need to realize that these poor people, in many cases, did not live luxurious lifestyles in the beginning of their lives and then dream of being on welfare where they would have to do nothing and get paid. Many people dream of lifestyles where they work hard and make a lot of money, but instead, life paths are altered and people are thrown into lives of despair and they need monetary assistance to get out. I feel it is our duty as not only citizens, but also as fellow human beings to help these people.
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I agree with many of these comments before me. I although am not an expert on welfare by any means. I have not bee around welfare growing up, and much of the aspect of welfare has not been brought up around me. I feel that welfare is looked down upon and i do think it is a shame for people who are born into welfare because their lives are set up to be less fortunate then those born into richer families as children. Talking with my roommates about this topic, we have just discussed a couple weeks ago about how some actresses and famous people are adopted into very rich and powerful families. This goes to show more how unfortunate for those who are born into welfare families how just by being adopted or being born into richer families can cause a life changing experience. It is just unfortunate that those who are no so lucky to be taken in by someone wealthy their lives are not as planned out for them.
i feel that if the state cut off welfare that would just hurt those who are using welfare. I feel that welfare is helping out those who are poor and those who are born into poorer families, because welfare is suppose to help the poor and not change their social status. I feel that social status would be affected because if those who were on welfare were no longer known as people being "On welfare" then maybe others views would be different. i feel that welfare is suppose to help those who are poor so whether they are on "welfare" or not, these people still are struggling individuals who need help paying their bills and surviving. i think social status would not really change unless there was help in the world who could help and change those poor people into no longer struggling human beings. i think status is always going to be an issue but i feel that for those on welfare there is more important things out there to worry about then what their status is in society. i feel that if i had to be on welfare i would be so consumed with trying to figure out how i am going to live and pay for my family then what status i am in society. However, it would be a great thing if changing welfare could change status in society but i think when it all comes down to it, people who are less fortunate still need help and still need ways of getting help from society who has more money so they can survive themselves and so their families can survive.
i feel that status is society is such a cliche thing, whether we are born rich or poor, we can't change who we are. Whether we are poor or rich in society on welfare or not, we all still have our family and friends to keep us going. Taking welfare away will not change the status of society it will just reduce the help that poor people get from our society.
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I definitely don’t think it is a good idea to cut off welfare completely. There are people in our country who do need legitimate monetary help in order to stay alive and exist. However, I do think that there should be more of a screening process or selection process on who receives welfare. I don’t think that 100% of the people who receive welfare fully need it or deserve everything that they receive. I also think that we should establish a better monitoring system for the people who do receive welfare. There should be more of a focus of getting these people back on their feet and providing for themselves instead of just simply giving them money to keep them existing.
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Cutting off welfare from those in need would probably have adverse effects. It would limit the potential for improvement of those who are in need. The results would cause more problems in the long run since the resources would either be nonexistent or severely limited. I think you are looking at welfare from the wrong perspective. Those who are on welfare or get food stamps or some other assistance like that, aren't on it because they want to, it's more of a means for survival and a way to support a family. Because of that welfare is needed to change the cycle so the next generation of those on welfare learn how to live a "normal" life without assistance. Although there are cases where people are lazy and are taking advantage of welfare for the wrong reasons.
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Although I think there are people in America that abuse welfare. There is no way I would ever agree we need to get rid of it. With the economy being so bad and the unemployment rate so high, there is no way people with survive without it. After reading the book “Push” I also think that people who need welfare also abuse it but once again there is NO way we could get rid of welfare completely. People need this to eat and pay bills and this can sometimes not be done without a little extra cash. Welfare is also good for the economy, when people get money they spend it on things they need, usually; Therefore stimulating the economy. If they aren’t given the money they can’t spend it.
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I think the welfare battle is a very difficult one. if we got rid of welfare all together then many people who are on it would just fall in to a bigger economic slump. It may potentially make those who are just on it for bad reasons like being lazy or unmotivated, (because im sure there are some people who have the potential to succeed and just arent trying) attempt to better themselves. it might be used as a crutch for some people similar to the unemployment payments that some people take when they are not even trying to get a job. I know personally some people who said that x y or z happened and they lost their job, but instead of going job searching they are just using that money to stay on their feet. That same principle might apply to welfare , it might motivate some people to get moving. On the other hand, those people that grew up in welfare and did not get the opportunity to go to schools with AP classes, or a good academic program will always be left behind. As sam mentioned in class those people that start out in front, stay in front and those that were in the back generally stay in the back unless some other force may act on them to help out, in this case welfare. So back to what i was aying, those poeple who grew up in bad schools werent able to go to a good college and then get a good job therefore putting themselves back in welfare. people can take this path or turn it around by working their way up from the bottom, being a janitor or something and at least make a livable salary. I dont believe that people who grew up on welfare dont have the abilities to get a job, so why dont a majority of them at least try? i say, if it can be proven that welfare is being used as a crutch it should be taken away.If it is helping those poeple that are struggling to make ends meet who have been left in the bottom due to growing up in welfare and are really trying very hard to succeed, they should reap the benefits for a few years, maybe not their whole livces, but just to get them on their feet to get good clothes for work or buy transportation of something. It definitely should be given out in moderation, just enough time to get the people who need that little boost to get the boost and begin living independantly. So in general i think that welfare is a good thing, when used in moderation and for peopel who seriously need the economic boost. if it were to be taken away, we would be able to see just how many people were using it for a crutch or how many people would begin to work harder to make their life comfortable.
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IN my honest opinion, Welfare should be left out of the equation. Too many people have been using the government in a way that shouldn't. There are a lot of families on welfare at this point in time that are actually cheating the government out of its money. Not to mention the whole booming of young pregancies happening. Too many times have I seen or heard someone using welfare as their first resort and not their last. It is enabling the person to do for themselves. Of course there is the proper meaning to it, people are on welfare to get some kind of head start on their lives, and the money thay they receive is supposed to be helping them start their lives. However, most people do abuse that program. The Welafre system also turns those away who actualy need the assistance, not to mention it is aimed at a "certain" group of people. For example, my father was struggling at one point in time in his life
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IN my honest opinion, Welfare should be left out of the equation. Too many people have been using the government in a way that shouldn't. There are a lot of families on welfare at this point in time that are actually cheating the government out of its money. Not to mention the whole booming of young pregancies happening. Too many times have I seen or heard someone using welfare as their first resort and not their last. It is enabling the person to do for themselves. Of course there is the proper meaning to it, people are on welfare to get some kind of head start on their lives, and the money thay they receive is supposed to be helping them start their lives. However, most people do abuse that program. The Welafre system also turns those away who actualy need the assistance, not to mention it is aimed at a "certain" group of people. For example, my father was struggling at one point in time in his life; trying to provide for the two daughters he was taking care of on his own. His job wasn't reaching his financial needs and so he decided to go to the one source he knew there was available and that was the Welfare office. They denied him plenty of times. It took months and endless proff of documentations before he could receieve any assitance. I honestly feel as though if he was a woman he would've receievd the assitance without any types of delay. Which brings me to my point of saying the people who don't deserve to be on welafre are messing it up for those who do. IN my neighborhood, some of my friends; around my age or less, will become pregnant. The first thing I ask them is, "What areyou going to do?" The first thing that comes out of their mouths, "I'm going to the Welfare office." The part about actually getting a job didn't come out of their mouths. The government is enabling these people. People are using Welfare to cheat life and not try to work hard at it. Most people are acutally comfortable with being at the bottom. That's why Welfare should be limited even more. The requirements should be more specific, and there should also be a date when a person has to get off of Welfare. There should be more boundaries and actual investigations to who can be on Welfare. And those who don't try to show the effort shouldn't be able to participate either.
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Shutting down welfare completely is unthinkable, and impossible. As we know a large proportion of the people on welfare are children so by shutting down the system you would effectively be allowing many millions of children to starve to death. Welfare serves a very important purpose, and whilst changes are undoubtedly necessary, there will never be a system that suits everyone, that is the nature of welfare. However perfect the system someone will always miss out, or feel they are entitled to more, or feel they need not pay taxes to help 'x' group of people. The overall purpose of welfare is to help people to get out of it, and whilst this may not be currently happening at the required rate, canceling the system altogether would simply set the country back several decades of progress, and leave the country in a state of chaos.
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I think I have touched on the topic of welfare in a previous post in the very beginning of the semester. Some people are born into welfare, yes, but that does not mean they have to follow suit and stay on welfare for the rest of their lives. There are many different issues with welfare. People do try to "cheat" the system and then their children might follow along and continue to "cheat" the system as well.
In regards to the socio economic social status, I think that welfare is looked at to be on the lower end of the spectrum (poorer people have welfare). I know some might judge others for being on welfare as being lazy or lethargic and not wanting to work and getting free money.
If we took away welfare all together this instant then I am sure chaos would rear its ugly head. It would not be fair for the children who are born into welfare, to have it taken away right away. They should be given the chance to make their own decision about whether or not they want to continue being on welfare as they grow older.
I think welfare is a very touchy subject. I myself have never been on welfare, although I do know others that have been on it. If it was mentioned around some friends of mine that they were on welfare they would be embarressed. I know some people have no shame whatsoever and could care less what people think of them and like to take advantage of the system.
Welfare could be structured in many different ways if the government would be willing to get control over it. I know that it is a project in progress and things cannot happen overnight but the welfare issue has been an ongoing problem for a while now. As for taking away welfare completely, I do not think that is a good idea in any shape way or form. I think people would probably go into shock, seeing as welfare has been around for so long. It also would be unfair to have a child born into the welfare system then they do not have the benefits once they are of a certain age. Some kids might not know anything but welfare and that would be unfair to assume that these children would be ok without the welfare.
Does anyone else think that welfare is kind of a scam to some people? Or could it be that everyone is taking advantage of the system? I do not think that every single person on welfare is scamming the system because I do know single mothers who work three jobs and still cannot support their family. But i also do know single mothers who work and spend their money on drugs and alcohol then use their welfare check for food and other necessities. I do not want people to think i am so against welfare, but I do believe that it is misused.
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I don’t think about welfare issues very much, because I am fortunate enough to not be on welfare, and hopefully never will be. I feel like the perception of welfare is very negative in this country and most people that complain about it either are ill informed, or don’t have a better way to solve it. It bugs me when people continuously complain about something that is going on if they are not willing to offer a better solution and spend time implementing it. I feel that if there was a better solution to the problem, it would have been put into law. Therefore, since that has not happened, welfare is intact today because it is the best solution available at this time.
The perception of welfare is that it enables lazy people to avoid getting jobs and continue to be lazy. My eighth grade law teacher told us a statistic that only about 5% of the people receiving welfare are able bodied males, that could otherwise find work. I have an aunt who is mentally retarded, and she receives welfare. She is 45 years old, and is not mentally capable of holding a job. Not only is she not able to work to support herself, she lives in a group home that requires around the clock care. She must pay for her rent at this house, along with the staff there. She has many doctors that she must see and her health expenses must be paid for also. How can she do this if she is not able to work?
As a society, we’ve decided many years ago that we would support people like this who cannot help themselves. We all agreed that we would give up some of our money, in the form of taxes, to support those who are less fortunate than us. May aunt is one of them, so I am very thankful that America believes it is necessary to help people who are mentally disabled. When I think of welfare, these are the people that I think of. I don’t think of the select few who abuse the system and are at risk for ruining it for everyone.
What would happen to these disabled people if the welfare system did not support them? They would probably be at their parents burden for the rest of their lives. Many of these people come from homes that simply do not have the resources to care for them in the way they need to be cared for. In my family, we are my aunt’s primary care givers, beyond what the government gives her. If my parents did not give her additional money, she wouldn’t be able to buy adequate clothes, personal products, or any entertainment.
I think if we got rid of the welfare system, it would only stand to “light a fire under” a few people’s butts, but tragically hurt the majority of people who actually do need it.
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Like most people have said, I do not really know much about welfare. However I do remember Sam saying that most of it goes to children. So I do not really think that we could get rid of welfare. It really is not the children’s fault. But at the same time you have adults who like to stay on welfare their entire lives and just never have to do anything. No matter what is done there will be a problem. I think that getting rid of it will essentially cause more problems down the road for these children, but maybe something else could be thought of to stop adults from just riding on welfare checks their entire lives.
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If our government eliminated welfare all together it probably would cause a lot more problems in the system. And I'm sure the government has other issues to be working out right now. I personally feel that welfare should be related. I understand many individuals are born into the welfare system and can not help it but I feel that the government should set up a program to help get these people back on their feet. I think I am so against welfare because I have grown up to see my parents and family members work forty hours a week. My dad owns his own business and as the economy as gotten bad I see my dad working more hours a day and working weekends. I respect hard work and my parents made me get a job right when i turned 16. I feel that parents should instill this characteristic into their children at an early age. At the age of 16 I got a job at a local grocery store back at home. I have seen a numerous amounts of different people during those years. But, the one thing that gets on my nerves so bad is when people who are on food stamps buy the most expensive steak on the shelf. Then after they purchase all this luxurious food they then proceed to order cigerattes. I don't know for some reason this gets on my nerves so bad.
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i think that the whole issue with welfare shouldn’t just be about completely eliminating welfare or just keeping welfare. Im sure there are people who absolutely need the welfare program, but there are also those people who abuse the system and I feel like if there were some kind of oversight over it that would keep people from abusing the system it would have us in a better position than we are today. I think that there should be requirements into receiving welfare instead of just sitting around and not doing anything productive with their lives except cashing in the checks that they receive. otherwise the problem will just keep happening over and over again.
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This is a very thought provoking question. Personally, I think that taking away welfare completely would cause even more problems in our country than we already have now. I think that welfare should only be thought of as a temporary solution. It should only be assistance to help people get through hard times until they are able to stand on their own two feet. If welfare is taken away, the people who really need the assistance will most probably wind up on the streets. Furthermore, in many circumstances, taking away welfare will affect children as well. How can you take welfare away from a mother who is using the money to feed her child and keep a roof over her head.
However, I feel that the system can easily be taken advantage of. If people on welfare are happy or okay with living on welfare, and know that they will keep receiving it, they might not even try to become independent. This raises the question of whether or not taking away welfare will encourage and motivate people more to go out and find a job. However, what happens when a hundred-and-ten percent effort is being made by a person, but that person still cannot land a job. There seems to be no answer! We need to come up with a way to improve the distribution of welfare to weed out those who think of it as “free money”. Getting rid of it completely is not the answer though.
I personally know someone on welfare. For years she has been on and off welfare. I know that she would much rather have a job and work for her money. She is ashamed to be on welfare but knows that the alternative is much, much worse. The thought of taking welfare away from this woman completely, scares me.
With regard to social status, I think that cutting off welfare will definitely increase the amount of people in the country living in poverty. Welfare eliminates a lot of the degrading differences that can be seen by others in society. Welfare allows people who cannot support themselves to somewhat “blend in”; subsequently they are generally accepted by society on a day to day basis. Without welfare, many people in society would be sleeping on the streets, and digging through trash to get food to eat.
Welfare puts people in better situations and allows them to function somewhat normally in society. Despite this, the conditions that people on welfare live in are still not ideal. In order to better the conditions that people on welfare live in, these people need to find jobs. People’s social statuses becomes higher when they are working and receiving higher income.
Of course it makes me mad to know that there are people out there who cheat the welfare system. Nonetheless, I feel better thinking about those who desperately need assistance, and are able to get it from the government.
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I think welfare is and was created to keep the economy balanced and keep a balance between consumers and producers. When we are in an economic slump people usually do not spend very much money and in turn businesses and corporations that make many of consumer consumption will suffer. That’s why the government has programs in place like social security, welfare, minimum wage, unemployment, among others. These programs are relatively static and inelastic except for social security which seems to be depleting as time goes on. These programs are very important in keeping our economy stable if they were not in place then in a tough economic time like we have now middle class would shift to lower class and the lower class would shift to the lowest class with the upper class being relatively unaffected. This money from the government is pumped into our economy for a purpose and whether or not our economy is doing well there will always be a minimum wage and welfare.
I do not know if it is necessarily a good thing but I know if protects us from having a huge great depressions although some argue we are approaching one. Another way of looking at it is that poor people that collect welfare have little motivation to go out into the real world and get a job. I think that can be true because it is like a security blanket knowing that you have money for your next meal, not glorifying unemployment because I know it is not a lot money. But lets face it, it is very tough for a low class person collecting welfare to turn around their life and get a well paying job in today’s world. Most jobs come from a connection or networking and most companies would be hesitant to hire someone with a lower class tract record. That is why affirmative action is in place. It is sometimes the only opportunity they get. Overall I think people are most motivated by dignity. Poor people do not want their neighbors to be paying for their health care and other people’s tax dollars to be paying for their food. They feel a sense of dignity from human nature to know whether or not they earned something or deserve it and I think we need to emphasize that when it comes to the motivation of lower class citizens. Sometimes they need to be thrown out of their comfort zone to compete in today’s world.
Overall I think welfare has pros and cons, the pros is that it helps keep the economy stable for everyone but a con is that it can cause lower class citizens to lose motivation. Although everyone is different that seems to be the main point.
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I think there could be many benefits and many negatives to shutting down the welfare program, but overall, I think it would be a pretty bad idea. I say benefits because I think a lot of identifying with poor socioeconomic status comes from whether a person is on welfare or not, and that seems like welfare just stamps an unwarranted label on someone’s forehead that they need special treatment. Also, I think sometimes people who are on welfare are more likely to rely on it more heavily for money to buy food and other necessities, and might be less likely to venture out and find that job and find those means to get ahead in the economic world. However, I think getting rid of it would be a bad idea too, because the job of the government is to help out the citizens who they represent. What would happen to those who really, seriously, could not afford food and clothing on their own? This might drive more to go out and work harder to make more money, but in reality , society doesn’t work that way . When you’re down, you’re more likely to stay down. The welfare program needs to find that happy medium where they can provide for those who qualify and need it, educate those who are on it about getting ahead and saving, but it shouldn’t ever be used as a crutch.
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If we would just stop the welfare program all together there would definitely be major problems later in our society. Many people and their families would be struggling to get through each day… more than they already do. For most people it takes them a lot of courage to come out and say they need financial help. After they have the strength to ask for help the welfare program really does help them out. If we would take this beneficial program away then these people would be left out to dry. They would be in a very bad situation. However, I do not agree with getting rid of the welfare program all together, I am for improving this program. There are too many people out there that take this beneficial program for granted. The individuals who do have jobs, but get paid under the table do not report this money. This would then allow them to qualify for welfare. Each month when they get their money from the state they use it for ‘luxury’ things instead of their necessities. Although, this is just some of the people out there, the other side of this program is great! Welfare provides food stamps and money each month for families to get by. In addition, child care is provided for those who are qualified. Therefore, this program is allowing individuals to work even though they have to care for their children. This program also does encourage individuals to get back out there and get a job. I think that the best way to implement welfare is to encourage, and help, people to get on their feet and obtain jobs that can support their families. You know the saying, give a man a fish you have fed him a day, but teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime? I think that is a good way to look at welfare. Maybe give them a fish, or a few paychecks in this case, to help them out, but if you can teach them to fish, or earn their own paychecks, then they, along with society, will be better off in the long run. This is not something that can happen over night, nor is it something that can work for everyone, but I think that it should be a long term goal of the welfare program. It is so tough to say, because there are some people who are on welfare who I am sure hate the fact that they are on welfare, and would do anything to earn their own incomes and are truly trying to do so. But there are also people out there who are perfectly content with where they are. They have food, shelter and some money, so why would they need to go get a job? All in all, I think welfare is a necessity, and it is a good program that cannot be done away with, however, I feel that some sort of programs to get people back to work would be beneficial.
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I think if we got rid of welfare things would be more chaos then it is now. I feel that people do take advantage of being on welfare though. I think people should only have to go to on welfare when they really need it, not because they are “lazy.” I don’t really think it’s a legitimate way to get food and everything else. I feel like people use welfare as an excuse, not a way to provide for their family if they cant receive a job do to whatever the bad circumstances are. I just feel like people in the United States can work around being on welfare.
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i do not think it is possible to cut off welfare. These type of people need some sort of income and with the way the economy is today, if they cut off welfare, where are these people going to find jobs? there would be a lot of people out on the streets and it was cause major problems and i believe even the crime rate would go up. They should not do this just for the fact that some of these families need to provide for their children and that if you cut off their parents it affects their children as well. I do not believe this will happen because everyone already knows what will happen.
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I think this is a very interesting and pertinent question. I have always been curious about this myself. I am not sure what other countries have implemented not having a welfare program. In my personal opinion, I think a country could be perfectly sustainable without welfare. People who fall down on their luck might have to work a little harder to make sure that does not happen to them or they might make sure that they create savings for a period when they might not be unemployed.
However, the argument could be made that welfare is needed to help those who are in need. There are some people who are at the bottom and have no way of getting up without the welfare. Sometimes we hear that people are abusing welfare and are using it to pay for their cable bill. These are people who obviously do not need welfare but are abusing the system and of course it is made public.
Social programs, if implemented correctly, can be beneficial to society. But we hear the negatives often because there are many who are opposed to this. They can benefit people who need the assistance. These people who benefit from the programs greatly appreciate the assistance.
I think that the welfare program was first established to be a short term solution for people who are going through hardships. It was not designed to enable people to get used to living on the small amount of money, and keeping the poor poor. Instead of being a short term crutch, people have used this money as their means to live on. They should instead be using it to get resources they need to find a job, which would be the long term solution to their problem.
Overall it is difficult for me to decide if we should do away with welfare, though, because I’ve fortunately never been in a situation where I had to depend on the government or someone else for my survival. I’m sure many of the people that receive welfare use it in the way that it is intended for, so it would really be a shame to take that away from these people. I read a statistic from an earlier blog post that stated that only 5% of the welfare beneficiaries are able-bodied males. There is this preconceived notion that people who get welfare have the ability to work, but choose instead to get “free money” from the government to live off of. Statistically this is not the case. I think instead of posing the question of if we should get rid of welfare or not, or if welfare is a positive part of our society, we should ask how we can improve the existing system so that we are helping those who truly need help, and helping them by pushing them to find a better long term solution to stop the cycle.
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I think a lot of people do misuse to welfare system and are more likely to be on welfare if they are born into the system. Also, you see people with food stamps in the grocery store but somehow they have perfectly manicured nails…funny how that is. The problem is that there are people who are born into poverty and try everything to better their standard of living, but many are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, unemployed, single-mothers with multiple children. That is why the welfare system has implemented many restrictions in the last 10 or so years such as the recipients have to be looking for a job and cannot get money and aid for more than a set number of years and only one time in their life. At this point, I do not think there is a way to completely eliminate the welfare system but there is a lot that can be done to continue to improve it and limit the amount of money that is going to families and the total amount of money used in the welfare system.
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While the welfare system may have a ways to go in the terms of efficiency and how the standards on which it is allocated, I do not think we should eliminate it from the country altogether. There are some people in the United States that actually need welfare to survive and there are others that simply abuse the system. After reading some other blog posts about how welfare should be ended, I think it is very easy to simply say we don’t need welfare since WE don’t use it. Do some people abuse the system? Absolutely, but some people actually do need welfare to survive. Being someone that doesn’t receive welfare, it could be very easy for me to say that I do not think our country needs it. However, for every person that cheats the system, there are probably five more that actually benefits from welfare. Some people act like welfare is providing this perpetual stream of sizable income that is letting them live home in luxurious lives without working. This is not the case, and as Sam said, most of the people that receive welfare are children. How can someone justify taking away something that benefits people who don’t even have a say in their upbringing? Also, how can people make the generalization that if these children are raised on welfare, they will continue to take advantage of it for the rest of their lives? These are huge assumptions.
What our country really needs is a different way of allocating welfare or investigating the people that do receive it. Realistically, this may not be feasible in terms of costs and time, but if people see a problem with it, they must come up with a better solution than simply getting rid of it. Just recently, I heard of someone in my area that collected welfare because of the way they claimed their income, and this infuriated me. Here they are, a middle/upper-middle class family that is getting food stamps for their children’s lunches that they can absolutely afford and there are families that can barely afford basic living expenses. This example is why everyone assumes people take advantage of welfare. I don’t have a solution but there needs to be some kind of middle ground that can be reached upon in order to have a fair system that can still provide for the needs of the people that actually need help surviving. I don’t believe that it is okay for people to simply live off welfare but in our country’s current situation, there are people with bachelor’s and master’s degrees without jobs, so how can people without any higher level education expect to be employed somewhere that is paying enough to support themselves and a family? Nothing is ever going to be perfect, and people will always criticize things that aren’t benefiting them, but we should really sit back and look at the good welfare does for our country, rather than the bad.
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I have actually thought about this before, I always have wondered like what makes someone eligible for welfare and why the government lets people who are most of the time lazy go on welfare. I mean I obviously now know what it takes to be put on welfare from like a financial stand point but some people that are on welfare in my opinion are just working out to beat the system and in some cases they have. Some people are just determined to have kids and go on welfare, because I believe that you need to have kids to be on welfare, while others desperately need welfare in order to support their family. In some other cases some people who could really use welfare don't go on it because they have too much pride and they don't want to be another welfare case. But I think if we got rid of welfare it would probably make a noticeable difference. By that I mean I think people will use their potential more and go out and try to make something of themselves because they will no longer have welfare to fall back on and maybe people will be smarter about what children they bring in the world because they wont have welfare to support them. I think that it will increase the amount of people who are homeless and more people will be in poverty. I also think that the crime rate will increase because people will need to support themselves or there family some way if they don't have welfare to fall back on and can't get work. So with "survival of the fitess" in mind I do believe that people will start robbing others and maybe selling drugs in order to provide for themselves and family. There will probably be more prostitutes and pimps so that women can support for their kids if there is no father figure or no one to help support them. I think that although some people abuse welfare and use it to their advantage because they are lazy and not actually in serious need of it because they are trying to make a life for themselves, for them and other people that actually need it and use it, there could be something seriously out of control and the people who use welfare but that wont be able to have it make have to look at alternatives for survival and they may not be the best way to make a life for themselves and their family, but will be the best way that they know how and that could make our world crazy. If people are stealing and selling drugs are crime rates will go up and it will be terrible for our society as if it is not already bad. But in my opinion although welfare can and has been abused it is a good thing, because it helps a lot of people who need it and keep alternative ways to get money that may lead our society into the crapper down.
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I think that removing the welfare system would be both good and bad. On the positive note, it would eliminate the problem of people that abuse the system, thinking that having a kid is just one check per month and the more children then the more checks would come in. However there is another perspective. If you take away the welfare system the people that genuinley need it may fall off the map. Without some sort of income people will die. That would definaltey increase the problem we face as Americans, both looking at it from a moral standpoint, and an economic one.
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Welfare is something that I am certainly no expert on. I see its purpose in society and I see the problems that are associated with it as well. People certainly abuse the welfare system. That cannot be denied. But I think that eliminating welfare in this country completely would be a disaster. There are children and families who are dependent on this and we can't simply pull that support away from them without any thought. I think that the system could be reworked to provide support to families while honestly helping them get equipped and prepared to work in the world and support themselves. This way we could help eliminate the need and people would not abuse the system as much as they do now.
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Being an employee at a WalMart back home, I’ve encountered many people who use the welfare system to get assistance for their families. While there are some people who use systems like WIC and ACCESS to benefit their low income families, I know there’s also a large portion of people who abuse these monies in hopes of a free ride through life. I think shutting down the welfare system entirely would be very detrimental. It may be a good way to save some of the government’s money, but it’s also putting people who really can’t afford their family’s health insurance or their month’s groceries into an even worse situation than they’re already in. I don’t agree, however, how the welfare system is currently being run. Mothers continuously have kids, without a care of who the father is, simply to keep getting free government money. These children aren’t being put on an equal pedestal with their “richer peers,” they’re simply learning to abuse the system and to not respect the usefulness of money.
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Welfare as I beleive is something that can go either way. It can either be a positive thing or a negative thing depending on it's use. I believe that the United States should not abandon the welfare program. Since there are individuals out there that really needs its support. One of the problems I think that we have with the welfare system is that there are so many people that cheat and lie and get away with it. If the people that are on welfare are watched and screened more closely before they go on welfare as well as while they are on welfare maybe we would not have as many problems. There are some people that are on welfare and they find new jobs that are off of the books so to the government it seems like they still need assistance however in reality they no longer need welfare assistance. This is not fair because they are cheating everyone else. Welfare should be strictly for the people that truly do need it and it should only be for a very brief amount of time. Some people become so dependent on welfare that they forget the point of it, which is it meant to get you back into the working world and find a home of their own for them and their families. If the government stops providing people with welfare then, more people will become homeless, have less money, have no jobs, and there will be more people with an even later start in the race. Then the government will complain how we as citizens are not doing our part, or how they just have to rescue us. I wish they would make up their minds. As far social class goes, it seems that welfare will always mean you are poor. And even if they take it away, those who use will still be poor, mediocre, and looked down upon. Those in the middle class will continue to get taxed more and more, while working hard just to get the little money they do, and the rich will continue to get richer. Welfare should be based on a system of effort. Weekly or monthly checks should be made on the individuals receiving welfare. If they are making an effort to find or keep a job, then they should have a maintained or increasing welfare until they qualify to leave the welfare system. However, if their progress digresses and they start to take advantage by quitting their job or some other factor, then their welfare should decrease. Of course there are exceptions to these rules. Such as disabilities, medical reasons, car accidents, etc. In the end welfare can be a very thing to our society if used the right right.
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I believe that getting rid of welfare will not help this country at all. What i think would happen is that all the people who rely on welfare to get by day by day will result to crime to make the money that they used to get from welfare. Because the people who are usually are on welfare are people who come from poor area mostly urban areas who are surrounded by crime and drugs. So they will get drawn into the fast money of selling drugs and this will create more crime nationwide. Getting rid of welfare is not something that im for and i doubt that i will ever be. Because i know people who are on welfare. And these people are good people who just didn't have the opportunities that people like us penn state students had. And they rely very heavily on that monthly welfare check to feed there kids and themselves. And they are people who live in pretty poor neighborhoods in NYC. Ive been to where they live and its no joke. The elevators smell like piss and there graffiti all over every inch of the hallway walls and you can smell marijuana throughout the whole building. And the worst part of it all is the people who hang around these buildings. Who are selling drugs and just looking to get into some type of trouble. The people who live in these buildings don't even let there kids out to play because there scared that they could get shot, stabbed, mugged or even taken. I have to admit that even i am scared to walk around in these neighborhoods. and these people having it hard enough because they have to live under these conditions, would not know what to do it they didn't get that little check that they get every month that gives them a sense of relief. I don't think that getting rid of welfare will help in anyway. It would definitely just worsen the situation. I believe that the US has to find a way to get more jobs in this country so that these people on welfare can find get better paying jobs so that they wont have to be on welfare. This would really be the only sure way to make the economic problem in this country disappear. But until this happens welfare must not be taken away from these people who rely heavily on that monthly check. Because if that gets taken away from them then they will most likely end up turning to criminal behavior to make up for the extra income they will be missing out on from the welfare check. And the last thing this country needs is more criminals!
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Sometimes I think that we should get rid of welfare and other times I don’t. I am kind of torn between the issue. My father was raised on welfare when he was a child and grew up to be a successful businessman. I suppose this is not a statistical norm. I think that it’s a very cushy system and once you are basically helped you are in a position to most likely stay on welfare for the rest of your life because it is easy. I think instead of getting rid of it, the system of welfare should be set up differently so it isn’t abused. Well fare works when it is used appropriately but let’s face it; it is not always used in the way that it is intended to be used. The system is flawed and needs to be fixed.
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It bothers me to hear people say that most people on welfare are lazy and don’t want to work. As Sam said in class, most of the recipients of welfare are children so they clearly cannot be labeled as lazy. The word “lazy” is thrown around so much when it comes to welfare and it truly bothers me! I’m first generation American and when my mother came from Africa she fought to establish herself in society. Even though we were not always wealthy, we never relied on welfare or any government assistance so I’m not an expert on this topic. I brought this up to say that one reason why my mother was able to succeed in this country after a while was because she was never exposed to the stigma of being a minority in this society. Granted there are white people that benefit from welfare but welfare is almost always associated with people of color. I think its so easy for people to say that welfare recipients are lazy just because there are a few people who abuse the system. People abuse EVERY single system that are government has in place so to pinpoint welfare just seems a little ridiculous to me. Also if people are being so “LAZY” then why was our unemployment rate so low prior to the recession? Welfare is NOT a system that has people living in luxurious places for free. Welfare really only gives you enough money just to survive so its not like there is really much room to grow when you only have the basics. The system is far more complex they people think and there are very different services that are provided such as, unemployment or disability benefits and social insurance. Social insurance would include Social Security and Medicare, which are things that many Americans not just the poor depend on.
I look at welfare as a system that was set in place to basically shut poor people of for a while so that the government doesn’t have to address the real problems with our society. If you want people to stop being “lazy” and make something of themselves then there needs to be something done with the system. People aren’t going to be able to get good jobs to support their families if they don’t even have a good enough education to meet the requirements. How about putting school books in poor neighborhoods so they can get a quality education? The government could also try to work on the minimum wage so that the people who do have a steady job can afford to live without government assistance Also, the United States is not the only country to have a welfare system in place so this obviously something that is important to other countries as well.
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When some people think of welfare they think of people being poor. Welfare is initially designed to help the less fortunate. The people on welfare don't feel inferior to those that are not receiving public assistance. I do know from personal experience that it helps with health coverage, school supplies, monthly food and also provides stability for those who need the extra push. Without welfare I feel that alot of people will be struggling and our homeless rates would go up. Even our crime rates because some will resort to robbing others to feed themselves and there families.
Providing public assistance for those in need was a good intervention to keep people on track. Public assistance helps families all over the country. Best of all they provide meals for babies and guarantees health coverage for the young mothers. Welfare is not a pitty charity for the less fortunate but a successful program that help people eat and stay off the streets. I give my full support to this program and hope that its able to stick around.
Welfare is not the worst thing in the world if you give it a try. Its the reputation that society gives it.
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If there was no welfare available all the lazy people who find an excuse not to get up and go to work would be forced to make ends meet or else live on the street. I think welfare should only be given to certain people for a limited time. For examplle young females who have babies and are enrolled in school, etc. people who actually NEED assistence should be given cash. It is not fair that taxes should be taken out of my check to provide lazy people with money. It makes no sense, sometimes I do not understand this country and their methods of finding soultions to problems. In order for the discontinuation of welfare to take place jobs must be found for people who are capable of working. young people should be urged to attend school, any school whether it is a tech, trade, or 2year, or university. instead of giving them pocket money and money fo food require that they attend school and pay for childcare. that would be much better. the requirements should be limited. The government is just taking money out of our pockets for lazy people, who had the choice to make a better life for themselves but did not. Do not be comfortable on government assistence.
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Welfare is kind of a tricky topic in America, as many people don’t know too much about the actual laws and implications of welfare economics. They only know about popular arguments, which are powerful in shaping people’s minds, but worthless among academics. Anyway, for my own benefit on my economics exams, I will explain welfare through the mind of an economist.
In America, if there were no welfare, there would be an increase in the supply of labor as people who are not working, because they previously received money from the tax payers of their fellow Americans, must now work. Because there would be an increase in the labor supply, the real wage of Americans would decrease, especially in industries which require little skill, as these would most likely be the areas in which people on welfare would be able to work. The wage of Americans would decrease because an increase in labor supply will only match an employer’s (or an economy’s) labor demand IF the employer can pay the workers a lower amount of wage than they were paying their workers before the increase the labor supply. This is because of the idea in which “there are too many cooks in the kitchen.” There is a decrease in the marginal benefit of labor as the quantity of labor increases so that it may be inefficient for a company to hire more workers.
Anyway, so that’s one thing that would happen. There would be an increase in labor supply and a decrease in wages. Many people would then have a lower quality of life than they are having now because there would be more of a supply for their job. Additionally, there may be people who would be on welfare if it were available, and who wouldn’t want to join the labor force at all, so they would be homeless, may result to crime and be bad parents.
IN reality though, most of the people benefitting from welfare are children, and they wouldn’t really affect the workforce anyway.
If there were no welfare, I would assume that there would be a decrease in taxes. Here is the federal budget for 2010.http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/welfare_budge... Apparently, welfare pays for families’ and children’s’ “Food and nutrition assistance, Assistance and Subsidies, Public Welfare, Federal Categorical Assistance Programs, Public Welfare, Cash Assistance Programs, unemployment and housing.” In 2009, the federal state and local governments collectively paid 589.2 billion dollars for welfare. Ideally, if taxpayers were to keep the money and not give it to taxes, business would spend it on capital ventures to increase the labor demand and could in fact hire the people formerly on welfare. And, ideally, American families would spend their money so that they would also be helping businesses grow.
In classical economics, there is an idea is that markets will clear if the government does not mess with people’s incentives. There is an idea that supply will equal demand in the goods and services markets and in the labor markets. However, classical economics has never been able to explain unemployment, and today classical economists are having a hard time explaining why the unemployment rate is 9%.
If we did live in a world though, where there were no welfare and no government interference and unemployment, then ideally people would become a little bit more responsible. They would stop having premarital or unprotected sex and stop having babies when they aren’t ready to pay to support them. Of course, people aren’t like that. India is a prime example. They don’t have welfare, but people are having babies over there like there is no tomorrow, aka one baby is born every two seconds.
Overall, the welfare system in America is pretty effective at making people work if you’re an adult. You don’t get a blank check. You get subsidies. So if you have a kid and you work and send the kid to childcare in the day; you give the bill to the government and they pay it. That way you have to go to work to get the subsidy for your kid.
And if you’re a kid, while it is annoying that society has to pay for the fact that your parents didn’t think about ways to support you before they boned, we’d rather have you on welfare than starving and doing stupid things to find ways to survive.
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Ok, I am gonna voice in on this matter. And my words come from an individual who was on the welfare system and saw all sorts of stuff going on that if all other hard-working tax-paying Americans saw, they would be going absolutely nuts!!!
First off, I am a single, white, custodial, father of two children… and the fact we are white, is where our problems started with the welfare / DTA system. We also live with my parents in a rural area, with no access to public transportation (enter geographical discrimination)
I had a job, and worked everyday, until shortly after I got custody of my children, and their mom started playing games, and I was let go. Then denied unemployment benifits, because my employer told them that I had quit??!!
From then I could not find any work, anywhere that was going to be flexible enough with my having the children and any that were paid horrible and to say "hire a baby-sitter" is void because baby-sitters would be charging more than I made per hr. Sooo.. moving on
I figured I should go to school for something to get myself into a better position to provide / support my children and I. Everyone told me "go to welfare they will send you to school"
So I went, and the first day I was told "There's no more section 8 so dont even bother trying" (which I found years later was #1 a lie and #2 obviously section 8 should not even been mentioned to me at the DTA office?
They said I can go to school for whatever I wanted and said "What do you want to go to school for?" I replied "What do you have?"
The answer = "Nursing, Secretarial.. or if you really want.. Hair-dressing" ??!!
Well, I was hoping to go for Some sort of Art / Illustration type schooling, having an artistic background as well as having attended a Commercial Art course at a vocational High School (and graduated) No deal
So now, I was sent to a career center to do "job searching" and take "workshops" on how to get a job.. What an absolute joke!!!
Not one single female in that place ever did anything to do with job searching.. and, they were ALL let go after lunch and never came back (EVERYDAY)!!! And the policy was "When you're here, you're here… When you're not here.. you're still here" ???!!! (can you say federal fraud??)
Every ethnic female I spoke with was getting 3 times more in assistance for cash / food etc than I was.. most were getting 3 times the amount for on kid, compared to my 2 kids??!!
And let me tell you… the majority of people in my area on welfare are specifically Hispanic/Latino women! And they are living better than people like my parents who have worked hard all their lives to get what they have, and now struggling to keep it all and these girls get it all (and more) for absolutely FREE and they dont have to do ANYTHING except be a Hispanic/Latino Single Mommie!!!
And it is very true… they can increase their benefits by just simply having more kids ! So dont tell me that is a farse because I KNOW THE FACTS!!!
When eventually I was told you have to get a job, any job and you can keep your benies… I went to a carpet store and got work as a sub-contractor, carpet installer. Having my children on my own I could only work certain times.. well I produced 2 pay checks to DTA for $200 each (before self-employment tax) and I also had to pay $50 per week for worker's comp insurance (which I cold not even collect on) to be able to work out of this store.. and I was told "Oh you make quite good money" by a gentleman who could barely even speak English and my children and I were instantly dropped from all assistance and when I begged and pleaded with this man he told me I could not get nor apply for ANYTHING for the next 5 years??!!
Come to find out now 2 years after that.. we were eligible for food stamps all along??!! (but this guy still has his job??)
I am since still unable to find employment, have no vehicle, no way to make $, no way to support my children and DTA/WELFARE does NOT CARE.. because simply.. we are not Hispanic/Latino and I am not a female!!!!!
I have NEVER seen a Hispanic/Latino single mommie got to welfare/DTA and have their lives spiral down a black hole??!! In fact most live the life of luxery and not in just run-down apt.. Many I know personally live in brand new condos, dont work, have 2-3 kids each from a diff man who is nowhere to be found, have repeadted new boyfriends living with them, go out every weekend dancing / clubbing, some have gotten completely free NICE CARS and nice cell phones with unlimited service they get free utilities, free food, fre $$$, free healthcare, free clothing.. they all have 1-2 big LCD tvs, nice furniture, NICE EVERYTHING and their kids are always dressed in the most expensive nicest clother ever way better than my poor kids.. and they have the phones too and the PSPs…. etc…
So tell me what's wrong with this picture???
Dare to challenge me on any of this!!!
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