Majority of the American citizens believe that the government welfare programs encourage dependency among the poor. The Times conducted a poll to ascertain the spread of the belief; the survey indicated that the perceptions about the poor and welfare are still unswerving. Many prominent people in the American society share in this belief (Lauter). For example, Charles Murray clearly stated that welfare was the cause of increased illegitimacy and higher unemployment rates in the views (Mattison). President Franklin Roosevelt introduced the welfare program in 1935, as a backup idea to act as an aid for all the dependent people and children in the society. The American government today has at least 100 welfare programs that attest to help close to 48million citizens escape poverty (Meyer). However, many people still believe as much as the help is needed the government fails to adequately prepare people in tangible ways to help them take care of their affairs. That is why many people are still financially unstable and still want to remain on the welfare programs.
Welfare assistance is a contentious issue and one that draws different perspectives and opinions from different races and social classes in the American society. The topic has people divided along the political, racial and social class lines. The blue-collar Americans believe that poor people are poor because of their own lack of initiative. They believe that there are enough jobs to sustain everyone in the country, however; poor people do not look for jobs (Lauter). They prefer continuing to receive aid form welfare thus increasing the number of poverty and unemployment rates. A study also confirmed that approximately 43% of the blue collar whites stated that welfare programs have significantly worsened the poverty state in the country. They believe that the government is not responsible for taking care of anyone people should work had to change their social status than the seat back and wait for welfare assistance to get by. Their views are consistent with that of the conservatives who assert that people are poor because of their poor choices. The conservatives state that the government should limit its assistance since it promotes laziness and poor personal responsibility. They, however, advocate for government aid only if it will be done on selective grounds. This includes limiting the aid to the people who are worse off in the society by following particular criteria for selection.
Blacks and other minorities, on the other hand, have a different view about the welfare program from the government. According to the blacks, poor people have a hard time finding jobs to sustain them this is why they find it prudent to rely on government intervention (Lauter). The assistance provides a better opportunity to get by and gain stability financially. The blacks believe that poverty is not a permanent condition with the right amount of assistance and time it is easy for people to get better. While the whites hold the view that welfare contributes to permanence and increase of poverty blacks posit that the government's help is crucial for people to gain stability hence a means to end poverty in the country. Many of the people from the black community benefit from the welfare program. According to James Patterson states that in 1900 more than 40% of the citizens were quite poor and the blacks were extremely poor and literally unseen to the reformers. The welfare program introduced by President Franklin Roosevelt was a great help to the black community in the nation.
The Democrats too have an interesting view one that identifies with that of the blacks and other minorities in the United States. A survey conducted in the United States in 2014 indicates that close to 46 million people live in poverty (Porter). The number includes children under the age of 18 totalling to 15 million and 65 and above year olds summing to 4.6 million. The survey asserts that the number is growing steadily and the government has to intervene to stop and reduce the rate of poverty in the nation (Porter). Democrats state that the government has the responsibility of helping its citizens in order to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor and reduce the rate of poverty and unemployment immensely. For example, Hillary Clinton asserts that she trusts she will be able to push for the welfare reforms and also ensure that the systems aid people to secure jobs and increase the minimum wage to ensure that poverty is not a threat to the nation.
Other experts too have various opinions concerning welfare and the dependency of the poor. Abhijit Banerjee who is a director at the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of technology recently realised a document that contains a systematic assent of the effects of welfare programmes in several countries. The document confirmed that welfare programs do not dampen people's spirit of working (Meyer). He also states that the survey conducted in 1995 affirms that welfare does not cause the number of single mothers in a nation neither does it stops the number when it is limited or cut (Meyer). The World Bank also holds a similar opinion from its survey carried out in 2014 which shows that the money people receive is not misused on luxurious lifestyle and alcohol (Meyer). A research from New Research indicates that children who are supported by welfare have a higher chance of longevity, a chance of better education and chances of having a better income once they reach adulthood. Paul Krugman an economist believes that the welfare programs have done nothing but ensure people are stable in all areas of life. He provides an example of with the food stamps that the Americans received, which made people more productive and healthier. He states that the reason why people still remain poor despite the welfare help is that the government does not provide enough help.
These opinions and beliefs from different people indicate that there is a clash in the view of welfare intervention for the poor. Some of the views are quite stretched and lacks facts to support them. It is also critical to understand why people believe that welfare encourages laziness and why other people refute the belief. Evidence from research studies, polls and surveys affirm that welfare does not make people lazy. The government has not done enough to ensure that the poverty margin reduced. For example, there are not enough jobs to help the jobless and the unemployment rate still increase. The wage growth is still insufficient for most people that is why others still prefer to remain under the welfare program to make ends meet. The government apart from intervention programs should ensure that it creates more jobs for everyone to reduce the rate of unemployment hence reducing dependency rates. The government should also put measures like ensuring people are giving back to the society and limits of the welfare to ensure they are really looking for a job to stop the over-reliance on the funding.
Works Cited
Lauter, David. "How do Americans view poverty? Many blue-collar whites, key to Trump, criticize poor people as lazy and content to stay on welfare." (2016).
Mattison, Edward. "Stop Making Sense: Charles Murray and the Reagan Perspective on Social Welfare Policy and the Poor." Yale Law & Policy Review 4.1 (1985): 90-102.
Meyer, Alix. "The Roosevelt years and the rise of the American welfare state." Cercles: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone 32 (2014): 31-52.
Porter, Eduardo. "The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor." New York Times (2015): B1.
