Tea Sipping

Someone on my FB feed posted some smug message about states requiring able-bodied people with no children to work if they want to receive welfare. She and another person I know began this fun filled back and forth about what a good idea this was. I have a policy not to argue with people in FB, but that is what the blog is for. Here we go.

First of all, both of these people are almost always teetering on the edge of poverty. Neither of them or their husbands have all that great of jobs. One accident, one sick kid, one lay-off . . . all of the sudden, public assistance would be a fact of life for them. I'm sure if someone told them that, they'd scream that they work hard and aren't lazy. Awesome. If laziness and working hard were the things that got people out of poverty, we'd have a lot less of it.

Second of all, quite a lot of people who are on welfare already have jobs. A lot of places pay crap though or give less than full-time hours. It's very common for people to be working long hours and still qualify for food stamps. Some would argue that people should make better choices about the kind of jobs they qualify for, but I think we all know that's a load these days. People with great college educations in practical fields still often have trouble finding work in said field. There are also a lot of people who don't have the aptitude for college. There are other people who will never be able to make themselves presentable for any job beyond minimum wage.

I'm not saying I think people who are getting government assistance shouldn't work. If they have the ability to do so,  they should, of course. As I wrote above, many of them already are. I just think that this program is going to end up being like the drug-testing one. It probably won't change things much and will cost a whole lot of money.