The welfare system

Our present system of public welfare is designed to save money instead of people, and tragically ends up doing neither. This system has two critical deficiencies:

First, it excludes large numbers of persons who are in great need, and who, if provided a decent level of support, might be able to become more productive and self-sufficient. No fed­eral funds are available for millions of men and women who are needy but neither aged, handicapped nor the parents of minor children.

Second, for those included, the system provides assistance well below the minimum necessary for a decent level of ex­istence, and imposes restrictions that encourage continued de­pendency on welfare and undermine self-respect.

A welter of statutory requirements and administrative prac­tices and regulations operate to remind recipients that they are considered untrustworthy, promiscuous and lazy. Resi­dence requirements prevent assistance to people in need who are newly arrived in the state. Regular searches of recipients' homes violate privacy. Inadequate social services compound the problems.

A few years ago I was doing volunteer work with kids and single moms trying to get being kicked off of welfare. The above words describe pretty darn accurately the roadblocks that were constantly being thrown up as these moms and kids tried desperately to survive in a world where those of privilege take this as a license to ignore, or even perpetuate, poverty --- other peoples poverty, of course.

Those words that I quoted above were written in 1967.