Kara LeBel
3/3/2015
English 110
Professor Martins
Compare and Contrast
Pros and Cons of Social Welfare The argument about welfare will continue for as long as welfare is around. As long as there is poverty and people in need, welfare will exist. Many people are for welfare and believe that we have a moral responsibility to help those that are in need, especially when it is a single mother who needs to get back on her feet to take care of her children. There are also many who are against welfare, and are under the impression that money is taken out of their check and given freely to people that are too lazy to work. Regardless, there are pros and cons of welfare no matter what side of the argument someone is on. One of the cons of welfare is the possibility of fraud and people cheating the system. There are applications and forms that people have to fill out and people have to bring verifications to their eligibility appointment but it is not 100% fool proof. For example, in 2008 five people were arrested for welfare fraud. Among them was one man who earned more than $200,000 a year yet still applied for $37,000 in Medicaid benefits. (“New York Times” 1) Another con is that recipients can become dependent on welfare. The fear of losing benefits or a decrease in benefits when becoming employed can sometimes deter someone from looking for work. Lastly, it is more of a short-term solution than anything. A recipient is allotted a certain amount of time to receive these benefits but once that time is up there is no transition or long-term solutions to help individuals get back on their feet. There are also pros of welfare, however. First, it gives people access to health care who may have otherwise not have had health care at all. It is hard for someone who is struggling to maintain consistent employment to obtain consistent health insurance for themselves and/or their child. Another pro, quite possibly the most important pro out of them all, is the support for children. Because of welfare, children that are part of a family in poverty will be fed, have health care, live in a proper shelter, and more. Lastly, lowering crime is another important pro as well. People who have a hard time providing the basic necessities of life and receive no help can sometimes turn to crime to be able to provide those necessities. Having welfare as an option to help people provide for their families will deter them from committing those crimes. While there are both pros and cons of welfare, the pros seem to outweigh the cons. Making sure children are properly provided for is one of the biggest benefits that welfare has. Without the existence of welfare, there are many people that would have difficulty surviving.
