Updated September 17, 2012
 FCN Online People Poll

What do you think should be done
about the American welfare system?

States hoard
welfare benefits while
poor go begging

Corporate America & Welfare
6/25/99

Restructure welfare to assist healthy, working adults and disabled people who are unable to provide food and shelter. As far as the lazy or the drug addicted...assign EARLY A.M. Public Service Duties...I am sure this will motivate most people not to want to beg for public support. I would be happier seeing our budget go toward their busing and childcare as opposed to "just giving it away". We shouldn't allow welfare to enslave our communities to poverty while brainwashing our kids with affordable "public" schools that gear them towards working hard for rich Mr Corporate America, while depriving themselves the necessary education to achieve unlimited financial gain for themselves.

Money management classes should start in the 1st grade and continue forever...then there would be less need for handouts...that is, if rich Mr. Corporate America were willing to part with some of the wealth.

Regina Collins
[email protected]

Do we need welfare?
6/26/99

Welfare should be abolished, because it has been more of a burden than a blessing. It was intended as a safety net for those who found themselves without the means to provide for their families. But in its' present state, people have found ways to abuse this program, and some have come to rely on
welfare as a means to an end.

I argue that in its' absence, people will be forced to find ways to become self-sufficient. The African-American community needs to be awakened and rejuvenated economically, this process is long overdue and perhaps the added pressure will produce the desired result.  One thing is for sure, welfare is not the cure for what ails us! I believe we can safely discard it on the junk heap of failed social experiments.

There is one proven method for economic prosperity and that is self-reliance. We in the community have presently, everything we need at our disposal to build a strong economic base. What we lack is the will to do so, and the leadership to inspire us. How else can one explain our continued state of poverty in a country that has generated enough wealth to drive the global economy? We all know how white America has benefited from our labor and ingenuity, but the argument is not relevant when we are asking what we need to do to survive as a people. What is relevant is for us to take stock of our resources and deploy those resources to our collective benefit. No we don't need welfare, we need a kick in the behinds! And that's what the government is giving us, the test is how will we respond.

Craig Stevens

Welfare
6/26/99

As Salaam Alaikum,
The issue of welfare is an issue that indeed needs to be discussed. I believe that welfare should be abolished only and after our people who find themselves on it, are taught and trained to be self dependent. I believe that the welfare system is another plan of the government to keep our people lazy and dependent.

In Puerto Rico, an island that is 60 miles by 100 miles, and has a population of about four million people. 65% of the people there are on welfare. I also believe that if welfare was eliminated it will force us to get off our hindparts all day, and motivate us to do something for self. But again it has to be something that is gradually done.

Jose X
Baltimore, MD

Restructuring Welfare
6/26/99

Welfare should and must be restructured! However, the restructuring of Welfare must be steeped in compassion with the intent to develop independent, productive human beings.

It seems to me that the white man speaks from both sides of his mouth. On-the-one-hand they support Corporate Welfare [tax write-offs, incentives] that operates on greed, exploitation, manipulation, racism and classism, with the goal of maintaining the economic variation of the William Lynch Plan, while victimizing the so-called Negro and other minorities who put the monies into his coffers. How in the world can the white man destroy the producing asset that produces his fortune?

This statement alone should tell us something. He is preparing again to systematically exterminate us. Anyone who systematically destroys the means of production, namely the workers, does not see much use for them now, or in the future. Therefore, the so-called Negro can not rely on the seeming benevolence of the white man to correct his\her\our present condition. The last several hundred years of our existence should make our situation perfectly clear in this country: The white man will do nothing to help us. Elijah Muhammad called the white man "our open enemy." He is not hidden to us. He does these evil things to us right out in the open where we can seem them. As a people we must change. We must become independent and empowered. We must develop and utilize a program that is shaped for our salvation. Black people are wise by listen to and supporting our brother. He, and his teachings, or our salvation.

Bruce,
The Bronx, NY

Restructure Welfare
6/26/99

Welfare is a necessary evil in America. Unfortunately it is abused by many-black and white and Indian and Asian etc. people.  It should be handled as unemployment is,and that is on the premise that the recipient be required to be actively pursuing employment,or possibly as a community "volunteer" God Bless you

Lucas Adams

Welfare Reform
6/26/99

I think welfare should be abolished and replaced with a lump sum payment to a family. This will give those who really don't want to be on it a chance to go to school and pay for child care they need. How about a single one time payment of 50 thousand per family below the poverty line determined by a living wage.

Kenneth Francis

Welfare
6/26/99

The current welfare system in the United States should be abolished. This will inevitably mean that many people will suffer; whites as well as minorities. Unfortunate as it may be that is the nature of the universe. Some have to suffer so that the species as a whole will be stronger and survive.

The bottom line is that welfare is not consistent with this basic principle of nature. Welfare originally started under the New Deal administration of President FDR to ease the depression. But now welfare has developed into a depressor of people. Basically free money if you choose not to work. And the way this country is set up many adults make that choice. Not only for themselves but for their children and generations to come. Since many people believe in this mystery GOD. That will one day send his messiah back to the earth and bring all believers of Christ into heaven. That makes it very easy for one to give up on life here on earth in hope for a better life in a heaven which they believe to exist but have no real evidence of its existence. So the choice for an easy ride becomes a little easier to make. "I'll take the free money;" And live a humble life on welfare, do nothing for myself, my children or my people.

So in conclusion welfare is a crutch for the poor, the mistreated, the uneducated and the unwilling to work. These people gladly use this crutch and become so accustomed to it that it becomes a way of life for generations to come. thus it takes an exceptional child to realize that there is something better than this and to break the welfare chain. That is not the environment we want our children, our future born into and to have to overcome. That was what our great grandfathers bore us into. Then it was called slavery. Physical slavery. Now its economic and mental slavery. aka WELFARE.

J.D, LEE
Camden, NJ.

Welfare Reform
6/27/99

I am of the opinion that to constantly debate and ponder such issues is a very worthwhile endeavor.  Nonetheless let me say that while in some cases a solution may be created, in some cases it cannot. In understanding welfare one sees that it is a  system providing for a class [in] society which the government created through exploitation.

Capitalism is by no means a system of God. Capitalism is economic Darwinism: the weak die, the strong survive. The poor get poorer, the rich even more so. And while it may be true that at this point in American history, more opportunities are available to people of all races, it would be an error to assume that all members of society can be taken care of, for it must be realized that America NEEDS a lower class.

For the American government, welfare is not so much charity as it is an industry. Conditions are made or maintained to keep a certain percentage of the population in poverty, then officials begin programs both federal and state to take care of these people. This in turn creates employment for the privileged and educated, and by a facade of apparent progress, manages to keep the people in in power even longer.

The question should not be one of social reform, but of human moral and spiritual reform. We should not be asking ourselves what we should do about welfare but how can we eliminate the need for it.

Carlos Alberto Sanchez Bonano
Southern California

Welfare
6/27/99

I feel the welfare system should be restructured. The entire country should observe the way it's done within the state [of] Mississippi and others. Here, the practice is this. If you are receiving welfare, you must either [be] working or going to school. Daycare and housing is also provided.

A system such as this one allows people to learn to become more independent while not letting little children go hungry.

Leon Muhammad
Jackson, Mississippi

Welfare construction
6/27/99

Peace,

I definitely think welfare is being taken advantage of by some which hurts those who really need help from the system. Therefore there has to be a way to determine who is really in need and who is not. Even when people are eliminated, there should be some training and employment made available.

Samuel Govan
Philly, Pa.

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