Welfare has turned from a charitable program into a "constitutional right." If you are poor, it's now the government's responsibility to support you and get you out of that situation. The safety net is a noble goal in itself, but it creates a dependency that can never be broken, except by those willing to commit political suicide.
That dependency was broken in the 90s by many people.
Same thing with Social Security. And now some want to add universal day care to this mix.
Its not a constitutional right, its a necessity.
Before diving into this and accusing the opposition of being heartless, count the cost.
I don't think you are heartless but rather badly informed. Many people on welfare are damaged in some way.....alcoholic, druggie, social malcontent, brain damaged, limited skills, etc. Most are a product of bad parenting and bad choices.
I had a friend from elementary school who was from a pretty dysfunctional family....more than most. His stepfather molested him from the age of 7 to 12. That got exposed and his mother divorced the guy only to marry another guy who physically abused him. By 14, Mike was drinking and by 18 was an alcoholic. His grades sucked. The rest of us went to college. Mike didn't.....he got odd gardening jobs and the like. He finally got sober and went into AA.....I lost track of him after that. But I bet you he was on welfare a lot of those drinking years.
That's the only one I know personally. Mike's friends......we tried to help as much as kids can. However, for Mike, it wasn't good enough. He made bad choices and started drinking. Its hard for me to condemn other people after knowing Mike. He was a nice guy....good guy; he was always ready to share whatever he had.....but he made bad choices. I would like to think I wouldn't have made his choices.....but who knows.
You know that old saying [and I am paraphrasing].....don't
criticize until you've walked in someone else's shoes. Well, I think its pretty apt.
And just for the record, I don't think most people really like the fact they are welfare. At least they seem ashamed when they turn in their food stamps at the supermarket.
ted |
