Chase
Sabari
7.10.19
Congress is choosing to cut welfare from the list of government programs, I agree
with this decision wholeheartedly. The creation of social security and welfare in
1935 was much different; It offered help to people who were in actual need. It was
not so widely used that it caused a real dent in the economy. In many cases, the
wrong people have access to the benefits of the program. Things such as welfare
fraud are now prominent and lead to the 445 billion a year it costs to run the
program. As you read what I have to say on the issue, ask yourself these questions: If
welfare is so wonderful, why are there so many homeless people? So many people
nationwide use welfare, if we rely on it so much, why not look at the jobs people
have and the economy as a whole?
Welfare is a program that issues funds
to low-income individuals and families. It looks at a number of factors such as
income, living conditions, occupation, to name a few. While it sounds good on paper
it has changed since it’s creation. The initial intended use is hardly recognized
anymore. Now, people file for welfare to add on to their paycheck. This would be
something that is easily detectable if the process was a lot more efficient. I feel that
when the officials look at the housing situation, they assume it’s all the same. The
care of each American citizen should not be handled so hastily. According to
lextingtonlaw.com, the average spending cap for a family is 30,582. The majority of
this spending is in housing and that to me seems like a struggle. Would you like to
live paycheck to paycheck? While it’s true welfare helps, it’s so widely misused that
there seems to be so little available for everyone but few people actually make good
use of it, this is why we must change.
Jobs and many other things
could be improved. If we limit the number of people who actually need welfare,
those who are truly in need will have a much better benefit. For example, a low
paying job, plus kids, plus a single parent home is a lot to handle. The government
could offer help to seek higher education, this, in turn, would lead to a higher paying
job. With a raised income, the family would no longer need welfare. This opens up
the gate for homeless veterans or convicts with nowhere to go. We have to help all
citizens not just the so-called “model” ones. This would also help our economy if
higher income citizens, then the taxes the government collect could even double or
triple sooner or later. Everything is in a cycle however, The hard push to keep
welfare is that it’s a good tool to keep people oppressed.
People
have long been oppressed by welfare. The lesson, “There’s no such thing as a free
lunch” is one lot of people don’t understand. They see “free” money and are drawn
like moths to the flame, however, it’s not so simple. In order to keep that free
money, they have to work a job doing a monotonous task from 9-5 weekly and
collect their check. When instead of having an education and a high paying job that
challenges you, most people would take the easy road. This is one of the reasons
America has become so socially divided. We are determined to prove our worth by
what we own and what we can do with the “wealth” we’ve accumulated.
These reasons are more than enough to convey the message that welfare is bad for
this nation. The idea behind it is a beautiful thing, to help those in need it is simple.
However when on a scale of that magnitude, you can attract so much more than the
ones you’re trying to help. It sad but it’s the world we, unfortunately, live in. The fix
is simple, we must do away with welfare and work on fixing the economy. The steps
in between would have to be decided by the president and the Congress working
collectively. I still believe it truly is possible, but to my reader have you answered the
question now? If we rely on it so much, why not look at the jobs people have and
the economy as a whole?
Sources
“Federal-State Public Welfare Programs.” Social Welfare History Project, 6 Mar. 2018,
socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/public-welfare/federal-state-public-welfare-programs/.
“Government Benefits.” USAGov, www.usa.gov/benefits.
Lexington Law. “45 Important Welfare Statistics for 2019.” Lexington Law,
www.lexingtonlaw.com/blog/finance/welfare-statistics.html.
“Top Government Benefits for Low-Income Families.” HealthSherpa Blog, 19 June 2019,
www.healthsherpa.com/blog/top-10-government-programs-for-low-income-families/.