Americans: What is the best solution to the welfare problem?

Question

There are some people on it who don't need it, while the ones who do are too proud to try. How can we find a way to help those who need a hand-UP, and cut off the ones who just want a hand-out?
Anyone have any ideas?
What kind of action should we push for from our Senate and Congress?

I don't think Dawnee_Babe understood the question. I was referring mostly to the people who continue to have children while their on welfare, don't look for a job, let their children starve while they buy a new car, all at the expense of taxpayers.
I'm NOT referring to those with disabilities, or the women who had three kids, and then the father of the children walked out on them, and refuses to pay child support.
There IS a difference between a hand-UP and a hand-OUT.

You know, I tried to keep this question nonpartisan, and SOMEONE (not mentioning Republicans r Red Parrots SQUAK's name) just had to MAKE it a partisan issue.
Also, as I said, I recognize that some people need it. My sister is one of them. Five kids, a disabled husband (his right arm, which is dominant, is completely unusable. Work accident.), and they're having to survive on half the income my husband and I get. They get about $1500 a month. Their rent is 950.

It is going to be REALLY hard to choose a best answer for this...but I'm afraid of putting it up for a vote. Seems to me that when I do that, stupid answers get chosen. So I'll have to go eeny-meeny-miny-mo and choose one. Thanks a lot for WONDERFUL answers, you guys. There are MANY logical, well-thought out answers from all sides of the political spectrum, which is what I was aiming for.

Answer 1

I know my answer to this question is going to cut across the grain of every body. All of your answers, whether pro or con, have been well written and logically thought. Your mistake is thinking all people are capable of logical thought.
There are a large number of people in this country who, no matter how much opportunity is placed before them, will never aspire to anything. Their interests are totally self centered. Getting high and having sex are the single most important issues in their lives.
People like all of you who answered this question think most of the people on welfare are just down on their luck or victims of social injustice. Not so. For the most part they are of the character to do whatever it takes to live their lifestyle, which would include criminal activity as need be.
The problem here is their children, who become victims of their parent's bad habits. It is the children that the welfare system is designed to help, as there is always hope in the life of a child.
For those people who use the welfare system as a hand-up, they are admiralable people. For those using the system as a handout, it's likely they would break into you home and steal what they need rather than get a job to support themselves.

Answer 2

I believe a lot of people are on welfare that are not even looking for a job. I have no problem with someone actively job hunting to be on welfare, but someone just sitting at home doing nothing should not get any money to do that. There should be some sort of system that employers enter applicants social security numbers that at least show they are looking. There should also be in the system whether or not they were called for an interview, if the person showed up, and whether they were offered a job. If the first part occured without the second, people would just apply for jobs, never show up for an interview or if offered the job, decline just because they do not want to work. These systems would work hand in hand to make sure someone is being active. Their should be a standard on how many jobs someone applies for in a given time in order to receive government welfare funds. Until the system is in place, people will keep getting those welfare checks for being lazy. Power and money to the people making an attempt....you deserve to be broke if you are too lazy!

Answer 3

The ignorance astounds me . Some of the replies are simple answers from simple minds . First of all Children should not go hungry in the greatest country in the world . This is not an easy fix . However a few ideas can get it started . Try Job training and education while on welfare . This would allow them to rise above welfare . With jobs going over seas at an alarming rate . You could end up on welfare . Congress only work 4 years to get their welfare ( I mean pension ) . The requirements are too much red tape and no solution . Vocational schooling , high school GED . all these would lead to shrinking welfare . If they attended classes while on welfare to get paid . Supervised child care as well as day care . Provided there would be no excuse . Parenting classes come to mind . This would be money well spent . The cost will go up short term but lower long term . I do not agree with free money . I think parks could be cleaned up . Use people on welfare to help clean up after katrina . Serving food what ever they can do . Give some options . Lazy people would loose their welfare people willing to work would retain it . And The Most IMPORTANT PART DEAD BEAT MOMS AND DADS be aggressively pursued and monitored..

Answer 4

Complicated. The person who said to cut benifits in intervals had a good plan. The only problem is the bills of the person recieving the assistance are going to stay the same when benifits are decreased. Take for example daycare, transportation costs to and from work, decent attire for the jobplace, etc. All these things must be taken into consideration for the needy. Everyone can say "there are jobs out ther, all you have to do is look and WANT to work". Which is true, but if you get one of those jobs, it probably wont pay very well, and then you need money to pay daycare so you can go to work, and a vehicle or money to ride the bus. Well, at the end of the week, there goes your whole entire paycheck, and we havent even gotten to the food and rent part yet. Sometime, believe it or not, it just doesnt pay to work. I am not suggesting people just lay on their *** and be lazy. What i am wondering is why people get so upset when they hear someone is getting govt. assistance. Some people need it, regardless of if they want to be on it or not. If you are a single parent raising kids working for min. wage then yes, you probably need it. There are people who take advantage, and their are laws to catch and punish these people. We cant standardize the whole program because someone has a friend who has a friend who has a friend that is scamming from the government. I promise you the majority of people on assistance are hard working individuals with pride, and it took a lot for them to walk into that office and fill out all the paperwork and go thru humiliating questions to get the help they need. You become very humble when you cant afford to feed you kids but once a day. Stop taking pot shots at the less fortunate.

Answer 5

Sadly welfare wasn't intended to be the way it is. There are people that feel that welfare is their job. Squeezing out a kid every couple of years so they can earn more and more welfare. While there are others that are on it and the harder they try to get off it the more difficult welfare makes it for them.

There will always be beggars looking for a hand out. I really think welfare is a bottomless pit. Unfortunately our society will never allow welfare to drop because there are to many bleeding hearts out there. The thing is struggling is a part of life those that can't cope need to be left behind. If they refuse to help themselves than there is nothing society can do for them. There is a difference between those who refuse and those who are disabled and are limited in what they can and can't do.

Although I think the solution is to drop welfare the only thing they can do is reform it to be a case by case basis which would be to difficult for them to do.

Answer 6

Welfare to work as President Clinton instituted in the late 90's, it gives the person tools to be successful in life and is a hand up not a hand out. In Michigan you can only be on welfare for two years and then you are out. In the mean time there are many educational things that are offered to help put you back as a responsible member of society. I think it is a good approach to the problem.

Answer 7

Welfare makes up less than 1/2 of 1 % of the total national budget. (Not that there is a budget - there's a deficit!) Stop the war and send everyone on welfare to college or trade school with the money! (Ok, lets be realistic...)

I would support a forced temporary sterilization program for both men and women receiving welfare. (In my state men or women who do not support children living with them cannot receive welfare.)

I would require those on welfare capable of working to work or go to school. This means PROVIDING DAYCARE free of charge - People! It's really hard to work when you make more money living on welfare than you do after working and paying the babysitter.

Raise the minimum wage.


Hey, Apostle R, what are you smoking? State Employees make too much money? My first job out of college ( I graduated at the top of my class with 3 degrees in 4 years!) I worked for the State. After a year, I took another job - same title - private company - better benefits, less workload and $37,000.00 a YEAR MORE! The next job I took was a promotion with a competitor making an additional $17,000.00 a year more! The top paying job at the State in my field pays about $45,000.00. I left the country to live in the Carribean for a couple of years. I moved back in 2001 to take care of my parents. I took a huge pay cut to move back here. I got laid off right after 9/11 and the next job I got made about $40,000.00 a year. Huge pay cut.
I now work for the county government, I do more work than my previous positions - and I make $31,000.00 a year and have crappy benefits!

When my Mom dies, I'm leaving this frickin' country and going back to my nice Socialist Island where I will make $160,000.00 US tax free AND get free medical care, better benefits and 6 weeks paid vacation to start!

Bye Bye!

Answer 8

Ugh... I completely agree that there are far too many people who abuse this program. I am all for helping people out, but there should be stricter restrictions in place.

My best friend used to work at a daycare that had a majority of their children coming from welfare homes, so of course the government (er..um, "we") paid for free daycare. She told me countless stories of not only parents but some of the people who worked there... About how one woman was on welfare and kept having children so she could stay on welfare... She was living in a nice townhome paid for by government assistance and had a boyfriend, but didn't want to marry him because then she would cease to get assistance.

Then there are the people who would send their children to the daycare unclean and in shabby clothes, yet they had new SUVs with the huge and expensive spinner rims on them... HECK! I can't even afford to buy the cheap spinner wheel covers~!! lol~

People did survive before the welfare program by getting more aid from their communities... and that is the way that it should be. UNFORTUNATELY with the breakdown of communities... I doubt that will ever happen again...

Answer 9

Before you can reform the welfare, you need to reform those on welfare.
Alot of welfare recipients also have no education, single parent households, and abuse issues including chemical or sexual, or physical/emotional.

Welfare is like abuse because there becomes 2nd and 3rd generations, or more, that become dependant on it.

I believe that in order for a person to feel good about themselves, they must feel good about what they are accomplishing.

That said, here are some ideas.

*minimum wages need to be brought up to around 8.50 an hour so that there is at least a start of breaking even.
>The minimum wage right now is so low, even at 40 hours a week, one person barely has enough to cover travel costs back and forth to work.
*Any child not in school, and at least 16 years of age should either be given a chance to education, or if refused, then taken into a special work group run by the community.
>These work groups do the work usually done by the city like lawn mowing at cemetaries, cleaning the sides of hiways and roads, park and recreation, etc..
>>this will instill the work ethics, and a small stipend can be paid to the child and given in exchange for food vouchers, or clothing.
*Most states have over paid governments, and I believe that a sweeping 15%deduction in all State employees pay would more than pay for extra classes, and training, and partial pay of those going back into the work force.

There are more ideas, but I have been long winded enough.

Answer 10

For one thing, a better investigatory system would weed out those who really need the welfare from those who cheat the system. The welfare to work program works a bit, but needs to be overhauled so that people can look for real work without being penalized. They get thrown off the system immediately and lose all medical benefits without the guarantee that their new job will last. Like SSI, they need to be allowed to stay on the system for a significant period of time to see if their job works out, and they need a transition period where they can receive medical benefits before the company benefits kick in.