I am beginning to feel torn about how I feel regarding the current welfare system. There are definitely people out there who need it...but there are others who are plain apathetic and don't want to work, and unfortunately there are those who learn how to 'cheat the system', and are damn proud of it.
As a middle-class tax payer, I feel like myself and my financial counterparts suffer the burden the most by having to take care of the able-bodied and able-minded people who can otherwise work. Disabilities and such are exempt from this discussion.
Can't the government enact a new and better welfare reform that is less lax? If the government could save that money by making able-bodied people work, the unused welfare funds could be used to set up free or reduced-cost education to technical and trade schools. That way there can't be the argument of people not being able to get the proper education in order to move up in society. Now everyone would have a chance to prosper in society.
After what we saw in Hurrican Katrina, in addition to the failure of social security and other benefits, we obviously cannot count on or trust the federal government.
I think people, including myself, better get used to the fact that we are going to have to take care of ourselves until the day we pass on.
These questions and thoughts are not my official opinion. I am just pondering the situation and questioning who is footing the bill for all the natural disasters that are happening.
What do you think?
Please comment and give me your thoughts.
Please comment and give me your thoughts.
1 comment:
those are very worth while questions there is no doubt welfare fraud is a huge problem in this country. It is sad that a system that was meant to be a helping hand to people in need has now become a way of life (a hopless one at that) for far too many people. Clinton's welfare reform in the 90's was a good first step. One of the big problems I see is that being on welfare has to some extent become a normal or non-embarrassing situation for some people. There seems to be no stigma anymore for people on welfare. I remember as a kid seeing people pay with foodstamps at the grocery store and they would try to hide them as they handed them to the cashier now it seems that a lot of people feel they are entitled to this assitance, in fact some people purposly have more children in order to raise their benefits.
The solution to this? I wish I knew. I wonder if private organizations such as the salvation army or local churches couldn't take bigger role in helping those in need. I wish there were a way we could only give aid to those who truly needed it but as you said there will always be those who will cheat the system. Perhaps a welfare fraud task force could be set up and the penalties for such fraud could be strengthened to discourage blatant abuse.
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