Quote:And I actually know people who don't. Why is your experience more relevant than mine? Both are anecdotal. Anyway, who is "they"?  Speaking for myself, I know it happens, and I know it's a drain. I just don't believe bennie babies (nice term from someone who places so much value on human life) are the massive drain on our nation's resources "you" (the collective you, since we're making broad generalities here, like "they") think they are. So what is "your" solution? Let the babies die? Don't feed, house, educate them or provide health care for them?

 

Is the answer to not help at all, or figure out how to make that help more effective?

 

I didn't say your experience didn't exist or that it's a problem. All welfare is a drain on society because it's a selective choice to support the unproductive. That isn't a bad thing, but we cannot, as they say, let the safety net become a hammock. And in our ridiculously complicated welfare system it's much too easy to defraud and to abuse.

 

I don't have the perfect answer, if I did I'd run for God, but I do know that our system is broken and most of the ideas currently offered to fix it will only make it worse (some intentionally, some just foolish). I do like the idea of a flat rate of assistance per family rather than per dependent. I also think fixed timelines for the able (like the W2W program) would be an excellent idea.

 

It bothers me that, as you insinuate, many people take my good nature and personal religious values and use them as a weapon against me to force the continued support of the unproductive. There's instruction in there for folks like me that also says if you don't work then you don't eat and I have no obligation to support those who can but won't; but we rarely have that trotted out to make a point. Speaking as me the individual, not me the society, I fulfill my obligation to the poor every 2 weeks when my pay comes in and a portion of it goes to local charities. Speaking as me the society, the burden should not be on the government collective to provide charity; that isn't it's function or intent. 

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