OPINION: Welfare laws need fresh reform

With the election only a matter of days away, people are becoming more and more divided on the issues, including social issues. One of the more prevalent issues is welfare reform and the welfare work requirement. Welfare was originally reformed in 1996 when President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. It gave money to states to help the poor, but they had to follow certain criteria so the people who were receiving the aid would be encouraged from welfare to work.
   
When this reform was enacted into law, it greatly reduced the amount of people who received welfare and more people were getting off welfare and back to work. As of July 2012, President Obama has put in a new directive through the Department of Health and Human Services allowing the states to forgo the federal work requirement. The Obama administration says they aren’t getting rid of work requirement: They are just giving the states an opportunity to find more “effective” ways of helping people find work.
   
Forgoing the work requirement will cause lots of problems for the United States. If the government no longer requires people to be looking for jobs, we could have many more people who are just receiving welfare as if it was a entitlement program. Our debt as a nation is already astronomical, and we don’t need more people receiving free money from the government.
   
Welfare should be a system that helps struggling families get back on their feet. People who are on welfare should be looking for steady work so they no longer have to rely on the government for assistance. Far too many people in this country collect welfare and aren’t looking for gainful employment.
   
Every year in the United States, $131.9 billion – yes, that is a billion – is spent on welfare. This doesn’t include Food Stamps or unemployment. $131.9 billion – that is a lot of money. Just to get an idea of just exactly how much money this is, here are some things that can be bought with $1 billion: Instagram, Real Madrid’s island in the UAE, and a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease. That is only one billion dollars. Imagine what could be done if we cut down on how much is spent on welfare and put it into a good cause. The good that money could do could help millions not only in this country but around the world.
   
So what can be done to fix this problem? That is what the battle in the election is about. President Obama has already put out his directive, but what would Mitt Romney do? He believes people should have to fulfill the work requirement, and he wants to help the economy grow and create jobs. Creating jobs would help many people get off welfare and thus make them independent of the government, thereby cutting government spending.
   
Welfare can be a good thing. It can give people self esteem to help them get on their feet. There needs to be work requirements so people aren’t getting something for nothing. If you give a man a fish he eats for a day, but if you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime. People need to work for what they have, even if it’s just a small job. Other welfare programs don’t just give handouts, they make people do things for assistance. Welfare should have a work requirement so people can help themselves. Americans are strong people and can rise from poverty and unemployment. People who don’t want a hand up, want a hand out.

– Whitney Beames is a sophomore dual majoring in secondary education and family and consumer sciences with a minor in political science. She is from Willard, Utah. She can be reached at whitney.beames@aggiemail.usu.edu.