Monday, February 16, 2015
Aid to Needy Often Excludes the Poorest in America
This article takes a really interesting look at how messed up government aid truly is. The article takes a deeper look into how government aid has gone up for basically everyone except the people who need it the most. That is, generally unemployed single mothers with children. Their benefits actually have declined by about one-third. The article then goes on to state how Obama has done nothing to try and reverse this trend. Should Obama push for change? Is this fair? If you're not working, are you not trying?
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I agree with Michael that e government should work to develop jobs for these people; however, a main reason, mentioned in he article, that people can't find jobs is that they have a criminal record. To solve this, I think that the government should have a program that these people can go through that would allow them to whipe non-violent crimes off their record if they happened long enough ago. This would allow them to have a clean criminal record when applying for jobs and would give them a leg up.
ReplyDeleteGovernment aid needs to be given out only to those who deserve it, and the people who deserve it see that government aid is not a long-term solution and know that they need to use that aid to find a job and a way to become self-sufficient. However, giving aid to only those who deserve it is not as easy as it sounds, which is why it can be difficult to allocate government aid while simultaneously making sure that everyone who gets aid will end up supporting themselves. In many cases, government aid is necessary in order for people to find work, and just because someone is not working does not mean that he or she is not trying. Government aid is often necessary, but it should be clear that the aid is only temporary, motivating people to find work. The government should also help people find jobs, because as shown in the article, that can sometimes be extremely difficult.
ReplyDeleteIt's very sad that people are having to struggle to find work and aren't getting aid from the government since they aren't working. But at the same time, some people are looking for jobs while others are just sitting on their butts doing nothing. This is where the problem lies. The government doesn't mean to hurt the people looking for jobs without any luck, they are just trying to avoid helping that people that aren't even trying. It's nearly impossible to tell the difference between the two because people can lie on applications. I think the government should help people find jobs rather then just assuming that they aren't doing anything and taking away their aid.
ReplyDeleteThe stories of the individuals profiled in the article are very disheartening, and unfortunately, too indicative of the lives many people lead in this country, the wealthiest in the history of the world. It's frustrating that the families who need government assistance the most, and who only expect it to be temporary, are denied it, while those who need benefits less, receive them at higher rates, and do become dependent on them. Welfare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, etc. should be localized, allowing them to be distributed on a much more individualized basis that will remove some of the excess corruption that plagues the system and prevents people in the most dire situations from receiving the help they need. As Mackenzie suggested, trivial, nonviolent crimes such as selling small amounts of marijuana should be prosecuted with less scrutiny and frequency, so they do not result in prison sentencing that deters people from being hired for a job later in life. Also, education and professional training must accompany these financial assistance programs to ensure that families only need to rely on them for a limited time period.
ReplyDeleteThis tends to be areoccuring issue with the governmnet trying to help. They are scared of people taking advantage of the system and writing legislation to evade this is tough.This is where the problem lies. The government doesn't mean to hurt the people looking for jobs without any luck, they are just trying to avoid helping that people that aren't even trying. It is a thin line between help and finance someone, so while I think that we need better laws on this, we also need to be conscious of the government's thinking.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, it's very difficult for the government to distinguish who is trying to help themselves and who isn't trying. However, I don't think anyone deserves to live in poverty, no matter their situation. I think there should be reforms to make sure that some of this money is distributed better. Also, with a higher minimum wage, the government could help move individuals from being reliant on government money to earning enough money themselves to support themselves. This saved money could possibly go towards family having a harder time.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm not sure why people are so concerned about people on welfare who are "lazy" or "doing nothing". I don't think there are as many "lazy" people on welfare as some people seem to think there are. Also, it's not like these people are getting rich on welfare money, so I don't think people should feel as cheated as they do. Of course, I'm not saying our welfare system is without faults, and I agree that it does need some reform. However, I don't believe the difficulty to find jobs should be mistaken for laziness.
ReplyDeleteThis is an issue that I dont think will ever be solved completely. It is too difficult to distinguish between people who need the aid and people who abuse it. The most important thing is that people who need aid get it. It is difficult but the best would be to make more specific laws. The difficulty to find jobs is the bipggest issue and should be addressed first.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone has mentioned above, it is very hard for the government to distinguish between unemployed people who are trying to find a job and unemployed people who are doing nothing. It is sad that these people trying are getting denied the aid they truly need. I think that the government shouldn't just cut aid. Jobs are difficult to find and obtain, today; the government needs to help people with this process.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's a shame that many Americans who need this aid are abandoned. There is this stigma that homeless people are too lazy to find a job, which is completely untrue. Many don't have the education needed to quality for these jobs or simply don't fit the criteria. I do support the fact that Obama is trying to encourage a raise in minimum wage and rewards for those trying to find a job. But the poorest section of the US should also be supported.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the government has a realistic view of what it's like to live in this situation. There should be focus groups that incorporate members of this impoverished demographic to develop job and funding programs for those who are in need. After all, the team is only as strong as its weakest link and our weak are pretty weak
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