why we love welfare

i’ve tried for awhile to stay out of the political arena. the problem is that if i actually care about the issues about which i claim to be so passionate, that is not really a possibility. the fact is that real issues and real people are affected by the decisions that are made in the political sphere. if a person is passionate about social change, engagement is inevitable. 

those who know me well have no doubt about my political leanings, but i would like to post about a program in which my views have changed pretty drastically over the past three years. those with a set political camp share some common ground in their feelings towards welfare programs whether they know it or not. here is the common ground. 

we love it. 

we love welfare. 

here’s what i mean. 

my left leaning brethren love welfare because it gives them a way to say to others, “look, we’re looking out for the needy! see the money we give? see the programs we run?” it gives them a great example of being able to point to a specific way in which the party looks out for those in need. here’s the problem. 

most welfare programs don’t work. 

despite my appreciation for the aims of the various welfare programs in the united states, most of them run in a manner that is completely out of sync with good economics and/or common sense. we are incentivizing negative behaviors and often times encouraging folks to stay in less than ideal situations because the very nature of the program offers and extends benefits for such decisions. 

this is exactly why my right leaning brethren love welfare programs. overall, they don’t work. they give some great leverage to be able to point fingers and say “look at the other side over there wasting money on inefficient programming.” however, i’ve yet to hear much of a viable solution from the other side. 

simply tightening work requirements does not take into consideration a cycle of poverty in which many americans are trapped. telling someone to get a job doesn’t work for folks who haven’t been blessed with the educational capacity to even begin to know how to go about accomplishing a such task or where to start looking. despite the rhetoric from the other side, i have not seen solutions for ways in which those on the right plan on entering into relationship with those who can’t find work to help lift them out of poverty. the plan is to put up barriers to entry on a program in which folks have been immersed their entire lives and simply say “its time to find some work?” that seems less than helpful.

so what is the solution? as with most things in this sphere it’s pretty simple in theory and complex in practice. we need compassionate leaders and citizens who truly have a heart for the poor. the gap between the rich and the poor in this country is as wide as anywhere in the world (see our Gini coefficient).

at some point we have got to stop settling for ignoring the problem or setting up government programs that put band-aids on gaping wounds. 

at some point we need folks who are followers of Christ to take seriously his claim to “bring Good News to the poor.. to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free...” 

those who do not resonate with the teachings of Christ need to find the humanity in their fellow citizens and see that it’s just not ok to continue our constant quest for income and asset accumulation while folks are starving on the streets. 

if we must look at it from a selfish perspective, we must know that this type of inequality will not last. taking a quick survey of world history should make that pretty apparent. 

if we are to take this problem seriously, we will have to plunge into relationships and community with those who are financially struggling. we cannot be content to toss folks who don’t have a home some chump change out of our home mortgage interest deduction and keep walking. we must see that the whole Jericho road needs transforming, and it is not going to be an easy task. 

i see the first step as education. the inequality starts with children. if we want to get to the heart of the income gap in the united states, a huge step in the right direction is to tackle educational inequality. i won't currently wade fully into these waters, but education reform and passionate educational leaders in low-income areas can begin to chip away such a seemingly insurmountable problem.  

education is not the overall solution to the problem. it is a starting point. welfare is not the solution. it is a less than ideal attempt to help those in need that is often counterproductive. 

only a collective compassion will help us to find a true viable alternative.