Welfare- Brianna Morgen

People aren’t always honest. People don’t always work up to their physical and mental ability. So I think it is a safe assumption to make and say that our welfare regularities are being abused. Welfare is defined as a government funded program that is designed to aid to individuals or groups who cannot support themselves. These programs are funded by taxpayers and give people financial support that is needed during rough periods of their lives. The ultimate goal of welfare is to promote the pursuance of work, education, and a better standard of living. But by this governmental definition is this always the case, or have people begun to abuse the system?

Welfare is a positive and probable necessity for some people. Some people have had extreme misfortunes in their lives due to the economical failures we have had as a country. These circumstances include unknown job lose, layoffs for a certain amount of time, and bankruptcy. In these circumstances it was perfectly necessary for our country to pull together and begin to help each other out financially. But since then and since our economy has started to improve, abuse has occurred. Many people who apply for welfare aren’t necessarily in the need of welfare dollars as much as others. Single mothers can, and should, apply for welfare along with families who have had members laid off and can’t afford their families needs off of one income. They are trying to raise children on their own, and I can respect that but when you hear of stories of single women continuing to have babies because they can raise the amount of money they receive from welfare, it is a form of abuse to the system and abuse to the honest taxpayers.

I just recently witnessed a clear situation where abuse to the welfare system occurred. I was shopping in Wal-Mart when the woman in front of me went to pay for her bill and I noticed she was using her food stamps card. The woman had four little kids all right around the same age, which is totally acceptable, but I noticed a few things. One, the items being purchased were items that were unhealthy, and not corresponding correctly for the age of the children. Also, there were no signs of baby food, vegetables, or fruits being purchased for the younger children, which is what food stamps are suppose to be used for. Also, the children were dressed in clothes that looked to be too small for them and not weather appropriate, while the mother was dressed in North Face branded clothes along with acquiring a Michael Kors purse. This angered me to a significant level because not only are you abusing the system, but you are also depriving the necessities that your children are in need of.

While people abuse the system in terms of misuse of food stamps, people also are abusing the use of unemployment. In my personal opinion, people collecting unemployment view this can be a clear resource to their monthly income and have now quit looking for jobs. Yes there will always be flaws in the governmental systems, but there has to be a way to regulate the abuse and use of welfare. Taxpayers are extremely disappointed in how their money is sometimes being used. Government officials need to find a way to have proof and reason for citizens to apply for welfare dollars. Some citizens just need to shape up and appreciate the free and helpful country that they live in!