Table of Contents
Welfare was intended to help the poor of the poor survive in a world which was becoming increasingly harsh to those without means. It was envisioned as a tool of survival in a bid to assist the affected individuals find alternatives to support themselves and therefore require no more aid. Traditionally, welfare was given by community to its vulnerable members while governments were busy attending to the national agenda. But a lot has changed and welfare as we know it today is no longer the noble avenue it was designed for. The national government has become the larges provider of welfare and the great resources provided by government have attracted individuals who want to exploit the system for their selfish gains or to support their vices. This has led to a huge economical burden to the tax payers as people have to pay more in forms of tax to support the myriad welfare schemes run by state and federal government. The consequence has been a call from influential sectors like the media to halt most welfare programs and they have provided several factual evidence and logical appeal to give credence to their demand. On thing is clear, that the current welfare system cannot be prolonged the way it currently sits due to the many loopholes that lead to its abuse. In this regard a large section of the welfare system must be abolished to lessen the burden on tax payers, reduce exploitation of the system for personal gains and boost self dependence by encouraging study and pursuit of employment.
Reasons for abolishment of Government Welfare
There are many reasons which strengthen the case for the abolishment of welfare as we know it today. This is because the welfare system has ground tremendously to encompass all areas of our society and benefit all types of people regardless of age, gender or race. It is not possible to offer all the reasons for abolishment but a sample is necessary in order to present a scholarly case. It is also necessary to highlight some of points highlighted by those who believe that welfare should not be abolished in the hope that doing so will enable us establish a more informed conclusion.
The first reason why welfare should be abolished is that it’s very expensive and is a large burden to the tax payers. There are several programs running directly or indirectly by all levels of government and the combined expenses to run them is enormous (Richman). This creates a diversion of funds to these programs rather than focus on other areas that are vital for the well being of the whole country. This in essence means that government focuses on assisting some sections of society at the expense of providing better services to the whole country. These funds can be used to enhance business, make health care, housing and education accessible to all persons and provide capital to people as a way of creating employment and hence addressing poverty.
Welfare has been accused of being unconstitutional if not morally wrong. This is because it forcibly takes from the working people and gives it to other groups of people who may or may not deserve it. The bottom line is that there is not constitutional provision which mandates the government to burden tax payers as a way of providing for those who don’t have work. In addition, welfare as it exists now have several loopholes which people exploit to get pay offs and therefore not have to work for their pay. Welfare also promotes laziness since people who get free payoffs are not likely to have a strong motivation to find work. This might lead to reduced aggregate productivity and the over all looser is the country and hard working citizens.
According to Ziliak (55) an abolishment of tax based welfare will lead to increased donations to the poor by those who can afford it since the main reason for small donations currently is due to government based welfare programs. This will lead to the emergence of more philanthropists who will assist needy persons not only in procuring private needs but in the provision of education to needy students. Ziliak has provided strong empirical evidence showing that welfare can be privatized without causing harm to the intended recipients (56). Green has also cautioned that the existence of huge state welfare programs shuts out willing volunteer welfare programs from institutions and individuals.
Conclusion
There are those who would disagree with the call to abolish welfare on the grounds that welfare helps many needy people. But there is enough data to show that welfare as it currently stands should either be abolished or undergo radical reforms to seal loopholes and reduce the burden on tax payers. The people have always expressed a strong resistance to programs that leave too much room for lazy and unethical people to exploit hem for personal gain (Kent 1). Opinion prevalent in the media has made one thing clear. That the people are dissatisfied with the current welfare system because it burdens the tax payer on one hand and allows scrupulous people to benefit from it through manipulation of the system.
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