Welfare as a
whole is a system that has a large amount of abuse nationwide. As a country we
spend billions of dollars annually providing free assistance to Abawds — able-bodied adults without minor dependents
ages 18 to 49, that
otherwise could fend for them selves if they found motivation. Now before I get
into the body of my post I want to make it clear that I don’t feel like the
social welfare system is a bad thing for those who genuinely need it. I know
for millions of Americans it is the difference between life and death. This
opinion stems from my own experience watching firsthand someone in my own
family abuse the system.
This hot topic
issue has always been in the back of my mind growing up. I came from a family
of divorced parents. My Mother decided after getting divorced from my father
that she did not feel like working anymore so she proceeded to “adjust her
lifestyle” to qualify for food stamps. My mother was a bookkeeper for her whole
life so her claim of no longer being able to work was one that I met with
skepticism. My impression of the situation was from the outside but as a 20
year old adult I watched my own parent basically abuse the system for free food
and other assistance. I say abuse because she would work a side job as a
bookkeeper for cash while still claiming a need for public assistance because
she could not work. Being raised by my father who instilled in me a hard
working ethic, this was contradictory to everything I knew.
So what do we do
as a country? Well Maine it appears seems to be on track to get this problem
taken care of. The Governor of
Maine has mandated that people do one of three things.
- Work 20 hours per week,
- Take state job-training courses
- Volunteer for six hours per week
Now from those three things I don’t
feel that they are asking for too much. All they are saying is if you aren’t actively seeking
employment then you need to contribute to society to receive assistance.
Effectively eliminating people sitting at home watching TV and not trying to
better their situation in life. This is not targeting people working for
minimum wage and having trouble putting food on the table, elderly, disabled or
single parents. This is strictly the Abawds population claiming that they can’t
find work. I feel like if we can motivate these people to go get work great. If
we can get them to use some of their time during the week to help others in
need great. I would like to see the free handouts end to the people who don’t deserve
them or should be trying to move up the ladder and not get them.
The Commissioner of HHS for Maine, Mary
Mayhew has a quote in the article that I feel sums up the solution very well. “You’ve
got to incentivize employment, create goals and create time limits on these
welfare programs,”
At the root of this issue is a
fundamental problem. People have lost a fear of going hungry or homeless when
they don’t have a job because the system will take care of them. I believe
asking for some volunteer help or that they attend vocational rehab to help
themselves out in the long run is not only beneficial to society in the short
term, but it benefits the recipient in the long term.
My source
article for this post is from the New York Times.
This issue in
Maine has been well reported by multiple sources. I urge everyone to go read a
few different articles on this issue before taking a side on it. My opinion
stems from personal experience.
I realize this is most likely opening a "can of worms" but since I have had such a strong opinion on it I felt this class would be the best place to share it. I am hoping for some constructive debating on this and not heated emotional and political rhetoric that only makes people upset.
