The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
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Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#2The cash assistance programs being cited were carried out in poor countries, from what I can tell. Maybe that works in a country where you never have enough. I'm not sure the results apply here to the United States.
I could not disagree more with the title, based on my own observations. I mean, aren't most of the people in this country poor because of mental illness or addiction?
Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#3The cash assistance programs being cited were carried out in poor countries, from what I can tell. Maybe that works in a country where you never have enough. I'm not sure the results apply here to the United States. I could not disagree more with the title, based on my own observations. I mean, aren't most of the people in this country poor because of mental illness or addiction?
What? No. 15% of the population is at or below the poverty line. Very few of them have ment illness or addiction. Most are simply born into circumstances with little opportunity (urban or rural), and don't have the exceptional qualities needed to break out of those trajectories.
Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#4I grew up in Canada and went to school with rural kids, military kids, and french kids. My family wasnt in poverty but we didnt have many of the nice things others had.
Around grade 5 I began to notice how we never had money for a TV, but all the welfare kids I knew had TVs in their rooms. i noticed how I had to do chores, work, save, and help neighbours to afford to buy a game console and video games, and all my friends on welfare had every system and every game.
I would wonder why my lunch had an apple in place of their Fruit Rollups and Cookies. One kid even got a pack of starbursts in his lunch every single day, if I was lucky, he would share or trade one with me.
Now that Im an adult I can see that my parents priorty with their limited finances were GOOD food, GOOD clothes, and the necessities we needed for success.
I kind of wonder how many kids that grew up on welfare are packing Fruit Rollups in their kids lunches today, how many welfare kids walk around with iPhones when lower middle class families cant afford it, etc.
It has been my observation in Canada that what seems to work with cash assistance is a cushion to break your fall, not an IV dripping just-enough to not have to work.
Where I lived you also had to prove you were applying for work to stay on it, but if you got a minimum-wage full-time job you would lose your welfare but not have as much money, so of course everybody's parents applied as often as they needed to, only went to work when they absolely needed to, and quit as soon as they possibly could to regain or keep the welfare status. And of course they modelled this to their kids.
So I do think welfare can totally short circuit personal success, Ive seen many lives reduced to manipulating a aystem instead of becoming something beneficial to others. Its sad but I believe its human nature
No matter how much assistance you provide, it cant be so much that it disincentivizes you from rejoining the work force without facing a 'penalty'.
Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#5The cash assistance programs being cited were carried out in poor countries, from what I can tell. Maybe that works in a country where you never have enough. I'm not sure the results apply here to the United States. I could not disagree more with the title, based on my own observations. I mean, aren't most of the people in this country poor because of mental illness or addiction?
I mean, aren't most of the people in this country poor because of mental illness or addiction?
No! They're poor because their parents were poor or because they grew up in a poor neighbourhood and lacked access to a proper education.
This article highlights one egregious myth but far more pernicious is the one you just highlighted: that poverty is a personal or moral failing rather than a lack of opportunity.
It's really simple: people are poor because they don't have enough money. Don't let yourself fall into the Just-World Fallacy.
Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#6I grew up in Canada and went to school with rural kids, military kids, and french kids. My family wasnt in poverty but we didnt have many of the nice things others had. Around grade 5 I began to notice how we never had money for a TV, but all the welfare kids I knew had TVs in their rooms. i noticed how I had to do chores, work, save, and help neighbours to afford to buy a game console and video games, and all my fri…
>Ive seen many lives reduced to manipulating a aystem instead of becoming something beneficial to others
Well, it ought to prepare them for a life dealing with corporate politics in that case.
Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#7I grew up in Canada and went to school with rural kids, military kids, and french kids. My family wasnt in poverty but we didnt have many of the nice things others had. Around grade 5 I began to notice how we never had money for a TV, but all the welfare kids I knew had TVs in their rooms. i noticed how I had to do chores, work, save, and help neighbours to afford to buy a game console and video games, and all my fri…
Yep - we have signs to not feed the animals, or they become dependent on us for food...
Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#8I grew up in Canada and went to school with rural kids, military kids, and french kids. My family wasnt in poverty but we didnt have many of the nice things others had. Around grade 5 I began to notice how we never had money for a TV, but all the welfare kids I knew had TVs in their rooms. i noticed how I had to do chores, work, save, and help neighbours to afford to buy a game console and video games, and all my fri…
Many poor people also smoke and play the lottery, because that the entertainment that's accessible to them.
Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#9I grew up in Canada and went to school with rural kids, military kids, and french kids. My family wasnt in poverty but we didnt have many of the nice things others had. Around grade 5 I began to notice how we never had money for a TV, but all the welfare kids I knew had TVs in their rooms. i noticed how I had to do chores, work, save, and help neighbours to afford to buy a game console and video games, and all my fri…
> Where I lived you also had to prove you were applying for work to stay on it, but if you got a minimum-wage full-time job you would lose your welfare but not have as much money...
Would you rather see the elimination of welfare or the removal of sharp cliff-like penalties for re-entering the workforce (eg, benefits that taper off as your income rises)?
Regardless of which answer, why?
Re: The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor
#10The cash assistance programs being cited were carried out in poor countries, from what I can tell. Maybe that works in a country where you never have enough. I'm not sure the results apply here to the United States. I could not disagree more with the title, based on my own observations. I mean, aren't most of the people in this country poor because of mental illness or addiction?
I mean, aren't most of the people in this country poor because of mental illness or addiction? No! They're poor because their parents were poor or because they grew up in a poor neighbourhood and lacked access to a proper education. This article highlights one egregious myth but far more pernicious is the one you just highlighted: that poverty is a personal or moral failing rather than a lack of opportunity. It's rea…
"lacked access to a proper education". How does that explain Washington DC with the highest levels of funding per child in the country? Every kid has access to a well funded school with well paid teachers.
I think it's easier to defend the claim that the kids lacked guidance and support to take advantage of the education provided for them.
In the US a single mom who homeschools, with only a high school education, will have her child place in the top 70% of public school kids.
Parental involvement is so important, it's the only factor that matters.