Allow Me to Explain Myself

Now that I have had time to cool off from the vote, I should explain my last post. Let me state clearly, I do not believe that all social programs are evil. I have serious issues with the way welfare is currently set up in this country and I think our president regularly lies through his teeth, but I do not believe that all social programs are by their very nature wrong.

Sometimes you need a hand up. I firmly believe that hand up should come from local organizations, churches, and people, but in the event that none of those options are feasible, some sort of social safety net is not completely unwarranted. However, that safety net should be very, very, very minimal.

Right now in this country there are literally people who will be part of the welfare system for life. They are born into it with parents who are already on welfare, then they hop on it themselves at eighteen. Often times they are often parents themselves by that point. They stay on it, in some cases popping out more kids, live in Section 8 Housing, work a few minimum wage jobs here and there, and then eventually collect Social Security.

That is not everybody. There are many, many people who genuinely fall on hard times, take advantage of food stamps or Section 8 for a while, and then get back on their feet and get off the system. Those people use the system responsibly, and suffer from the stigma the people that I described in the proceeding paragraph create.

However, as we move more and more towards a socialist society, the first type will become more and more the norm. The current Health Care reform is merely an example.

Here is my proposal for welfare. In order to receive any kind of aid at all, a person should have worked at least two solid years in his or her past. Food stamps should be for families only, and a person should only qualify for enough for the number of family members that her or she has at the time he or she applies. If you can’t afford to support your family, you shouldn’t be screwing around risking expanding it. There should be a two year limit on any kind of aid, and the requirement that the person gets a job a year in unless he or she is a non-traditional college student with a family.

That’ll never happen.

The message that is being sent to America’s youth is that they are entitled to help from the government. Those evil rich capitalists are responsible for every woe. We are exchanging liberty for… honestly, I’m not even sure what we’re exchanging it for. But I am afraid.

But going back to what I said in the second paragraph, I do believe that the focus should be on local organizations. This country would be a much happier place if we would all turn our eyes back to our own communities and do what we can to help lift up those around us. We spend so much time worrying about what’s happening in every other state while the family down the road could use a few extra cans of food. Focus on your neighbors. Help your neighbors. A few churches and charities that take local outreach seriously can make a much bigger impact on the poor in their community than any federal program.

Take all that money that you donate to political parties or causes and invest them in local free clinics and food banks. Do something for those around you. Relieve the suffering in your own community, and let the rest of the country do the same.