...what can we do to help those who are not able to survive--to feed their families--if they fail to receive a welfare check?
I delayed in responding to this part of your post because I wanted to ponder the matter a bit. I must say I had never given a thought to the particular plight of welfare recipients in this. Having considered it, I don't really see it as an special issue.
I think your question presupposes a mild Y2K scenario--civilization is still with us, but some states and localities are having problems getting out welfare checks and perhaps providing city services In that case, government and non-profit organizations who are equipped to handle relief would be there to help. If additional support were required, they would make appeals to the public on TV and people like you and me would pitch in with time, cash, materials, or whatever was requested. I would imagine that welfare recipients are in somebody's contingency plan. If not, organizations geared toward providing food and other emergency support would come up with something pretty quickly.
Should Y2K turn into more than a few bumps, I think the whole paradigm shifts. Our society fosters in us there responsibility to take care of those less fortunate. But in a civilization-disrupting scenario, the criteria for who is less fortunate would change. Right now, welfare recipients require society's care either because of a temporary setback like illness or the loss of a job or because of the more durable problem of lack of job skills. If Y2K goes badly, those who are now in the fortunate category wouldn't have jobs either plus society's skill set would change. In that scenario, you and I may be dependent upon a current welfare recipient who is blessed with nothing more than a strong back.
Hope this is helpful to your social concerns.
Karen |
