Why are so many people against government assistance?

Question

Why are so many people against government assistance now? I know many people do abuse it but some people just need a break. I love the fact that I know my taxes are going to a child's dinner, a woman's delivery, or a new home being built for the less fortunate. Why are we so concerned about where are money is going? Why don't people know that sometimes you do have to care for others and not only yourselves? If they reviewed government programs to better insure people were no longer "living" off the government (our taxes) would you feel better about where they were going?

I meant ensure not "insure."

Would you be more willing to pay more taxes if it went towards free medical care for every US citizen?

American Idol--I'm not on welfare. I don't have any governement assistance either. Why would someone on welfare own a computer and have the internet? If I was in that kid of trouble I definatly wouldn't be on the computer--I'd be working! Geez!

Also--my husband is in the military--and we could go up for assistance actually. BUT--we don't because we can afford everything we need and then some. I was just saying I'm glad people who need my taxes get them.

Answer 1

Thanks first for acknowledging that yes, it is your money and mine which is going to others. That's the first sore spot.

Also, even FDR said welfare programs can have "narcotic effects" on people.

I think we'd all like to help people who tried their best and really need it.

But if the programs are available then others won't even try.

It's hard to strike the right balance.

Answer 2

The problem most of us have is with people abusing the system. That and the fact that the government is too cumbersome and laden with bureaucracy to be able to parcel out money and services efficiently. I'm not against social welfare in the slightest; sometimes people need help. But I'll admit to some resentment... I'm 36, college educated and well-employed and I am just getting to the point in my life where I know I can truly afford to raise a child. Many people haven't bothered to make the sacrifices I've made; they've just churned out babies and known the system would be there to catch them if they fell. I've seen it personally; I knew a couple who had eight kids even though neither one of them had a job. I don't begrudge any child its dinner (and indeed, those eight kids ate at our table frequently when there was nothing in the kitchen at their house) but those parents are the ones that people are thinking of when they complain about government assistance programs. The welfare system never offered to send the father of those eight kids back to school to learn a trade, though that would have been a lot cheaper in the long run; again, I've seen this personally as my mom encouraged him into community college and helped pay his tuition until he had an associates degree in computer programming and a job he'd never so much as dreamed of while he was making those eight kids he couldn't afford. Not only did his step up in the world get his family off most of the public assistance they were on (they still qualified for subsidized housing) it gave his kids a role model and at least the two oldest followed him to community college when the time came, breaking the cycle. Again, that wasn't the social welfare system's doing, but THAT'S more along the line of how I'd like to see my tax dollars spent.

And, oh yes, I'd absolutely pay more taxes to know that every American had health insurance. As a Canadian by birth, I have a very hard time seeing how the US can claim to be the greatest nation on Earth when an appalling number of hardworking people cannot get health insurance or pay for health care. It's a travesty.

Answer 3

I'm not against it at all. I figure that my tax dollars(yes I work, and so does my husband) are at least doing something good.

I know how hard it can be to find a good job if you don't have experience. My mom paid me to work around the house when I was a teenager, so I didnt have "real" job experience and I ended up having to get a job at a pizza place that my husband's uncle ran, just to get job experience. Taco Bell wouldn't even hire an 18 year old with no work experience.

The same thing happened to my husband. He went to work at the same pizza place about 6 months before I did, so that he could get some work experience. As soon as he got a year of solid work experience, he got a job offer doubling what we were bringing home.

The only government assistance we ever used was medicaid while I was pregnant. We could have qualified for food stamps or welfare if I had wanted to go get them, we were only bringing home $150/week at one point, but we made it work because I didn't want to be one of those people who lived off the government forever.

I would rather a child get breakfast, or a mother get good prenatal care, than my tax dollars be going to fund a war, or the president's vacation to aruba(or wtf ever).

I would gladly pay a little bit more in taxes every year, and not get my wimpy little $50 refund back, so that the US could have free healthcare.

Answer 4

what i found really frustrating was the fact that i could see someone in a porsche, with a cell phone, decked in gold jewelry and still stand in line for food stamps (yes i actually saw this when my mom and i went for assistance over 15 years ago) btw, we were denied any assistance.
thankfully, the welfare system isn't what it used to be. Now, there is no "welfare" program but a welfare to work. this allows people to get some assistance but they have to get work training and they get you a job. no more sitting at home waiting for a check.
i will say this, i have taken "assistance" by applying for emergency medical when my insurance hasn't kicked in during pregnancy. the duration of this was only 1-2 months. I see it as i pay taxes and if i need my temporary help then by golly i'm gonna use my tax dollars.

Answer 5

Exactly. You are dead on. But there are things that most people also do not know about certain aspects OF these welfare options that make it NOT their money.

FIP which is a federal income program for those who do not have enough money to live on, such as those who never get their child support or their child support is not enough to cover the housing costs and such. FIP is required to be paid back and if you have any child support that does come in they take that from you until every dime you used is paid back. So if your child support is 50 dollars a month and they give you $450 for ONE month. You loose the next 9 months of child support until it is paid back.

But very rarely does that get clarified to the person on the assistance or anyone else who their taxes is initially going to. I know this because my mother lost nearly 2000 dollars for FIP they claim she got back when I was 4 years old and we had no food or money. But thing is we never got any such money. And so there fore once she was divorced 11 years after getting this money, she had to work three jobs and fought with my dad because he wasn't paying child support and I knew he was because I was putting the money in the mail. We found out 5 years later why she never got the money.

So people whining about how their money is going to help these people shouldn't be too pissed.. Those people eventually have to pay it back.

Answer 6

I think that as long as it is not abused then it can be a big help. If someone is having kid after kid and expecting the government to pick up the tab, then it is not a good thing. But I agree, some people just need a break sometimes. Unexpected things happen in life and some people just need help.

I thought my first husband was going to be a good husband and father, but instead he turned out to be abusive. I left him, but found out I was pregnant shortly after. I got no support from him at all, not even a pack of diapers. I had such a hard pregnancy that I had to stop working, which left me with no income. Medicaid and WIC were a big help to me at that time.

Answer 7

The answer is simple. Welfare spending over the past 40 years amounts to enough money to give every poor person in the country a check for $100,000.00 in cash. If this money had been effective, then why do poverty levels persist at the same levels they did before (about 10% of the population...)

I used to live in Memphis, Tn. My wife was pregnant, and we both worked full-time jobs-- barely made ends meet and paid our own medical bills, rent, groceries and all. At the same time, people living in government funded housing projects were clamoring for (and received) FREE cable television service.

The argument was literally "just because we're poor doesn't mean we don't deserve what others have. Many of these same people trashed their apartments and spent food stamps money on liquor and cigarettes. (YES, there ARE ways to do this.)

My family worked for a living and had to budget our money and could not afford a luxury like cable TV, while our tax money paid for the same service for those who produce nothing for society.

No One wants to remove the "safety net", we just want the money spent sensibly and for those who receive to show some responsibility for making their own lives better.

Answer 8

Because when we get into a little bind they don't help us with rent food and other bills we usually have to borrow and payback, and some think that if they are able to work then they should be able to support the lives they bring into this world instead of other people taking care of them. Yeah there are people who abuse the system and ones that may need a little help but they are still capable of getting jobs to take care of their own.
I was 16 when I had my first and I did it all on my own no help from the state just to prove that I made a mistake and I am taking responsibility for, it was hard and at times I wish I had the help and needed the help but never got it due to the fact that it was my responsibility to care for my child and no one else.

Answer 9

I agree, I think there are some women out there that find themselves in a bad situation with no where else to turn. I think most people have a bad opinion of government assistance because they think that it is going to the mother who refuses to work, and is out there buying drugs with the help instead of feeding her kids. We see the abuse of the government spotlighted on TV, but we don't see the people who really need the help, who are out there working two or three jobs and still can't make the ends meet.

Answer 10

Yes I would. I have a son with autism, we have health insurance but can't afford some of the treatment that my son needs, so he is on government assistance. What I don't care for are people that claim to be disabled and get assistance, when there are sooo many others out there that need the help.

Answer 11

I think most people are against it because people abuse it. My sister was a single mom on assistance but she worked 40+ hours a week and paid taxes just like the rest of it. So as I see it she pretty much paid for her own assistance.