Welfare Where Is It Going Essay, Research Paper

Welfare: Where is it going?

Millions of Americans today are signed up for a program called Welfare. Welfare is a program designed to aid poor and needy families. Every human being has essential needs that cannot always be met due to difficult or demanding situations. In most cases, these situations are long term and almost seem impossible to get out of. These people are most commonly the elderly, disabled, unemployed, single parents, and the unskilled. The Welfare program was specifically created to help people in these cases.

Many argue that welfare is necessary for the mere survival of some families. They also feel that it is an obligation of the government to help its citizens in times of need, especially in a country that is seen as having so much. A country is made up of different social classes, and unfortunately the U.S. has a poor one. People have different situations which do not allow them to support or provide for their families. It is only ethical for the government to come in and provide assistance. The government has a responsibility to its citizens. The upkeep of roads is one way, while national defense is another. The Welfare program can be added to the very same list.

The need for government assistance is understandable, but we also need to limit the amount of time a family can stay on it. If we allow families to stay on welfare for extended periods of time, we are only creating a lazy, dependent culture. Families figure that the monthly welfare check will come in the mail, so where is motivation for self help going? Satisfied with their monthly check, many of the recipients use it as their only form of income, and do nothing else. The government is only encouraging and enabling their idleness by paying these people to sit around and do nothing.

Instead of providing free money with nothing in return, the government needs to provide those in need with the skills that will give them the ability to support themselves. If the welfare program implements a type of return in exchange for its generosity, it may be seen as less desirable to those who are taking advantage of it. A great burden would be lifted off the system. The funds freed should be used to educate and train those who are on welfare, by teaching an individual and placing them in the workplace both the government and person would benefit from. We could also create programs where recipients do community service. They could work for the city in return for their aid. This would not only contribute to the community, but would also provide the individual with more employable skills. If we were to incorporate these new programs, abusers would be weeded out of the system, and place the poor in the workplace. A guaranteed income often encourages laziness unless some attachment of work is involved. We need to provide some way of guaranteeing jobs, not income. If you really look at it, the government is still providing assistance. It is just coming in the form of education. This would in turn result in a more efficient economy.

Basic needs are part of the elements of survival. If a person is unable to provide the basic needs for himself or for his family, then someone must step in. In the United States, that person is the government. The government has a responsibility to its citizens to provide the basic needs for its people if the people cannot provide for themselves. There should be a time frame for which this type of help is carried on. The citizens should share some type of responsibility in the matter as well. If that is possible, then it is a win win situation for everyone.