Getting people off welfare rolls is something I've given a lot of thought about. Keeping people dependent on the government is akin to keeping them in slavery. And just as segregation and other racist policies were policies of southern DEMOCRATS so the current serfdom is owned solely by the democratic party. One has to wonder why they would do NOTHING to give them a hand up. The only logical conclusion is that you create a permanent voting block. All you really have to do is keep them ignorant and in fear of the "republican boogie man" and create a situation where they are excluded from the larger society. You have generations where cycles of unwed mothers with multiple children, absent fathers (many involved in gangs), and undereducated continue to repeat themselves. They live in utter hopelessness and extreme poverty having forgotten (or never learned) how to take care of themselves. No one on the left EVER does anything but keep them there. Even Clinton had to be dragged kicking and screaming to welfare reform. Incomes and living standards actually improved, some were even able to move out of their inner city plantations. Now that's going to disappear again so they can come dependent on "Obama money from his stash".
Those of us living in the real world have a system of rewards and punishments. Do a good job at work, you get praised and perhaps a bonus or raise (unless you're a union member, i.e. socialist and you don't have to do a good job to get a raise). Do poorly and you get reprimanded and even fired if you don't improve. Don't pay your rent or house payment you get evicted. Pay your bills on time and you earn a good credit rating which opens the door to other opportunities. Our own choices and not the soft tyranny of a forced dependence determine our station in life. So, here's what I would do:
First you have to eliminate the danger outside so the residents can do more than spend a life looking at the window and ducking stray bullets. Make those rich slum lords, like Obama's best buddy Valerie Jarrett, who get double funds from the government in the form of rent subsidies and rent paid by tenants, pay for specially trained armed guards (sort of like the inner city version of Blackwater). Mow down a some gang members, arrest some more as we did with insurgents in Iraq (because this IS a war zone for those who live there) and the gangs will go away.
Then the residents can leave their apartments and you can teach them to take pride in their surroundings, create a sense of self-confidence and they'll start to see possibilities. No more free rides. Have them clean their neighborhoods, create community gardens, build new playground equipment, paint buildings and make repairs inside. Apprentice some of these people to plumbers, contractors, gardeners so they learn a skill and give them a salary for their work. Have daycare centers run and staffed by residents. This frees other residents to get their GED and learn a skill. The initial cost for these programs might be more than sending out a welfare check but as those people become less dependent on the government and more self-sufficient welfare rolls will be reduced significantly which means more money in everyone's pocket (provided the powers that be don't decide to keep for something else). Anyone who wants to sit on their ass and collect funds will have their checks reduced. No more increased payments for every baby they pop out. Give extra funds for only 2 children...this would be those consequences for ones behavior that the rest of us live with.
Of course there are other things that must be done...merit pay for teachers and such but that should be country wide anyway, along with ending unions for government employees. It's called government SERVICE for a reason and public employee unions hold the citizens hostage...but that's another topic.
Cindie
This is a lot to respond to, but I'd like to give you a thoughtful reply. I doubt I can give it the time it deserves, however, and I will apologize up front for that.
Whereas you have been thinking about ways to get people off welfare, I have been thinking of ways to keep the rich from stealing from us, driving our country into bankruptcy, destroying our economy, and turning us into a 3rd world nation. I see that as a much bigger problem, but I will discuss welfare if you like.
Honestly, I am never sure what people mean when they talk about "welfare." Most of our social services money goes to medicare and madicaid. Recipients of those benefits aren't ripping anybody off. Those are just people who got hurt and need medical care. Their only crime is that they lack sufficient insurance or money to cover their medical bills. Obama thinks he has addressed this problem by passing a law that, he thinks, will force all Americans to buy insurance. This is insane, and those of us on the left are furious about it. Forcing people to buy insurance is no more the solution to a failed health care system than forcing people to buy houses is the solution to homelessness. Besides which, it's a massive give-away to the health insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industries who will get subsidized federal money so that the poor can buy their products. I hope that the Republicans repeal this unconstitutional law, but their masters in the health insurance, hospital, and pharmaceutical businesses will never allow it. They're thrilled to be getting all this federal money. In any event, the only way to cut our outlays for medical care will be to drive down medical costs, but the health insurance companies and the for-profit hospitals will fight this to the death. The Democrats have no interest in fighting them, nor do the Republicans. And Obama gave away the right of the federal government (the largest, single purchaser of pharmaceutical products) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower prices in exchange for their support of his Health Insurance Company Enrichment Act. He betrayed the people and sold out to the corporations. Those of us on the left are furious about this, but I don't see any solution in the current political climate.
If, on the other hand, by "welfare" you mean food stamps, I see no practical way to reduce these rolls. One in five Americans are now on food stamps, iirc. That should tell you something. Lots of big companies (ADM, Kroger, etc.) make a ton of money on food stamps, and I see no way that those companies would allow us to eradicate the program. Besides which, food is a national security issue. People will revolt if they have no food. Ask the French. LOL. I see no way to cut food stamp rolls other than to hand out well-paying federal jobs that will then reduce the number of people on food stamps. Honestly, that might not be a bad idea, so long as we have federally-sponsored day care to allow single-mothers to work as well.
If, however, you mean AFDC (which was passed by Eisenhower), Clinton abolished it, and he wasn't either kicking or screaming when he did it. He sold out the people for political gain, making those of us on the left furious. As a result, he was rewarded with re-election in 1996. If, on the other hand, you mean AFDC's replacement, the nearly-useless TANF, then you should know that you don't need to do anything to get people off those rolls. TANF benefits last no more than two years, period. People automatically fall off TANF rolls, and the people who do so are never eligible for TANF again, no matter what their economic situation. You should also know that TANF eats a miniscule amount of the Federal Budget. It's next-to-nothing, really. I don't see this as a big enough problem to even address.
I am all for job training programs for the poor. Personally, I'd like to give lots of unemployed people federal jobs. There's a lot of work that needs to be done in this country. Our infrastructure is crumbling. FDR, Truman, and Eisenhower put people to work fixing these things, and we still enjoy the benefits of their work now.
As much as we might like to legislate "work ethic," this doesn't seem possible. But we can give people good jobs. The Federal Government can make them, and we might all benefit from that. I'd love to see the poor get some skills and some dignity that would allow them to break the cycle of poverty. But we can't rely on the free market to do this.
Thanks for the thoughtful post.
-Laelth
