Welfare s Success By Bill Clinton - 1861 Words

Why Welfare Hurts Ronald Reagan once said, â€Å"We should measure welfare’s success by how many people should leave welfare, not by how many people are added† (qtd. in Magoon 44). How do people today view welfare’s success? Is welfare beneficial or does it allow people to depend heavily on the government? Welfare began under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency during the Great Depression as a way to get people back on their feet and stimulate the economy when unemployment rates grew as high as 25% (Magoon 33). The welfare system has grown dramatically in the past eighty years with presidents such as Lyndon B. Johnson and also reformed in the 1990’s by Bill Clinton. Today, 55% of Americans have received some type of government assistance†¦show more content†¦The government also assists those who are disabled and unable to work. For example, my cousin, who was born with down syndrome, receives a pension from the state each month because she i s unable to support herself. Or a veteran who returns home with PTSD surely deserves the assistance. It is necessary to support those who cannot help the fact that they are unable to work. While certain welfare programs support those who truly need it, other government programs such as unemployment benefits and food stamps encourage illegitimate pregnancies, cost the government trillions of dollars, and are too often abused by drug users. Children born to single or unwed parents causes serious problems and discussions not only within society, but also the welfare system. Becoming a parent seems to be one of the most beautiful things life has to offer to people. The laughter of children warms the heart like nothing else can, and the way their eyes light up when they receive something as small as a piece of candy reminds us all that the little things in life are the most important. However, children require time and money which often gets overlooked by many people. Raising a child wit h two married parents seems difficult enough, but today many people are having children out-of -wedlock which also seems to create more single parent homes and puts more pressure on that one parent who struggles to support the child. From 1960 to 2000, out-of-wedlock births grew by 600%