The United States has always been admired for its spirit of entrepreneurship, vivaciousness, positivity against all odds, and ability to uphold the ideals it was founded on. However, these things are being threatened by the cycle of dependence produced by the system better know as “welfare”.
When faced with the problem of the economically disadvantaged, we have three options:
(1) Do nothing. Ignore the problem and hope it goes away. This is to some extent what the federal government did before the Great Depression in 1935. People below the poverty line were mainly supported by their families, private charity, and to a small degree state and local government. Local officials determined the distribution of what meager government funds existed to help those in need. The attitude of people towards the poor was that they somehow deserved their plight, and this was their just reward. Many of the “poor houses” were in horrendous condition and kept that way intentionally so only the truly desperate would become dependent.
(2) Give people money, in hopes that the problem will go away. This is the choice of most Liberals. Offer people money to appease the masses, increase the size of government, increase the budget, increase government power, and get more votes from low-income citizens. Unfortunately, this approach simply doesn’t work. Throwing money at people doesn’t solve their problems any more than giving money to a child will teach them how to save for college or retirement later in life. You have to help them in other ways; giving someone a hand out is a short-term solution.
(3) When faced with a hungry man, you have two options: you can give him a fish, and feed him for a day. Or, you can teach him how to fish, and then hope he’ll be able to provide for himself and others indefinitely. This is the long-term solution, and the approach we need to take.
Welfare, also known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was created in 1935 in response to the Great Depression. However, the true “War on Poverty” began in 1965 with President Johnson’s Great Society. The Great Society expanded the welfare program to include the Social Security Act and the Economic Opportunity Act, and it has been a Great Failure. Despite some fluctuations, the poverty level is essentially exactly the same today as it was 40 years ago, even after the $3.5 trillion dollars spent.
30% of welfare recipients begin because of an out-of-wedlock birth; and since 1960 the illegitimate birth rate has risen by nearly 25%. This is due to government incentives for irresponsibility provided by welfare initiatives, and the lack of visible consequences for teen pregnancies and births to individuals who cannot financially support children only encourages other to do the same. The cycle of dependency is so desperate that at any given time nearly 65% of the recipients of welfare will continue to receive benefits for 8 years or more, and children raised in families dependent on welfare are seven times more likely to become dependent on the welfare program themselves.
Almost 11% of our GDP is currently spent on welfare programs; if we could cut that in half it would make a tremendous difference in the economy, creating jobs and resulting in even greater economic growth in the long run when we introduce more tax cuts. Finally, making adoption easier and encouraging more private charitable organizations to become involved will make a huge difference in the lives of these families. Private charities are more capable of spending money and identifying those who need it; in 1994 combined federal, state, and local governments spent $35,756 per family under the poverty level, and clearly very little of that actually reached the beneficiaries.
I believe in giving economically disadvantaged people a hand up and not a hand out. Welfare creates dependency, destroys the need for personal responsibility, and tears families apart. It should be eliminated altogether, not made larger through a requirement for work or increased spending into the existing failure of a system. In it’s place: cut taxes, encourage economic growth, and use tax incentives encouraging private charitable organizations that can more effectively identify and assist the truly economically disadvantaged.
References:
http://www.cato.org/testimony/ct-ta3-9.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Poverty
http://www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria14_3.html#welfare
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
