Why are social programs (i.e. welfare, universal health & college) so controvers

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   keishialeelouisposted 10 years ago

   Why are social programs (i.e. welfare, universal health & college) so controversial in the USA?
   
   Do you think it has anything to do with our diverse ethnic, cultural and religious ideas? Or is it something else?

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   RTalloniposted 10 years ago

   At least partially, it is generally the history of the programs that create controversy today.  Seeing the waste in our own government is a telling story that is repeated in the history of such programs.  That history also includes issues such as how programs divide people into classes, degrade societies' individualism--both on personal levels and corporately, diminish their abilities to creatively become productive and useful members of society, and more.  For those who have taken the opportunities that social programs were supposed to give them and gone on to leave them behind and be all that they can be as people in their homes, communities, and countries, everyone agrees that's great, but the overwhelming issues are that the majority of people in the programs do not rise to their fullest potential.  Sadly the last category are caught in a trap, and spend their lifetime looking for others to give them more and more and more…  The following info could be read and used as a springboard to researching the topic:
   http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrar … ic-growth/
   http://www.economist.com/news/united-st … -americans
   http://www.heritage.org/research/report … are-reform
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/2 … 32490.html

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      keishialeelouisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks! I agree that history and the mismanagement of government funds have a lot to do with it. However, corporate & non-profits have similar issues. Maybe it's the perception that the public pays & has no choice regarding  who receives aid.

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      RTalloniposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Well, that's not a perception.  The monies come from the public--they/we definitely do the paying--and we are told the who and where of how the money will be spent, but we are lied to because much of it goes to wasteful administration.

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      keishialeelouisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I agree about the wasteful spending... However, mismanagement isn't limited to the government. Sometimes I think it's a double standard stemming from the truth that we pay into this system. While some aren't as miffed by corporate mismanagement.

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      RTalloniposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Some corporations and non-profits do have mismanagement problems, but no one is forced to give their money to those organizations.  The individual can decide which to give to, can decide to check out the validity of the organization, or not  to give.

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      keishialeelouisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, that's exactly what I was saying... but it's a bit of a double standard idealistically speaking.

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      RTalloniposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The issue is that with the government, there is no choice on any level.  We are all forced to "give" whether the giving is real help, is managed right, or not, and that creates animosity.  Giving from the heart always increases giving...

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   Motherbynatureposted 10 years ago

   It's the entitled arguing with the selfish while ignoring the needy.

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   M. T. Dremerposted 10 years ago

   I think it's because our country constantly reiterates the idea of "hard work equals money". Theoretically, if you put in the time and effort, you will be rewarded for it. Therefore social programs tend to be viewed as free money for people who didn't want to do the work. While there are undoubtedly some people who abuse social programs, I don't think it's as bad as some news outlets would like us to believe. If anything, the problem is that mentality of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps.
   
   My issue with it is that it isn't necessarily true anymore. Someone could work three jobs and barely make the rent payment, while someone else was lucky enough to be born into a rich family and they get a cushy position created for them at their dad's company. The equalizer used to be college but between rising tuition costs and an over-saturation of bachelor's degrees, it's startling to lose its value. Social programs can at least relieve some of that struggle. But only if we can shift away from this mentality of individual bootstraps to one of a community of bootstraps.

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      keishialeelouisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, excellent observations! I believe perception has become reality for many people, & unfortunately it's shaped by the internet/24 news cycles rather than  reason & empathy. What happens when individual ideals don't line up with the comm

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   dashingscorpioposted 10 years ago

   No. I believe most people feel like everyone should work and pay their own way especially when it comes to food and housing.
   Naturally from a religious standpoint the right thing to do is to give the downtrodden a hand. Many people are open to doing so but they don't want to be taken advantage of nor do they believe it should a lifetime entitlement. They want term limits for using programs.
   Lastly in the eyes of many people a large percentage of those who are on welfare is due to bad choices they've made.(dropping out of school, having children out of wedlock, choosing less than ideal mates to be spouses or co-parents, criminal behavior, drugs and alcohol) or lacking ambition, goals, plans, and self-discipline.
   Unfortunately however the vast majority of people on welfare are (children) not adults. Children who had no say in whom their parents would be! You can't be pro-life and not pro-child.
   Lots of people would be in favor of a program that helped the children without assisting their parents but there is no way of doing so.

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      keishialeelouisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It's true that many programs are designed to help children, but they also help students, the elderly, and disabled. All good--but you stated many of the perceptions people have regarding where money is going. Why do you think they get these feelings?

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      dashingscorpioposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The media has sold us the images of the "welfare queen" with designer handbags and clothes, new cars, flat screen TVs, taking Las Vegas vacations and partying on our tax dollars.
      Few people are heartless towards the elderly or (truly disabled).

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