Is welfare and other government programs helping the poor?
is there other programs like, public assistance services, or
some resources that help the poor and the needy to get to a low or medium or high income bracket
Answer:
Well, yes and no. It's a complicated issue, and it's great that you're actually thinking about it rather than jumping to a conclusion.
All of these benefits can be abused by dishonest people. The government actually spends more money investigating fraud than it does on actually funding the programs! And that makes it harder for people who are actually in need get the help they don't have.
So the problem isn't DOES this stuff help, the problem is HOW do we get this stuff to people who need it and keep it away from people trying to abuse it?
Another big problem is that one of the biggest causes of poverty is mental illness. It is hard for people with mental illness to get and keep jobs, to take care of themselves and their homes, to keep track of money, etc. I used to work in a group home for people with mental illness and it was really sad to see people who worked hard but couldn't seem to get anywhere. Several of the guys at our house were exceptionally hard workers, but they spoke complete nonsense making it hard to get or keep a job. One of them would be talking perfectly normally, and then the next minute he was speaking in another language, or reciting Shakespeare, or going on and on about the armagedden. He was well educated and a hard worker, but I ask you this: would YOU hire a man who suddenly started talking about the end of the world in the middle of a sentence?
These guys could have used speech therapy, but there was none available so they got disability checks instead. It really bothered them that they couldn't work, so they would just clean and clean at the group home all day.
The good news is that there are some programs that prevent abuse and try to help people.
Head Start, a special kind of pre-school, is a good example of a program that helps the poor and doesn't make for a lot of abuse. Paying for an education for a kid now is way cheaper than paying them welfare benefits when they are older and aren't educated enough to work.
So in short, the answer is, the best way to get help to the people who need it is to fund programs for education, health care, and help for people with disabilities. It's really hard to make these things happen, but one good way is to give money to private charities who tend to do a better job of helping the poor than the government does.
as i have seen no... the only way they can help themselves by getting more education. there are of resources but some
(not all) don't want to better their selves.
If you ever have the oppurtunity to take a Sociology class if you have not already done so, take one. It puts to rest a lot of rumors about our society that most of us have heard time and time again. Statistics from both sides of the debate can be skewed so we have to look at data from neutral parties when we consider the effects of welfare. Independent agencies gather this information based on things that are a matter of public record. These are some figures that might surprise some people. For instance the average time that an individual spends on welfare for their lifetime is less then five years, this includes food stamps and cash assistance but does not include health care programs like medicaid, medicare, WIC, or indigent care programs. There are many programs available to assist lower income people to educate themselves but you have to remember that this is not always easy nor is it practical for some. A lot of the lower class people are unable to complete college because of a learning disability that wasn't cared for when they were young. As a society, we are working to prevent this from happening but there are many that "fall through the cracks". For instance, I have a friend that is dyslexic, she is 25 years old, and just found out about it last year. She has to "relearn" how to learn before she will be able to succeed in post secondary education. There are many more like this. It is also difficult to have children, work, go to school, and do all of the other things that are expected of a single lower class mom. If they go back to school to better themselves, when their children are young, they are never home. They live in poorer areas, and their children are raised by others in the neighborhood. This leads to society blaming the mother for not being around when her child needed her when all she was doing was trying to get educated and make a better life. Until you have lived this life it is difficult to understand it or to judge it. Economist and Sociologist and other people have tried and failed to come up with a better system for helping the poor. Maybe someday there will be a solution that will please everyone but until then, we can only try to be understanding and empathetic to those less fortunate. Try not to judge someone until you have lived in their life.
The short answer is, of course, many people can eat a bit better, have a bit of shelter, afford a bit more medicine and take their children to the doctor and so on. It is far less than it used to be, but still millions are being helped everyday.
Now, the question you might be asking is, if you provide for the poor will it give them incentive to stay poor? Well, consider that only a small minority of people get welfare. If it was so attractive to be on welfare, why wouldn't everyone be on it. All you have to do is look and see that the amount of welfare is so small and that life is so full of risk that no one in their right mind would choose to live so poor as to be eligible for welfare.
If you look around, you will see that other governments have large welfare benefits but less poverty. Even in this country, states that pay more in welfare have less poverty not more. If there is a disincentive effect it must be very small. And, if you do subsidize a few hundred people's miserable lifestyle, consider all the adults and children that are being helped.
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some resources that help the poor and the needy to get to a low or medium or high income bracket
Answer:
Well, yes and no. It's a complicated issue, and it's great that you're actually thinking about it rather than jumping to a conclusion.
All of these benefits can be abused by dishonest people. The government actually spends more money investigating fraud than it does on actually funding the programs! And that makes it harder for people who are actually in need get the help they don't have.
So the problem isn't DOES this stuff help, the problem is HOW do we get this stuff to people who need it and keep it away from people trying to abuse it?
Another big problem is that one of the biggest causes of poverty is mental illness. It is hard for people with mental illness to get and keep jobs, to take care of themselves and their homes, to keep track of money, etc. I used to work in a group home for people with mental illness and it was really sad to see people who worked hard but couldn't seem to get anywhere. Several of the guys at our house were exceptionally hard workers, but they spoke complete nonsense making it hard to get or keep a job. One of them would be talking perfectly normally, and then the next minute he was speaking in another language, or reciting Shakespeare, or going on and on about the armagedden. He was well educated and a hard worker, but I ask you this: would YOU hire a man who suddenly started talking about the end of the world in the middle of a sentence?
These guys could have used speech therapy, but there was none available so they got disability checks instead. It really bothered them that they couldn't work, so they would just clean and clean at the group home all day.
The good news is that there are some programs that prevent abuse and try to help people.
Head Start, a special kind of pre-school, is a good example of a program that helps the poor and doesn't make for a lot of abuse. Paying for an education for a kid now is way cheaper than paying them welfare benefits when they are older and aren't educated enough to work.
So in short, the answer is, the best way to get help to the people who need it is to fund programs for education, health care, and help for people with disabilities. It's really hard to make these things happen, but one good way is to give money to private charities who tend to do a better job of helping the poor than the government does.
as i have seen no... the only way they can help themselves by getting more education. there are of resources but some
(not all) don't want to better their selves.
If you ever have the oppurtunity to take a Sociology class if you have not already done so, take one. It puts to rest a lot of rumors about our society that most of us have heard time and time again. Statistics from both sides of the debate can be skewed so we have to look at data from neutral parties when we consider the effects of welfare. Independent agencies gather this information based on things that are a matter of public record. These are some figures that might surprise some people. For instance the average time that an individual spends on welfare for their lifetime is less then five years, this includes food stamps and cash assistance but does not include health care programs like medicaid, medicare, WIC, or indigent care programs. There are many programs available to assist lower income people to educate themselves but you have to remember that this is not always easy nor is it practical for some. A lot of the lower class people are unable to complete college because of a learning disability that wasn't cared for when they were young. As a society, we are working to prevent this from happening but there are many that "fall through the cracks". For instance, I have a friend that is dyslexic, she is 25 years old, and just found out about it last year. She has to "relearn" how to learn before she will be able to succeed in post secondary education. There are many more like this. It is also difficult to have children, work, go to school, and do all of the other things that are expected of a single lower class mom. If they go back to school to better themselves, when their children are young, they are never home. They live in poorer areas, and their children are raised by others in the neighborhood. This leads to society blaming the mother for not being around when her child needed her when all she was doing was trying to get educated and make a better life. Until you have lived this life it is difficult to understand it or to judge it. Economist and Sociologist and other people have tried and failed to come up with a better system for helping the poor. Maybe someday there will be a solution that will please everyone but until then, we can only try to be understanding and empathetic to those less fortunate. Try not to judge someone until you have lived in their life.
The short answer is, of course, many people can eat a bit better, have a bit of shelter, afford a bit more medicine and take their children to the doctor and so on. It is far less than it used to be, but still millions are being helped everyday.
Now, the question you might be asking is, if you provide for the poor will it give them incentive to stay poor? Well, consider that only a small minority of people get welfare. If it was so attractive to be on welfare, why wouldn't everyone be on it. All you have to do is look and see that the amount of welfare is so small and that life is so full of risk that no one in their right mind would choose to live so poor as to be eligible for welfare.
If you look around, you will see that other governments have large welfare benefits but less poverty. Even in this country, states that pay more in welfare have less poverty not more. If there is a disincentive effect it must be very small. And, if you do subsidize a few hundred people's miserable lifestyle, consider all the adults and children that are being helped.
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