Is the role of the Gov't to help the poor?Why or why not?

Question

Also for a school project...also might find info on cycles of poverty, stereotypes,solutions & the permanent underclass.....

Answer 1

No it shouldn't be, but it is sadly. Not that people in need shouldn't be helped, they should. I just think doing it at a local level more people that really need the help would get it. The more government gets involved in our lives the bigger it gets and the more it costs us in taxes. Let us deal with our social needs by community funded by contributions given by people who since they have more of their hard earned money can do this. People in general are generous and will take care of their own. Right now we are giving the government far to much of our hard earned paychecks. The less hands the money to help folks goes through the more people it will help. No matter how sincere some politicians are in starting federal programs the bureaucracies waste too much money from the beginning. Getting government out of Education would be a great thing also. " for every good idea there is an equal and opposite government program"

Answer 2

I don't believe the government's role should be to "Help" the poor. Define "Poor." As compared to my in-laws, I am poor. As compared to those around me, I'm doing well. I don't believe there to be a "Permanent Underclass." Our's is a capitalistic society. The only one holding anyone down is yourself. Consider that the law mandates that every child attend school. Books are made available and teachers are there with their lesson plans. Local, state and federal tax dollars go toward the funding of these schools. The teachers are all required by law to be certified. If learning is not taking place, chances are it's because the students refuse and/or the parental involvement isn't there. Everyone has opportunity. The poor are poor because they refuse to learn, to assimilate and to mimmick those who are successful.
Most everyone would agree that Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are extremely successful. When was the last time anyone ever saw either of these individuals dressed in pants so large they literally had to hold them up? I doubt either of them listen to "gangsta rap." Why? I am forever telling my children, "If you don't want to be stereotyped, then don't do stereotypical things."
A solution? We must break away from the idea of individuality being the greatest virtue. Uniformity should be a higher virtue.
When I was stationed at Camp Pendleton, my kids were enrolled in the public school system there. Off base, the elementary and middle schools were teaming with drugs and gang violence. The schools all had a school uniform policy and those were never enforced. My oldest went to school everyday wearing the prescribed uniform and everyday, he'd come home with a black eye or a bloodied nose for having worn the uniform. The learning of academics was not happening on that campus. We moved him to the school that was directly on the base. There, the kids were all well behaved, dressed in the appropriate uniform and grades were skyrocketing. The teachers all came from the same pool of teachers so it wasn't that one school of teachers was better than another. The funding and administrations were the same. So, what was the difference? Parenting. On base, the parents all subscribed to the same basic belief system and passed this down to their children. Off base, it was "anything goes, survival of the fittest." Off base, the parents didn't care and it showed loud and clear. It's not the government's job to regulate our every move and thought. It's imparative that the individual citizens regulate themselves. Anything else would be little more than a dictatorship.

Answer 3

NO, It is not the governments responsibility to help the poor. It is the persons responsibility to help themselves. I don't want to hear about their "addictions" or created "diseases" such as alcoholism. The government is responsible for National Defense and providing infrastructure. That is it. People need to realize the gravy train is slowing to a stop and start preparing for that day. The government created cycles of poverty by keeping generations of blacks, whites and Hispanics on welfare. As much as we don't want to admit it, there are some truths in stereotypes, otherwise how would they become stereotypes? Solutions? Personal Responsibility is a good place to start. There is always going to be a permanent underclass. Some people are just not motivated to pull themselves out of the quagmire they find themselves in. Sad but true.

Answer 4

No, that is not the role of government. If a country announced it would do that, everyone would gravitate to it - much like what is happening to the US currently. Ultimately, the country will be filled with poor, and there will be nobody funding their care. Think of a country like a house, and the government like the ruler of the house. If you let people in who you don't know, and they live gratis, soon you will have no food, no paper towels, not enough bathroom space, and so on. Your uninvited visitors would not have to take money from your wallet to break you - they could do so simply by increasing all your daily operational costs.

Answer 5

Absolutely Not! It is not the gov't job nor is it my job, your parents job, your neighbor job, or your children's job to support these people! These people who refuse to work need to find a job nor is it our responsibility to re-educate those people who choose to drop out of school. They had the opportunity to receive an education the same why everyone else did, if they choose not to take advantage of that then why re-educate them with work first programs etc. Give the people who have dead end jobs the chance to better themselves and give the drop out the no brainier jobs such as flipping burgers and busing tables. Medical...again why are we paying the poo rs medical? Help with medical should be given to those people who choose to work not the ones who don't. On average there are more working people without medical insurance then those with it. The cost of medical is so high that most people can't afford it. Also, anyone who receives aid from the gov't better be poor! Why should person on welfare have a new car, computer, cell phone, cable or other luxuries when they can't afford to put food on their table, or so they claim. The poor people of today know how to work the system it need to be reevaluated or done away with. Do away with welfare and the poverty cylce will slow down, a majority of the people on welfare learn how to be on welfare from thier parents. They learn how to cheat the gov't from watching their relatives. Do away with welfare and watch how fast these poor people get off their butts and get a job. Why give them the easy way out when us working people have to work to survive.

Answer 6

PPL in general are lazy unless there is a motivating force.. if the government were to just give away money .. people would have no reason to better themselves as we see under our current system... I believe one should have to put an effort into something to get something back.. Workfare should be adopted for those able to give something back to society, yes those that cannot fend for themselves due to impairments should be taken care of but the welfare bum should become a thing of the past

Answer 7

Interesting article below that will give some insight to how some believe charity is not a function of the Federal Government.

Answer 8

Yes.
But only with the intent of making equal opportunity for everyone.
The Gov. can't indefinetly hand out money to the poor, but it has some responsibility to maintain equality.

Answer 9

Yes, but to the extent it helps them to "get on their feet". Most gov't programs have had shabby track records because they provide to much "free" stuff without any "requirements." The best gov't solutions are those that offer with one hand and require performance of one kind or another with the other. Performance begets better performance and that's truly the fastest way out of poverty, (other than a life of successful criminal activity which is very rare.)

Answer 10

No, charity is a individual duty not a government duty. It is theft of our government dollars, just like corporate welfare and foreign aid packages.