America's Welfare Programs Should Be Abolished: Views shared between Egoists, Utilitarians and supporters of the Divine Command Theory

Welfare is a government program that provides money, medical care, food, housing, and other things that people need in order to survive. People who can receive help from these welfare programs are children, elders, the disabled, and others who cannot support their families on their current income. The welfare program has gone from a well-meaning program designed to sustain people who are unable to work and provide for their children, to a program that has become counterproductive to eliminating the unending dependence of the recipients. It must be understood that the welfare system, as we know it, must be fixed over a long period of time; but unfortunately there are no quick fixes.

There are several reasons why the welfare system must be eliminated. A utilitarianist, or someone who believes in doing what will maximize social utility, like John Stuart Mills, would say that the money used to fund welfare could be used in bettering the education system.

Welfare Island Bridge - Roosevelt Island, New York

Welfare Island Bridge - Roosevelt Island, New York

In doing this, it would fix the problem at the root of it all, and educate people, instead of feeding their current state. This would be best for society as a whole. Another way to describe utilitarianism is to say that they believe that the decisions we make should always benefit the most people as much as possible, regardless of the consequences to the minority or even yourself. Another reason under that theory would be to say that by eliminating welfare, each person would have to pay less income taxes through obligatory payments. This would benefit society as a whole, since the number of Americans not on welfare outnumber the amount that are. Another reason a utilitarian would be opposed to welfare is because it allows people to be more complacent and lax about supporting themselves. By allowing people to not...