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Originally Posted by MrSelfDestruct
I do not believe in government handouts. I feel that the current welfare system hurts the economically impoverished more than it helps, in many cases. I do not think that these people should be abandoned, therefore I propose the following welfare reform:
Welfare shold be available to those who are not working in the following circumstances. It should be distributed in the form of food stamps, housing credits (for rent, basic utilities, etc,) and a small cash allowance.
-They are permanently disabled
-They are actively searching for a job (let's be generous and say applying for one job per week,)
-They are actively persuing higher education in order to be better able to enter the workforce. The current system of federal student loans and grants would cover most education related expenses
-They are unable to hold a job due to care for a young child. After a certain point (again, let's be generous and say a year and a half) they would recieve child care credits for use toward daycare while they persued education and work
Every Friday, welfare recipients would be tested for ilegal substances. Those who tests came back clean would recieve their welfare payments on the folowing Monday. Anyone found having used illegal substances for two consecutive weeks would be given vouchers for treatment at a rehab facility. After completing the rehab program, any further use of illegal substances would result in detention in a state-run rehab facility (a nice way of saying prison hospital) until they were certified to be clean of whatever they were in rehab for.
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I could agree to most of what you said until the last paragraph. I am an addictions counselor and I work with these people that you would have in a "state-run rehab facility. You would rather pay far more to incarcerate than to work with these people. Forced recovery and that is what you are talking about WILL NOT AND WILL NEVER WORK, plus getting a job with the record that would be hanging over your head would be very detrimental. So in the end you are paying far more for addiction. Don't believe it? Look at how much the "War on Drugs" and incarcerating non violent drug addicts has already cost us.
If you want to reform welfare into something that truly helps and lessens the political red tape, abuse and waste then great. I can see a need for that.
BUT, I would say get rid of corporate welfare, loopholes and deductions for those making over $1 million and severely cut aid to other countries.
Unlike some who believe globalization requires a lowering of our standards, I argue, that if a country wants to do business with us they must raise their standards to a degree where we are on equal footing.
To lower standards for one country, only leads to looking for the next country with lower standards so that labor can be even more cheaper and the profits even bigger.
I truly find it sad we must lower our standards and fight over crap while we allow countries to undercut us and laugh as they are on the plus side of a huge trade deficit.
Yeah, let's support more third world countries and China while we shit on our poor and give workers even less pay, fewer benefits and tax them more.