Welfare

Welfare is financial assistance to aid people in need. "Need" refers to jobs, food, housing, etc... not ipods, Pizza Hut pizza, or satellite tv/cable. Today, unfortunately, anyone can get welfare! I have at least 3 friends (or former) that have a college degree, no mental or physical handicaps that prevent them from getting a job, are married, and have children... and are on welfare. And to top it all off... they are happy to be on welfare! One friend encouraged me to quit my job so that way welfare would cover some family expenses!

What mutants is society forming? I remember a time when "welfare" was something no one wanted to admit to. It was one of those things that you accepted as necessary for the time, but hoped to God you'd be financially back on track again soon. Now, people aim for it and wear it as a badge of honor. It may not have reached the stage of "coolness" yet... but it definately isn't something taboo or undesired. I mean, heck, how else did those 17 year old high schoolers hope to financially provide for their unborn children they agreed to have together? Why... welfare of course. Heck, they can even get college grants to help pay for them to attend a university for a degree they may or may not use! And this money that they are lining up to take is that of the financially responsible! Why are we rewarding the financially retarded?

I don't have a problem with welfare in general. I do not have an issue of having some of my taxpayer money to assist in those that truly need the money and are hoping to get out of welfare as soon as possible. What I do have a problem with is that money going to support people who just don't want to work or want to have all their kids now while it's free. It's NOT FREE! I'm paying for all your children to be born. And I'm paying for them to be born and raised by a parent who doesn't know what a work ethic is!

So, I propose the government do thus... reduce the budget going into Welfare. Next, I would have every person who needs welfare to fill out an application, agree to meet specific standards by a specific period of time (i.e. have a job, take regular drug tests, abstain from having any further children). This will return people onto a track of financial responsibility and realization of their priorities and obligations. Once they agree to said terms and are given a monthly allowance (welfare), they will be periodically contacted and watched to make sure they are meeting these standards (through contacting employment HR departments for job performance reviews and spontaeous drug examinations). Those that fail to stay on track will be warned and then if they continue to fail to comply, denied welfare. If they rely on the government to financially assist them with their children, yet are unwilling to meet the needs of their children as parents (through jobs, financial management, and a drug-free lifestyle), then it is easier for the government to place these children in a foster care system that can guarantee that these needs can be met!

The financially responsible need to unite! This isn't a poor vs. rich or a black vs. white issue. It's a solution to providing everyone the ability to become financially responsible once more. It will help stabilize our budget by reducing the amount that gets sucked into the vaccum of the unaccountable. It will help the United States to get out of debt. It will also cause teenagers and single women to re-think sex, which can cause unwanted pregnancies. It will cause people to take a second thought... rather than charge mindlessly ahead knowing that the government will take care of their consequences. This will bring about a nation that demands accountability! We demand accountability from our government, our president, and our congressmen... and it is about time that they demand accountability from us! It's time to become a nation of accountability!