The Shrinking Welfare State: The New Welfare Legislation and Families
I think most people are split on the issue of welfare. Some see it as a handout to the poor where the recipients will not and do not want to work. Others see it as just helping the unfortunate get back on their feet. Personally, I see it as a little of both. I would love nothing more to help everyone who is willing to help there selves, but I can not see helping someone who has no desire to work and would rather receive money for something they are not doing.
Eitzen and Zinn (1998) make the statement that Canada and Western Europe have more generous welfare states and they have a much lower out-of-wedlock birth rate than we have in the United States. This may be true but I do not believe that it comes from the fact that they are receiving more government assistance.
A chart showing average monthly welfare benefits (...
Welfare state - a model
English: John W. Gardner, U.S. Secretary of Health...I believe that in the United Stated we have lost a lot of family values and we believe that it is okay to have children out of wedlock because someone will always pick up the tab for them. Many states even have laws that give you a higher welfare check for the dependents that you have. I can not see that having any repercussions for pregnancies.
One statement that I agree with is "under current societal conditions many of the poor will 'sink' even if they wanted to 'swim'" (Eitzen & Zinn, 1998). I think every person is destined to be somewhere. You have your people who are supposed to be doctors and your people who are supposed to work at McDonalds. Even if that sounds horrible, sit back and think about it for a few minutes. We always say...