“Legislation views man as he is for the purpose of making him useful to society. Out of savagery, avarice and ambition, the three vices found in all parts of the human race, it creates the military, merchant and governing classes, and thus the power, riches and wisdom of the commonwealths. From these three great vices, which are all capable of destroying all mankind on the face of the earth, it creates civil tranquillity.”
-Giovanni Battista Vico (1668 – 1744) Italian jurist, philosopher
This composition is with regards to my opposition to the current state of welfare and its effects on poverty. Though these are my views and opinions about matters I believe to be true, I, by no means, wish to belittle those who are dependent upon government assistance to sustain economically. Let it be clear that I am opposed to concepts and ideas that gives this system existence, not the men and women who often find themselves subjected to it.
In a country that is structured on capitalism, supply & demand and the lower, middle and upper class system, people tend to think less of poverty like most do high blood pressure and diabetes – until it hits close to home. Even still, financial literacy being the equivalent to a healthy diet and exercise, most would rather take a pill and continue on with the only toxic behaviors they’ve ever known. Welfare keeps the poor poverty stricken, and I’m beginning to believe that is what it is intended to do. Here’s why:
We live in a country where the cliché, “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer,” seems to hold true at every corner you turn. But the real truth is that if you’re not taught how to get rich and what it means to be wealthy, you will inevitably be poor. Of course these terms vary in meaning among different groups, and this principle doesn’t necessarily apply to every single citizen. My point is that if you’re not taught how to multiply and manage what you have responsibly, you will inevitably divide whatever you acquire and become a have not.
In grades Pre K to Senior high school students aren’t taught principles of financial literacy, how to be an asset to one’s self, the nature of investing, minimizing risk through knowledge of your market, etc. Hell, they’re not even enlightened about the annual demands of Uncle Sam, tax law and the complexities of the I.R.S. until the deductions appear on their pay stubs. Instead, we, as a society are taught the principles of poverty. We are taught to behave as that of the impoverished, subconsciously and inadvertently. We’re taught that debt is good, to acquire it, then spend several years getting out of it. We’re taught to find jobs and work as “employees” for money as if labor were the only way to acquire income. Concepts such as, “renting,” as opposed to, “owning,” “leasing property” versus “acquiring assets,” and “salaries/wages,” instead of “cash flow/passive income,” are languages devoted to two separate classes of people. Welfare being the economic hospital for the poor, not haphazardly excluded from the wealthy, in coincidentally.
I support welfare for those who are physically and even mentally unable to provide for themselves and their families; those whom have fell upon hard times or lacked the mental capacity to sustain, then welfare ought to be granted and administered accordingly. However, I’m opposed to what welfare represents when it appeals to issues outside of that.
As presently constructed, welfare represents impoverishment in perpetuity. Through welfare programs, the government provides enough to sustain life, yet it doesn’t provide enough for one to survive without it. Welfare doesn’t provide programs, classes, seminars or any incentives for a welfare participant to transcend poverty into wealth. They’re not encouraged to learn what they weren’t taught about wealth, how to attain it and how to nurture it. Honestly, I don’t believe it’s supposed to.
As a society, as a country, as a people, if we focused on the elimination of poverty, a dissipation of the wealthy would occur as a result because there is no divide in the eyes of equality. It’s unfortunate that the essence of capitalism isn’t conducive to philosophical ideas of that magnitude.
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