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John Mica's Speech Analysis

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John Mica's Speech Analysis
During a congressional debate in March of 1995, Republican Congressional Representative John Mica addressed the House of Representatives. In his speech, Mica expressed his distaste for the then-current welfare system by holding up a sign that read, “Don’t feed the alligators” (Gustafson, 2009, p. 660). As can be inferred from this visual statement, Mica likened welfare recipients to alligators— the same carnivorous reptiles ever-present in the senator’s home state of Florida. If welfare recipients were to be cared for and fed by alternative, outside sources, Mica asserted, these individuals would become gradually dependent upon these sources. As a result, the natural order of these individual’s financial responsibility would be eliminated. …show more content…
Over time, various programs have been added to and detracted from the current welfare system. These programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) ultimately serve individuals who seek or need financial, nutritional, and/or heating assistance. The obstacles faced by these recipients in order to not only receive, but to maintain, these benefits has become increasingly stringent over the years. This increase in stringency can be observed through the methods used to counter welfare fraud. As such, this paper will explore the ethical implications via a presentation of facts related to methods used to counter welfare fraud. The history of the welfare system and its resultant regulation of benefits, the infringement on constitutional rights currently facing welfare recipients, the surveillance of these recipients, and the resulting stigmatization that these individuals face will be discussed. Next, this paper will introduce two ethical models, deontology and utilitarianism, that can be used to more carefully analyze this issue. Lastly, a discussion of the analytical results a subjective analysis will be presented to underscore the ethical implications related to
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