You can make the incentives large enough so that most people will take advantage of it, and you can make the alternative unpalatable.
I do not think welfare should be in cash. I think we should have residential units, staffed with chaperones, and if you don't choose to take advantage of educational opportunities, or opportunities designed to make you economically viable, then you live in a place with supervision, where healthy meals are cooked for you, and the only TV you get is educational TV. Paternalism? Yes. I think people who have grown up without the benefit of a decent family probably need a little paternalism. That's why the military works so well for some people- it's a very paternalistic place, and I think we need a place (besides reform school and prison) on the civilian side, that also is a bit paternalistic.
Damaged people are not going to heal themselves. Children whose parents don't care where they are, and what they do, are going to be hard pressed to develop into the kind of kids who want to go to school, or be upstanding citizens. Generally when we want something in this country, and we value it, we pay for it. Paying kids in certain areas to go to school, and change their lives, imo, is a cheap solution to a complex problem. Now some people will whine about the expense, but it's cheaper than housing someone in prison, or paying their welfare benefits for life. Solutions often cost more than doing nothing, but then again they clean up problems, so in that sense, in the long term, they are cost effective. |
