How is Welfare fair?

Question

Why do people feel entitled to receive welfare? Why do hard working Americans have to support healthy lazy people who keep having kids? Why do democrats believe that it is good to raise taxes to promote more social programs for people who do not help themselves? How can any tax paying hard working citizen think it is fair to support others when its hard enough supporting ones own family? How can a mother on welfare not be involved in her childrens life? (what else does she have to do). Please enlighten me on this topic. I have no problem helping a person out who has fallen but, when you never stood up on your own from the beginning is another story. One should not be able to raise a whole family on Govt. handouts.

Godwill.... But, why is it fair for me to have to pay for your decisions.

Answer 1

Welfare isn't fair.

How can it be fair to pay farmers not to plant crops?

Answer 2

Let me ask the alternative question:
What do we do as a society for the children of people who cannot (or will not) work, or for whom work is impossible because daycare is unaffordable? Do we let those children starve? How can we be the richest nation in the country and let children die of malnutrition, or of exposure to the elements?
As an advanced society, we have to be concerned not only with the wealthy, or the middle class, but about the least of the members of society. There has to be some sort of social safety net. Do you want to mandate that everyone on welfare work or go to school (like most welfare programs in this country now do)? Fine. But then you have to have some place to put the kids, either before or after school, or during the work day if the kids are below school aged. Just because you may make enough for your wife to stay home with the kids doesn't mean that a single parent mom with a high school education (MAYBE) can. So, if you want to provide free or extremely subsidized day care (which, in some places, can cost $1000 or more a month per kid!), that's fine.

Do you even know what the welfare system is like after the 1994 welfare reform acts? People have a VERY short leash to get an education or start working, or otherwise benefits are cut off right away. Education or work are required, but even then, women cannot afford daycare for their children. Just look at the post above before you judge and blame.

Answer 3

The principal behind welfare is not to support the lazy, but to help those that have fallen on hard times or are in greater need.

In most cases, welfare systems are not designed to be a long term support system, but no system is perfect and there will always be those that abuse it.

The idea that monies raised from taxes should go to the benefit of the population as a whole is not particularly incredible and the welfare system is part of that universal benefit structure. So are emergency services, road systems, government, education, etc., etc.

There is no perfect system and so any system will have some that use it wrongly. There are, however, far more that do not abuse it and only use it because they *need* to. Remember that many people that seek government assistance have paid their share of taxes, too.

What is more worrying; a nation that tries to help those in need or one that refuses to care for its sick?

Answer 4

YES, all entitlements are confusing / disturbing to working Americans... I thank the person who pointed out the Farm Subsidies issue. What is MOST disturbing though are those who DEFRAUD The People via the government, and take those funds as a "RIGHT".

WELFARE came about obviously as a TEMPORARY system during the Depression, to support ABANDONED mothers and their children... then unfortunately, it was expanded and extended into a LIFESTYLE.

It IS amusing to see politicians organize welfare recipients into a political-action group... forcing the continuation of the program, and resisting "reform".

Then again, it's depressing to see active duty-military in the junior ranks with a spouse and one or two kids having to resort to FOOD STAMPS to make ends meet.

I would LOVE to see it MANDATED, that if you are on WELFARE, you be REQUIRED to use birth-control. When I was living in San Diego, there were hundreds of poor-high school age girls who would get knocked up so they could move out of their parents home, COLLECT welfare, and begin their "new" life feeding at the trough.

Answer 5

It truly is a touchy situation, but certainly one that is not helping America financially. In a way I understand. I am only 19 years old, but I go to school while holding a job in order to make my car payment, while many other students my age have their things paid for. So it is okay to feel like this, but truth is there is nothing we can do about it because America is flawed. The government likes to give money to people who do nothing, and sadly, I don't think we will ever find a solution to the problem. Until that day, just keep doing what you do. Clearly we have the better work ethic. Good things come to those who deserve it...hang in there.

Answer 6

The only species that I know of that can show sympathy, empathy, and compassion are human beings. In the animal world, someone who is unable to feed himself, or work for the pack will simply die. I can clearly see that too many social programs creates an artificial world where people take no pride in their ability to work. However, in most of the United States people do take pride in their work ethic. The welfare fallacy that people keep having babies in order to stay on welfare is by far blown out of proportion to the facts. Most people who recieve welfare payments are not able to work at all, or they are trying to support other family members who can't work while someone else works at menial jobs. They aren't all lazy, but many if not most, are seriously under-educated.

Rather than blame the people in need of assistance for the welfare problems, why not look at a far larger picture. Why do we subsidize farmers? Look at how much money is spent on regulating the production in agribusiness - and that's huge businesses, not individuals, who benefit from that money. Do you know how much money is spent on regulating the water supply in the West? Billions of dollars are spent to send potable water to areas where planting was never intended from areas that once grew great fields of grasses. So, we're spending all that money for the welfare of Los Angeles and San Diego, while draining the Colorado River basin. How much does government spend to subsidize the beef industry? auto industry? logging industry? Aren't those all forms of welfare, too?

Before you assume all welfare goes to lazy people, look at the bigger picture. What's the difference between helping a family who've lost their jobs, and supporting an industry who employs thousands. There's a lot more to welfare than meets the eye. The heart of humanity is compassion for those who are incapable of supporting themselves. I'd rather teach them to support themselves, but I want them clothed and fed while their learning. No animal other than human beings are able to do that.

Answer 7

I don't think it is so much about the government offering these programs as it is so much about people taking advantage of them. Like another poster, I was 18 and had a child out of wedlock. But I got a job, lived at home with my parents for awhile before moving out with my sister, and learned to live within my means. I never relied on welfare or the handouts of others, other than hand me down clothing and furniture or household goods. I think it all boiled down to my upbringing. "You work for what you get. You start out with nothing and you make something of yourself. You don't spend what you don't make." It seems like the democratic party is trying to make its people dependent on the government which is allegedly trying to help them out. Time limits ought to be set as to how long "help" is offered. The legacy is being handed down by those who refuse to help themselves.

Answer 8

If you have a pulse and you are not quadreplegic then you should work period. If you procreate hilly nilly and you cannot support them - not my fault/problem.

If we're going to have it then there should be a limit - 2 years, by then you can get a trade. If you are disabled (truly disabled - not the mamby pamby whiney things people claim are disabling) then that's a different story.

If you are abled bodied then you should work - pick up litter for all I care, but work.

Answer 9

I had twins and I was 18, the only way i could stay home to look after them was on welfare, I wanted to work but it costed me more money then I was making by like double to put them in daycare....

Answer 10

simple...more entitlement programs = more "victims" = more potential votes for Democrats...did I forget to mention felons?