Argumentative Essay On Welfare

Welfare The American dream used to feel like a light at the end of a dark tunnel, and there was always an opportunity to do better. Now the American dream has died, and America is not what it used to be because America has crippled itself by allowing Americans to live off of the government for so long. This is not to say that everyone on welfare is lazy because that cannot be proven. Though according to Mike Emanuel, a chief congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel, “Newly released Census data reveals nearly 110 million Americans – more than one-third of the country – are receiving government assistance of some kind” (Emanuel). The government assistance is constantly being abused, and instead of doing something about it, it seems
as though we just keep turning the other cheek. The requirements to receive these benefits are not as monitored as they should be. Welfare has different programs such as, SNAP (food stamps), WIC, Medicaid, assisted living, etc. We should stop easily giving handouts to people just because of what they say. There needs to be a strict process like, requirement of community service hours, hard evidence of job search, job training, and a time limit to be on government assistance, that allows people in need to actually earn their benefits instead of being handed benefits without working for it. Poverty has been in America for a very long time, and it has gotten much worse.
Because America is not a communist government, there will always be poverty because some people are always going to be at the top, and some people are always going to be at the bottom, but the bottom does not have to be as bad as it is now. America is the land of opportunities, and there is always a chance to better yourself even if the odds are against you. It has taken many years for someone in a higher level to actually take action on this issue, but changes are starting to be made. The governor of Maine, Paul LePage, made history when he changed the welfare laws of Maine. As Arthur Browne stated, in the US Herald, “They are making people exhaust their possibilities for employment before giving them a handout” (Browne). This is exactly what the rest of America needs to do because the proof is in the pudding and his method works. Some people may argue that this movement is harshly targeting the lower class in rural areas; it is not to attack these people, but to better them because they are having difficulty bettering themselves. According to Jason DeWitt, “ Now that the individuals have to complete either twenty hours of part-time work in a week, volunteer for at least twenty-four hours per month, or get involved in a vocational program, the amount of SNAP recipients has dramatically dropped from 12,000 to approximately 2,500 by the end of March – a nearly 80% reduction in welfare”
(DeWitt). That is an extraordinary decrease in the amount of people on welfare. Welfare is there for people who truly need it, and if we can get the people who are abusing it to stop, then there would be more funding for those in need.