Welfare, wel-"fair"!?!?

[Con Carne]

Is it actually "fair?"
So escapists (more so those who live in the USA) what are your thoughts on welfare? Is it a good idea? Is it a good idea gone bad? Is it just a bad idea? Or do you think a select "few" ruin it for everyone else?

 

[Quaxar]

Oh, I thought you meant "fair" like in "Scarborough fair"... damn.

 

[Marter]

I don't have a problem with it currently, it seems to do quite a lot of people good.

 

[zHellas]

Welfare is good.

End of story.

This, but there must be some limits.

Like maybe there should be some kind of Welfare Police/Inspectors that frequently come by your residence and make sure that you're not cheating them.

 

[Scobie]

DELETED

 

[Matt_LRR]

Benefits drastically outweigh the costs and abuses of the system.

-m

 

[Pimppeter2]

Its a necessary evil, and needs to be watched over more carefully.

 

[Con Carne]

[/quote]

Welfare is good.

End of story.

This, but there must be some limits.

Like maybe there should be some kind of Welfare Police/Inspectors that frequently come by your residence and make sure that you're not cheating them.

I agree, there should be inspections. I was watching some show, years ago. And this famous rapper, was bragging about how he was still receiving welfare checks and food stamps. That's pretty freakin messed up.

 

[Con Carne]

I think that welfare is a good thing, but it needs to be more regulated, and to have more restrictions. Right now, it's too easy to take advantage of the system.

Welfare is a good idea though, but in theory and in practice, it just needs a few few small tweaks in the way the system is managed.

I forget which state this happened in, but, the governor of a state wanted to pass a bill.
You have 1 child, you can get welfare.
You have another child your benefits get cut in half.
You have a 3rd child, you lose your benefits entirely.
I think it's brilliant.

 

[BlindMessiah94]

Welfare is good.

End of story.

I disagree. I have a friend who worked for Welfare Canada and even she admitted that the majority of people benefiting from the system are those who don't need it, and the people that actually do need it wind up not being eligible. She stopped working there because of how corrupt the system was.
I also don't believe that the masses should have to support people. People should learn to help themselves, and live a financially stable life. Granted there are a select very few who maybe simply cannot support themselves for medical reasons.

Its funny because in North America we are so against "communism" and the "collective" yet our welfare, taxes, etc, all seem to follow a collectivist mentality.

 

[mad825]

welfare is as good to what you think about socialism....not that I'm implying that the U.S is socialist however welfare has it's socialistic traits

 

[Fulax]

I don't think it's morally right to steal from one group and give to another. End of story.

Probably irrelevant anyway, I hear your American social security system is bankrupt.

 

[JWW]

To a point, yes. It should be to keep people alive who can't support themselves, and not for slackers.

 

[Roos1993]

The U.K's welfare state works quite well what with the NHS and benefit schemes.

However it does make people want to live off of benefits and the NHS does not ever make a profit.

 

[armaina]

Benefits drastically outweigh the costs and abuses of the system.

I'm curious as to where you get your numbers on this.

Welfare is intended to help those in need get back on their feet. It is not, and should not, be used as a permanent form of support. Those that abuse the system put a strain on the funds for it and often can prevent those that truly need the support from getting it. I think there should be more done with Welfare to make sure those that aren't qualified, don't get it.

 

[Xeros]

It's good, but it seems a tad easy to take advantage of.

 

[The Maddest March Hare]

Considering I'm from a very low income family and I'm actually only in University thanks to the various benefits that our government provides..I'm going to have to say I support benefits. Sure there are abusers of the system but without benefits a lot of less privileged families would miss out on the chance to get to somewhere better.

 

[BlindMessiah94]

I disagree. I have a friend who worked for Welfare Canada and even she admitted that the majority of people benefiting from the system are those who don't need it, and the people that actually do need it wind up not being eligible. She stopped working there because of how corrupt the system was.
I also don't believe that the masses should have to support people. People should learn to help themselves, and live a financially stable life. Granted there are a select very few who maybe simply cannot support themselves for medical reasons.

Its funny because in North America we are so against "communism" and the "collective" yet our welfare, taxes, etc, all seem to follow a collectivist mentality.

I can't speak for the Canadian system, but the Australian system works quite well. There will always be freeloaders, but I believe it is the government's responsibility to look after it's people, as it is ours to look after our neighbours.

And I've never followed the "people should learn to support themselves" argument, because (and I'm not accusing you of this) it's usually made by people who have never even had a chance of being on welfare, and never been friends with someone who is. Then because they say it, it spreads, and yeah.

But like I said, you system is probably a bit different.

Well I can't speak for the Australian system.
As far as myself, I did apply for welfare this year actually, after I got in a car accident, lost my job, and was disabled.
I got rejected simply because I had some money in retirement.
Not a lot even mind you.
But they said first I would have to liquidate all my savings, any assets I have, and then once I had done all that I could apply for welfare. Even then she said that I would probably not be eligible because I had family who were supporting me at the time since I had moved back in with my parents. Nevermind the fact I wanted to stop mooching off of my family during this tough time.
The shocking bit is that is exactly what you have to do when declaring bankruptcy. I don't think the Canadian government has a system in place that recognizes the difference between welfare and bankruptcy.

So that's where that argument comes from. On the flip side I've known people who are completely capable of working, have no physical disabilities, and still apply for welfare checks monthly simply because they are too lazy/depressed to find work.

That's why I don't agree with the welfare system. I don't think it should give money to anyone that doesn't have a legitimate setback that is preventing them from finding work.
Besides, with the amount of money that we pay in taxes to support welfare, they could probably come up with a a better system, one that helps people find job placement during hard times, government jobs even, or provides them with career counselling and training.
Welfare simply puts a bandaid on a much larger issue. It also perpuates a mentality that you don't need to work in order to support yourself, and the government will just give you money.
I think welfare should be a temporary solution, to help get you back on your feet, and in the meantime there should also be mandatory career counselling or job placement programs that the welfare applicant must undergo.

 

[armaina]

Considering I'm from a very low income family and I'm actually only in University thanks to the various benefits that our government provides..I'm going to have to say I support benefits.

Pelgrants and Welfare are two entirely different things, with different purposes and requirements, so I really don't think you can compare the two. That and I think if we start talking about the list of other government benefit, this could go way off the subject of Welfare.

 

[soapyshooter]

If liberals had the fucking balls to do anything rather than trying to appease everyone this country would have wel"fair" Focus should be on cutting the fraud out of welfare and actually getting the money to people that need it. For once I wish dems would nominate a guy I could vote for out of support rather to just keep out greedy conservatives. We need more FDRs and Bill Clintons (minus the BJs in office)