I was born into a life with a young mother who no matter how hard she worked she still had to depend on small forms of welfare. Welfare is a government program that gives aid to people in need or people who may not be able to support themselves. There are many forms of welfare such as care assistance, food stamps, health care, or cash aid. My mother was on food stamps, and she was extremely grateful for the extra assistance given. Even with the help she continued to work hard and finish her education. As we both grew older she continued to work hard and worked her way out of this help. Based on my experience I can see the benefits in the welfare programs, it provides help for people allowing changes in their lives for the better. The only stipulation is that these welfare dependents will actually have to work, my argument is that in order for you to receive government welfare you will have to be continuing to look for work, or find a job. People on disability or that are unable to work should receive assistance, but if there is an abled-bodied person in the household then they should be finding work to support the house. If you do not look for work then you are to be taken off of this support. If they work hard they will no longer have to depend on this government help, they can go forward to make something of themselves. My plan is to find a way to bring this into play, finding a way to make this possible and force this plan little by little until it is complete. I have information and quotes providing to why this is beneficial to our society and why having a job is important for these welfare recipients. Some recipients happen to take advantage of these programs, they do not work and do not try to make better for themselves. They have been found to take these programs for granted continuing to do nothing while taxpayers continue to pay for this. Implementing a demand, and forcing work upon them will help our society and everyone involved in it.

In this United States today there are many people that take the system for granted or work around the many flaws behind it. Anders Molander states in a journal of applied philosophy titled "Getting People into Work" that "It may be too late to save this country, if we don't find someone that actually cares enough to make a difference then this will never change" (Molander 374). If we want these recipients to find work then we will need someone who will bring change to this country. There is a belief that it may be too late to stop them from continuing to take advantage of the system. The tone of this piece is worried and scared that we will never make this change, which is understandable, I am just as worried. The first of many opportunities and ways to fix this is by making half of the recipients find work, and the other half should find some education and then work. They implemented many programs across different countries and "The only programs that both increased work and made families financially better off were those that provided earnings supplements to low wage workers" (Bloom 9). Basically, the best way to make these people work is by providing them with money or help, and that's exactly what I want. I want to have them work, and if they do they can have all the help they need as long as they are trying. He wants to find ways to implement this plan the best and he uses real people and real data to come up with this final evaluation. He goes on to state "This approach is designed both to encourage more welfare recipients to go to work and to improve the economic circumstances of low income working families" (Bloom 10). This approach he is talking about is on his giving of earning supplements. Like said the earning supplements encourage the welfare recipients to work, encouraging is the first step and once they want to work its easy from there. You just have to get them up on their feet and providing for themselves. Once they begin working and providing more for themselves it allows for extra money now to help other families with low wage jobs. In Gueron's article it is stated "The fundamental dilemma is the impossibility of simultaneously maximizing the two primary policy objectives: reducing poverty and encouraging self-support" (Gueron 80). There are many efforts to make a change to the way welfare is being run and the policies behind it. This article clearly states why it is such an incredibly hard task to manage. Yes, this is improbable in today's culture, but it can be done and needs to be done if we want to better this world and everything it stands for. It is like working with a little kid if you give them a cookie they will clean there room. If encouragement is offered then the will power and drive to support themselves will follow shortly behind.

In an evaluation of a Minnesota family investment plan and the final report. It is stated "rewarding work to cut down on the welfare improves the welfare system" (Knox 1). There is data about rising education rates, housing rates, finding stable full time jobs and even marriage. Rewarding work not only increases numbers and percentages but it betters the lives of the people. It's as simple as a reward that will make someone want to do something and once they start they'll continue because they are being rewarded. In an article from Fox News it states "These are able-bodied adults without dependents. They don't have children in the home. They're not elderly, they're not disabled. These folks should be working." (Jeunesse). If you are able bodied then you should be working there is no way around that fact and it is clearly expressed by others as well as I. They have no children to look after, no extra care needed, and no real reason to not be doing something. There are many people who believe in what I believe so really what's it going to hurt to implement this. These recipients can find work make some extra money and still receive their benefits, this is all that we are asking.

Another point of view I would like to elaborate on is the disability standing. If someone is disabled should they look for work? The answer to that, is no they should not have to. These people will have someone who is in their family providing for them. Like I said if there is an abled-bodied person they are to work, and they will work and support this disabled family member, or they both are taken off assiatance. In a Social Issues article it is said that "Mental health problems may prevent women from undertaking the tasks necessary to find employment, or women with these problems may lack the self-confidence needed to take on new challenges" (Jayakody 2). This again is another argument for the opposing side of this topic. This is easily solved with my suggestion, of course government help will be provided and that is rightfully so, but there is someone who will need to work to help provide just as if they were disabled. I find mental health to be somewhat similar to that of having a disability, so I would categorize it by the same ruling. This also seems to bring on an issue with single mothers finding work. If you think back on to my childhood story that is exactly what my mom was and she made it work, she got by, so I know they can as well. In the article from the University of Illinois Press it is stated "mothers are needy but that there are many places out there to help them" (Urbana 211). There are all types of forms of care out there just for mothers and their children. Basically, mothers are protected by the state, it is very understandable that these mothers need help and should be given this. These mothers are always showing extreme want to make better of their lives and are always trying to give a great life for their children. Mothers are the strongest of them all, and deserve all the help they can get, but it is not moral to exclude them from work and not the others. This is one of the hardest parts of the program and the argument, but I believe that these mothers will work if you tell them that it will help them and that you will support them with everything they need as long as they are continuingly trying.

The opposing side likes to talk on several different points such as that stated by a writer for The Wall Street Journal, saying "These welfare recipients do already work they just have the jobs that barely pay and it's not enough to support" (Morath). They believe that they should not have to work because what is the point when you don't make enough to support yourself alone anyways. Actually, maybe if they keep working they can make better wages and if you work one low wage job you can eventually get a job that will provide more. How I see it if we get the plan going to force work then even with a low paying job they will and can still receive government help. It's a win-win they get to stay on welfare and they have a little extra money for other stuff for themselves and members of their families. We will provide the rest as long as they are trying, and making this county better and not just sitting there taking tax money and sitting on it. There is a video of an Austin, Texas morning show where a caller comes in and talks about her welfare saying "she gets a lot of welfare money and can stay home and smoke weed" (Welfare Abuse). The fact that she would call into the radio station to say that she doesn't need to work and she doesn't have to is the first problem. The second is how she is allowed to smoke weed anyways. She should be made to get up and find a job if not then she will have her welfare taken away from here. What has this world come to, for this to happen and we continue and continue to let it slide. People this is your tax money being used to smoke weed, you can see the problem.

In the American Dependency and Abuse of Food Stamps documentary when people are interviewed they are saying things such as "they don't feel like they should have to work" or that "they should just be given things" (American Dependency). These people are given almost everything and they aren't even working, why do they feel like they are above us? When it is us that is paying for their food, their health, or even both. These people treat the system wrongly and there should be something done to put an end to this for good. This documentary has a sad tone that shows the abuse of the system; just like how many documentaries do they either make you sad, or upset you into wanting to better the issue. This does both and without any writing captures more than any paper or review would. According to the Economist "welfare has grown, there are more and more people calling themselves disabled" (The Economist). People in this world are finding the flaws in the system and exploiting them, people are finding ways to do nothing and still get into the welfare system. This shouldn't even be possible, there should be more explicit rules on being classified as a disabled. Just because you don't feel like walking isn't a good enough excuse. The National Review states "Not working will actually give you more money than working will" (Tanner). This is why people are taking advantage of our system we are rewarding them for doing nothing and the ones who are actually trying and doing something receive less with no extra benefits.  This is the sad reality that we are living with these days in America. It's practically to the point were not working is the best thing to do going to get an education or a job does nothing. This is why making these people work when receiving welfare at least makes them do something until they eventually get themselves out of poverty and come up in life, and once they do that they can maybe get an education and then a better job with more money. Once this happens the economy can shift back to the way it should be helping the people who actually need it rather than the ones who clearly do not. 

In conclusion, welfare is an amazing system in place here to help and support people in times of need and suffering. It gives assistance to those who have no hope for anything better to come. Although this is a great program there are many flaws and these flaws are certainly being taken advantage of day after day. People are now calling themselves disabled when they are not, they think they deserve handouts, and in some cases they would rather lay in bed and smoke weed all day. These are just a few cases but I wanted you to see just how bad it is and will continue to get unless we have someone in office who will change this, someone who will put this to rest and change the policies that we have in place today. The United States needs a plan implemented to force work on these welfare dependents, they either find work or they find some other help elsewhere. If they are not willing to try then they are not disserving of any such assistance and should not be granted it. My bias on this topic is extreme and I strongly believe in a giant change in our system. I was born experienced it and I am experiencing it day after day. I want to see lives change, I want to see people working for themselves. It is clear to me that a mass of people are actually in need and it is our job to help them, but I'm not going to help them unless they try helping themselves first. There are many people who would love the help, and when people take advantage of it it's wrong. We need a program set to help the actual disabled or the working mother or even just the low wage worker who just needs a little help to get by. That's what welfare is all about and that's what it was made for in the first place and it is about time we go back to that system and back to being what The United States is all about.

