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We should measure welfare's success by how many
people leave welfare, not by how many are added.
 Ronald Reagan



I agree with President Reagan 100% on this. Welfare should be a temporary bridge to assist those in need during difficult transitional periods in life. Welfare should be one step along the path but not the path. 

In 40 states welfare pays more than an $8 an hour job, in 7 states more than a $12 an hour job and in 9 states more than the average salary of a teacher in the United States. The 10 states that pay the highest per average per hour benefit to welfare recipients are; Hawaii equivalent to a $17.50 an hour job, Alaska $15.48, Massachusetts $14.66, Connecticut $14.23, Washington D.C. $13.99, New York $13.13, New Jersey $12.55, Rhode Island $12.55, California $11.59 and Virginia $11.11

The 10 states with the highest number of welfare recipients per capita are Washington D.C., Rhode Island, Tennessee, California, Maine, Alaska, West Virginia, Indiana, Washington and New Mexico. 
 
The entitlement program that received the most attention during the 2012 presidential election was the food stamp program. There are currently 46,670,373 Americans currently using the food stamp program in the United States. This is 14% of the population. The annual cost of this program is $71,800,000,000. The only entitlement costs that exceed this are Medicaid at $258,000,000,000 for 2012.   

This is an increase of 1,961,373 recipients from 2011 and an increase of 29,476,373 recipients from 2000. In 42 of the 50 states 10% or more of the population participates in this program. The 10 states with the highest percentage of participation are Mississippi (20.8%), Tennessee (19.9%), Oregon (19.9%), New Mexico (19.8%), Michigan (19.5%), Louisiana (19.3%), Alabama (19.1%), Kentucky (18.8%), West Virginia (18.5%) and Maine (18.5%).  
 
If you agree with the statement made by Ronald Reagan then these programs are a complete failure. They are a drain on the national economy which then makes even more individuals dependent upon these programs. These are programs that must be drastically altered to become transitional steps through rough phases in life with the goal being getting
individuals back into the work force. To do this we need fiscal responsibility
on the national level and elimination of laws and regulations that impeded
private sector growth. The government needs to get out of the way so Americans can prosper. 

Now to examine biblical view of the welfare system:

Proverbs 29:7 The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.

 1 John 3:17-18 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 

1 Timothy 5:8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

James 2:15-16 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

Matthew 6:2-4 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver. 

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.

Christians should help others in need. First provide to those within in their own family, then provide other believers and then to those not in the church. These gifts should be given freely with love and not from obligation. When giving only God and the person receiving should be aware of the gift. For those who are able but unwilling to work then do not expect to eat. Government programs are a contradiction to biblical teachings as the giving is forced not from the heart with love and some who receive are able but not willing.


Sources for data: US Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Commerce, CATO Institute, US Department of Agriculture

Amen
 

CAS
11/16/2012 06:55:43 am

Exactly right! Love all the facts you provided.

Reply
Stephen
11/18/2012 10:40:45 pm

Thank you for the feedback CAS.

Reply



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