The Abuse of the Welfare System

Welfare was established by the Social Security Act of 1935, and administered by individual states and territories for the government to help poverty stricken children and other dependent persons. Wicipedia defines welfare as " money paid by the government to those who are in need of financial assistance, are unable to work, or whose circumstances mean the income they require for basic needs is in excess of their salary" (Welfare (financial aid)). This program helped many families survive during The Great Depression and still helps families survive today. Welfare, which was once meant to help individuals reenter society, has been abused and manipulated. The abuse of the Welfare System has become a serious problem. Many dependent persons rely mainly on welfare for their sole source of income to support their family, rather then finding a job and supporting their family with earned income. This abuse of the Welfare System spans generations, enabling families to abuse the system instead of using the system how it was meant to. The Welfare System is not flawless and often people depend on the welfare checks and food stamps to live their life on, abusing what is keeping them alive. Welfare is ill treated in many ways. Often someone will live in poverty collecting government issued checks because welfare benefits are better then working benefits. Other times one is forced to live unemployed because of their situation. These situations include giving birth, out-of-wedlock, to children and benefiting from them. Another form of abuse on the welfare system is just plain laziness and not obtaining a job that will provide a source of income.
While working and earning an income is a great feeling, the benefits are not as good as receiving welfare. Many people receiving welfare cannot find a job that could replace the checks. Some individuals on welfare take part time jobs, thus causing their situation to be not as severe and reducing the amount their welfare check is for. For