The Abuse Of The Welfare System

Welfare was established by the Social Security Act of 1935, and administered by individual states and territories for the government to help poverty stricken children and other dependent persons. Wicipedia defines welfare as " money paid by the government to those who are in need of financial assistance, are unable to work, or whose circumstances mean the income they require for basic needs is in excess of their salary" (Welfare (financial aid)). This program helped many families survive during The Great Depression and still helps families survive today. Welfare, which was once meant to help individuals reenter society, has been abused and manipulated. The abuse of the Welfare System has become a serious problem. Many dependent persons rely mainly on welfare for their sole source of income to support their family, rather then finding a job and supporting their family with earned income. This abuse of the Welfare System spans generations, enabling families to abuse the system instead of using the system how it was meant to.

The Welfare System is not flawless and often people depend on the welfare checks and food stamps to live their life on, abusing what is keeping them alive. Welfare is ill treated in many ways. Often someone will live in poverty collecting government issued checks because welfare benefits are better then working benefits. Other times one is forced to live unemployed because of their situation. These situations include giving birth, out-of-wedlock, to children and benefiting from them. Another form of abuse on the welfare system is just plain laziness and not obtaining a job that will provide a source of income.

While working and earning an income is a great feeling, the benefits are not as good as receiving welfare. Many people receiving welfare cannot find a job that could replace the checks. Some individuals on welfare take part time jobs, thus causing their situation to be not as severe and reducing the amount their welfare check is for. For example, Robert Lerman states in Welfare Reform: An Analysis of the Issues, "If a mother and child on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) have no income of their own, they may qualify for an average of $500 a month in cash benefits. If that mother takes a part-time job, say at $300 a month, her family becomes "less needy" and her welfare check is reduced (to offset the increase in her income)."(Sawhill). Lerman then goes on to state "The higher the benefit reduction rate (equivalent to a tax on earnings), the weaker the incentive to work. This incentive is further weakened because other earnings benefits (notably food stamps, housing assistance, and Medicaid) are also reduced as earnings increase."(Sawhill). So if someone can receive more money and benefits from welfare then a job, they usually pick welfare. Benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid also cause welfare receivers to not want to work. Not only do they receive food stamps, but also they sell them for money. James C. Ohls states in Welfare Reform: An Analysis of the Issues "Ð'...there is undoubtedly some trafficking (clients exchanging stamps at a discount for cash)."(Sawhill). Abusing the food stamp benefit can only cause the government to abandon the idea. This form of abuse is causing one to take away from society rather then add to it.

Also, people are abusing the welfare system, not by being in a situation to receive welfare but by having out-of-wedlock children and benefiting from them. This often causes those children to become poverty stricken and to continue this chain. As stated in "Welfare System Abuses Children," "Ð'...[the welfare] system that encourages children to have childrenÐ'...."(Welfare System Abuses Children), this is causing teens to start having children to receive more money from the government, which not always goes to the children. It is common for a woman on welfare to give birth to their first child as a teen (Sawhill). Also stated in Welfare Reform: An Analysis of the Issues "Young mothers and pregnant women are slightly less likely to marry in states with higher benefits."(Sawhill) Jesse Handy writes in "Is the welfare system fair? Reform needed for those who refuse to help themselves," "While growing up, I had known two types of welfare recipients: those who received it short term and were embarrassed about it, and those who treated it as their primary source of income. I knew one woman who had a small mob of children and paid all of her bills via the welfare system"(Handy). This is just one example of how single mothers (or fathers) can abuse the welfare system to gain more benefits.

Lastly, some people on welfare are just to lazy to go get a job. Some people are contempt with sitting around watching daytime T.V. and collecting taxpayers' money. While not all welfare receivers are lazy some abuse welfare such as this example, "I know a welfare recipient who has two kids and is currently enrolled in college (last semester she made the dean's list), who couldn't really make it without some assistance. But on the other end of the spectrum, I know of women who have never held a job and have survived on welfare since I've known them, and I think if I can work 35 hours a week and take a full course load, they can at least get one damn job"(Handy). The system seems too easy to abuse in the first place. As long as one is unemployed and meets all the qualifications one can receive welfare and if one maintains this status with the intent to get a get a job then he or she remains on the list to receive government money and benefits. Welfare isn't bad, it's the moochers and abusers that make it bad. "I only get two complaints about Financial Assistance. One of them is that we're paying out too much money to the wrong people"(Burgess).

Welfare is a great program as long as it is used correctly. If a person collects welfare during financial trouble, then that is great. But when someone abuses welfare and receives government money because he or she can make more money this way, it becomes corrupted, and when people abuse the system by having kids out-of-wedlock to receive more benefits or is just to plain lazy to work and receives welfare it begins to become a serious problem.

(A bibliography was not needed for the paper just all the research done)

Welfare system deals with increasing burden

http://www.bermudasun.org/issues/Jan10_97/welfare.html

By Don Burgess

HARD TIMES have caused more people to seek help from the government. A decade ago, Social Assistance only had 300 people on its case load and there was no such thing as government