Is Welfare The Solution To Poverty?
November 7th, 2008 by 
Pastor Claude Thomas
By Kingsley Nwamaka
The great depression of the early 20th century in the U.S laid the groundwork for the welfare programs we are used to today. In reaction to this great economic disaster, the president, Franklin Roosevelt sought to stabilize the country, largely by initiating social programs. In the beginning, these social programs were based on the recipient working for the check. But as the welfare state grew, welfare receipt required no work and provided more remuneration than some jobs. Thus people lost the motivation for hard work and depended entirely on the welfare pay packet.
By 1970, it was financially better to go on welfare than to take a minimum wage job. Welfare, rather that helping people out of a bad situation, created a culture of government dependency- a far worse situation. That was not the vision in the beginning. The programs was a sought of a temporary measure to handle to emergency of those those days. Unfortunately, it has becomes a permanent feature of our economic landscape thereby hurting every one along the way- government and the individual inclusive.
It should be noted that human nature-every one’s human nature- is happy and satisfied to take a free lunch, but as Benjamin Franklin noted “I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it”
They need to be taught and given the right information and given the necessary incentives. The solution lies in teaching our people to discover their strength and use them for their own profit and welfare.
Posted in Pastor Claude Thomas, Poverty | 