Kera Bradt Literature 3/26/13 Final Copy

Welfare

On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton said First and foremost, [welfare reform] should be about moving people from welfare to work, prompting Congress pass the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. The bipartisan law promoted work as a central focus of helping low-income families achieve self-sufficiency (Work). Since this law made welfare recipients work they were not stuck in a hole of dependency. House Republicans know that Americans would rather earn a check than receive a government check. In the Years following passage of the 1996 bipartisan welfare reforms, the number of individuals receiving welfare dropped by 57 percent (Work). Now not only is the number of people on welfare very high but some of those people manipulate the system. Not helping this issue, in July of last year (2012) the Obama Administration took action to dismantle the work requirement that was central to the success of the bipartisan welfare reforms (Work). Today welfare just encourages dependency more than anything. People just get monthly checks and their motivation slowly starts to dwindle. In the eyes of numerous taxpayers their tax dollars are wasted by welfare recipients. The money is supposed to be used for necessities only: food, clothing, shelter. But state records show thousands of dollars being spent on non-essentials (Investigators). People, States, Congress, etc., have thought of many ways to get these people following the rules and to get them out of poverty. It would be good for America to administer stricter welfare rules, not only for the good

of the recipients, but for the country. The United States should implement stricter rules and regulations in regards to welfare recipients. The original purpose of welfare was to help families get back on their feet after a time of economic stress (Chicago). Welfare today though, encourages dependency. People on welfare are not encouraged to do anything with their lives. Welfare is supposed to help but if people just keep getting checks for not working or trying to do something for themselves, theyre going to be stuck in the cycle and lose all of their motivation to do anything. Of the more than 70 welfare programs in operation today, only one requires able-bodied recipients to work or look for work (President). So how is the welfare system helping people if theyre not even encouraging them to work? Its really not. Welfare recipients today break the system rules but feel entitled to the checks that they receive monthly. The United states welfare system has not promoted prosperity and self-reliance but, rather, a culture of entitlement. (President). There are 17,800 families on welfare in D.C. but only 500 are actually following the program rules. People are so dependent on welfare checks that they take their kids out of literacy classes, making their grades worse in every other class because they cannot read and write. Cornell University Economics Professor Richard V. Burkhauser says parents are inducing illiteracy to keep the taxpayer-funded welfare checks rolling in. One of the ways you get on this program is having problems in school. If you do better in school, you threaten the income of the parents. Its a terrible incentive, said Professor Burkhauser (Breitbart). I dont understand how parents could do this to their kids. How can someone be okay with jeopardizing their childs education? Apparently money is far more important to them than their children. Such government dependency, says local school district official Melanie Stevens, traps poor children and families in a cycle of taxpayer-funded dependency that replaces dreams with welfare checks: The

greatest challenge we face as educators is how to break that dependency on government. In second grade, they have a dream. In seventh grade, they have a plan (Breitbart). I just seems like these parents ruin things for not only themselves but for their kids childhood and their kids futures as well. Nearly two-thirds of these children make the transition at age 18 into S.S.I. for the adult disabled. They may never hold a job in their entire lives and are condemned to a life of poverty on the dole and thats the outcome of a program intended to fight poverty (Breitbart). The way Frank Antenori sees it, you shouldnt be smoking or drinking if the government is helping pay for your food and health care (Calls). Hes not the only one who thinks that way. Most tax payers fell that their tax dollars are not bring used in the right ways. Welfare recipients buy their food with the Electronic Benefit transfer card then use other money to buy drugs, alcohol, nice cars, expensive TVs, etc. If youve got 80 bucks to buy a gallon of booze and two cartons of cigarettes, then why the hack are we paying for your food? (Calls) Taxpayers work for the nice things they have and should be able to have leisure, but how is it fair that tax payers pay for their food, health care, insurance, vehicle, etc., and taxes then people on welfare use the money that they get from the government from those tax payers to buy nice cars, nice TVs, drugs, alcohol, concert tickets, cable, etc. How are welfare recipients able to afford things that tax payers cannot even afford? The money is supposed to be used for necessities only: food, clothing, shelter. But state records show thousands of dollars being spent on nonessentials. When youre taking tax payer money to go on a tour of Graceland, that tells you theres something wrong with our welfare system (Investigators). Records show that welfare recipients spend extreme amount of money at liquor stores. Thats nothing compared to 790 dollars at Highway 51 Liquor. Records show hundreds of transactions at Memphis liquor stores.

Three separate charges total $1,460 dollars at Louis Liquor, $514 dollars at Lauderdale Liquors and another $520 dollars at Blue-4-Liquor (Investigators). Theyre [welfare systems] designed for a specific purpose. When people are taking advantage of it its like taking advantage of me, said Rhonda Robinson. There have been a lot of stricter welfare rules and restrictions thought of, none of which have actually been put into effect yet but a lot of people are hoping that they will be soon. A lot of people have been focusing on work requirements for welfare recipients. House Republicans believe Work Requirements for welfare empower mothers and helps to strengthen families (Work). Not many programs actually require recipients to work, but if they are not working how are they getting themselves out of poverty? Not only will work requirements help these people but it will also make them happier with themselves. Lisa Hudson, a single mother of four once told Congress how Welfare to Work helped find her a job where she earned pay increases and assistance to help her provide a better home and stability for my family. She said that through her accomplishments, I have become a good role model for my children which will help them in their future as they become adults (Work). In this case a work requirement helped this woman immensely. Another woman said Thanks to the W2 program, I can come before you this morning and honestly say that I am happy with my life. Today, I am earning and honest living providing daily for my children and me I now stand as an example to my children of what dedication and determination can do (Work). Obviously work would be good for welfare recipients not only for their life but for their self-esteem. A down fall of this though could be that their children wouldnt have anyone to watch them during the day while their parents work.

Drug testing is another possibility for welfare recipients in the future. Kasha Kelley believes that people on welfare need to spend their money on things like diapers and detergent not drugs I get a lot of constituents who mention their frustrations with neighbors they know are receiving some sort of public assistance, she says. They dont feel the moneys being used right when they know that drugs are being used in the house, and I would concur with that (Greenblatt). It is very wrong that tax dollars are going toward drug habits. It has been argued that drug testing could possibly be unconstitutional though, and it would cost the states and the government a lot of money. But drug testing could also help people on welfare get out of drug dependencies, while also ensuring that tax dollars are going where theyre supposed to go (Greenblatt). Time limits have also been thought of. In the District of Columbia, if the government has a program to help you out, youve got a strict time limit (five years) (Chicago). Time limits would help people to get jobs and move on with their lives instead of knowing that if something doesnt work out they have welfare checks to fall back on. The current [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] program, lets face it both locally and nationally, has failed to alleviate long-term poverty, allowing individuals to continue on this cycle of reliance and dependency, says Marion Barry. Although a get tough program may launch some families out of dependence on welfare, it also may leave quite a few more children hungry, with poor supervision, without decent housing or health care of any kind. Helping families toward longterm self-sufficiency may be an important goal, but hungry children could be a pretty aeful side effect (Chicago). In Arizona a Tuscan Republican, Frank Antenori, is sponsoring legislation where welfare recipients would have to sign an affidavit each time they go through eligibility

screening promising to live within the rulesThat would mean a single bottle of beer could cost a family its food stamps, free health care and any other welfare benefits (Calls). Some rules under this legislation, HB 2770, are: welfare recipients could not purchase a car worth more than $5,000 dollars, a TV that is not worth more than $300 dollars, etc. Antenori said he foresees a system where people report hose they see at the grocery store using food stamps and then pulling out cash for that bottle of wine or pack of cigarettes He wants Arizonians watching out for cheaters (Calls). Clearly a lot of welfare recipients cheat the system, so there should be stricter regulations in regards to them. It is not right that they get away with staying on the system for so long just because they are too lazy to find a job. It is not right that tax payers help pay for their drugs and alcohol. I just find a lot of things so wrong about welfare. If someone honestly needs help then there is nothing wrong with that, but if someone is abusing the system it is very wrong.

Works Cited "Breitbart.com." Breitbart News Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. "Calls for Stricter Welfare Rules in AZ." YumaSun. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. "Chicago Muckrakers." Five Years, and Youre Done: D.C. Moves to Set Strict Welfare Time Limits. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2013. Greenblatt, Alan. "Should Welfare Recipients Get Drug Testing?" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. "The Investigators: Tax Dollars Wasted by Welfare Abuse - Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee." The Investigators: Tax Dollars Wasted by Welfare Abuse - Action News 5 Memphis, Tennessee. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. "President Obama Admits Welfare Encourages Dependency." The Foundry Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2013. "Work Requirement for Welfare Recipients." Welcome to Congressman James Lankford. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.