Welfare in South Carolina

I read an interesting article today about the Lt. Governor of South Carolina comparing "welfare users to stray animals." (Click here for link: foxnews.com)

While this type of headline and statement likening those on various types of government subsidy to the stray animals on the Lt. Governor's back porch at Grandma's house is likely to spawn outrage followed by cries of racism, our question is: "What is the reality?"

Both political parties posture about the role of government in subsidizing the needy, less fortunate, disabled, and 'down on their luck.' Democrats, in general, portray the vast majority of citizens on government subsidy as on the verge of starvation, anxiously working towards better opportunities, and just in need of a helping hand to get there. On the other hand, Republicans,in small glimpses, offer a more likely analysis of the situation. To paraphrase, 'helping handouts from the government without consequences are destined to further promote the activity that landed the needy in need to begin with.'

That, however, is not to say that Republicans are fully correct either. The point of this post is not to outline a future plan for the reform of government assistance programs. (welfare, section 8, medicaid, food stamps, and on and on) The purpose is to expose the reality of the situation.

The fact is that both parties see a strong need for the government providing some sort of baseline standard of living for its citizens. Without this, people who cannot or will not provide for themselves through conventional means will fall further into poverty and, more importantly, a state of desparation.

While not feeding stray animals will likely keep them away from your back porch, they will still scower trash cans, trash dumps, and any other means of survival, particularly if they can smell food.

Can you imagine every wealthy person in America having to hire security guards 24 hrs a day? What about a middle class soccer mom driving a bullet proof vehicle to avoid kidnappings with ransoms? What if we had vast shanty town villages on the outskirts of every major city in America as is often seen in parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa?

Both sides can agree that this is a recipe for disaster and would reduce our ability to enjoy peace and freedom in our everyday lives.

Thus, we all willingly agree to pay a ransom for our safe enjoyment of daily activities to keep the problem at bay. Our streets are relatively clean, not lined with beggars, and very few of us can say they live with realistic fear of random crime against them. We can also hold our heads high, knowing that every American has a chance from birth to death of becoming successful. That certainly can't be said for much of the world.

So, is the system grossly misused? Yes. Is it too easy to be poor in America? Probably so. Are we all frustrated when we see paradoxes like a person talking on their cell phone in the grocery line while paying with food stamps or using their laptop on the front porch of a Section 8 home? Most definitely.

That just means that the system needs a lot of work to become an effective tool to enhance self suffiencey as it was sold to the American public by our elected officials. It does not mean that the system isn't working.