The Welfare System A Middle Aged Couple Who Live With...

Jim and his wife Cassidy are a middle-aged couple who live with the aid of welfare benefits. Jim must start looking for job number two right away because his wife just got the news that she is pregnant with twins, and he only makes $7.25/ hour; that is definitely not enough to raise a new family! The two are not so happy with the news because times are hard, and it can cost a fortune to raise two babies. So, to ease their troubles, Cassidy reapplies for benefits that have expired, sells her card for actual money, and uses the disability checks from her deceased grandmother to help pay for home expenses; her husband supports her actions one hundred percent. Although times are rough for the couple, are their actions morally correct?†¦show more content†¦Current welfare programs deny the independence of individual recipients in various ways. Americans on welfare tend to become very dependent on the government since they constantly gain benefits without having to work as ha rd as the average American. Because of handed-out benefits, America s look on self-reliance, personal responsibility, and advancement has weakened (Will 10). Many welfare programs encourage others to accept benefits from the government, resulting in people becoming lazy and unable to search for work. This is somewhat hypocritical due to the fact that America is known for its independence, responsibility, and self-determination. Because of the encouragement from organizations, the number of food-stamp recipients has increased dramatically (Bovard 2). Self-sufficiency will continue to be an issue if organizations encourage people to accept benefits. In agreeance with O’Brien, if we truly want low-income families to achieve self-sufficiency, we need to give them the tools, education, and incentives to save for the future--not penalize those who try (13). Another reason why dependency has increased in Americans is because many are afraid of failure in life and costs of living modernly. The United States has citizens who rely so much on private benefits to be protected by the risks of modern living (Platt