Posted on 04/18/2018 2:47:32 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
It takes a lot of courage for a president to target almost a quarter of the federal budget for reform in an election year.
But this is exactly what President Trump is doing with his executive order, "Reducing Poverty in America by Promoting Opportunity and Economic Mobility."
We're now spending more than $700 billion per year on low-income assistance, which is more than we are spending on our national defense. And there are plenty of reasons to believe this spending is inefficient, wasteful and counterproductive.
Over the last half-century, some $22 trillion has been spent on anti-poverty programs and yet the percentage of poor in this nation remains unchanged. And it is not only a matter of the percentage staying the same but also that the people and families who are born poor stay that way.
The Better Way report produced by the House speaker's office in 2016 reported that 34 percent of those born and raised in the bottom fifth of the income scale remain there all their lives.
The point has often been made that the greatest charitable gesture is teaching those in need to help themselves.
This principle defines the president's reforms to our anti-poverty programs and spending. Let's make sure that every dollar spent goes to those truly in need and that those dollars are spent to maximize the likelihood that the recipients will get on their feet and become independent, productive, income-earning citizens.
The executive order directs federal agencies to review the some 80 federal anti-poverty programs, consolidate where there is redundancy and overlap, and look to reform by applying the principles of hard work and self-sufficiency.
Needless to say, the usual left-wing megaphones, those that can't tell the difference between compassion and spending billions of other people's dollars, have wasted no time to go on attack.
The headline from the Southern Poverty Law Center screams, "Trump's executive order on work requirements punishes low-income people for being poor."
Calling the executive order "heartless," the SPLC rejects the premise that there are those receiving benefits from these programs who could work but don't.
However, Robert Doar of the American Enterprise Institute reports that there are almost 20 million working-age Americans receiving benefits under Medicaid and food stamps who don't work.
The "Better Way" report notes that "44 percent of work-capable households using federal rental assistance report no annual income from wages."
But it's not just about work requirements.
Vital to this reform project is moving programs out of Washington's grasp and into the administrations at the state and local levels. Assistance programs need humanity and flexibility. This can only be done locally. There's no way an army of bureaucrats in Washington can develop and implement programs for 50 million needy individuals that can properly recognize what unique individuals need to move out of poverty.
Assistance programs need to promote and embody those principles that go hand in hand with prosperity — ownership, investment, savings and personal freedom and responsibility.
According to the Better Way report, almost 10 million Americans have no bank account and another 25 million have an account but get financial services outside of the banking system.
When I was a young woman on welfare, I saw the destruction that occurs when assistance programs penalize work, marriage and saving, as was the case with the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. Subsequently, this was reformed and transformed with great success to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
We can't go on spending hundreds of billions of dollars of limited taxpayer funds on programs that may have been conceived with sincerity and compassion but don't work.
President Trump deserves credit for exercising the courage and vision to move to fix what is broken in our anti-poverty programs. It is vital for the poor and vital for the nation.
This guy is the president we’ve needed for thirty years.
He’ll do what Reagan talked about but couldn’t accomplish.
If the idiots in The Swamp had even an ounce of the president’s desire to fix this nation’s problems we might just make it! Have to admire this man’s tenacity and sense of purpose despite enemy fire coming at him from every direction.
Government needs to get completely out of the charity business
They weren't - they were conceived to keep poor people dependent on government and voting Rat.
When he was campaigning I predicted that if he won, he would send the economy skyrocketing and bring unemployment to record low levels. Then half kidding I said he would unite North and South Korea. The first one, OK...that wasn’t hard to guess, but the second? My God, is he really doing it? North and South having peace talks? WTF?? All this in barely over a year in office! AND ALL HE GETS IS CRAP even from his own party! If it wasn’t for them the Obamacare nightmare would have been repealed and replaced and that wall would be getting built. Instead what do they focus on? Mueller Mueller Mueller, porn star, his lawyer, blah blah blah.
He’ll do what Reagan talked about but couldn’t accomplish.
...
In many areas.
There’s no dignity in handouts!
No man wants that - they want work; they need to work and truly take care of themselves and their family.
And no women wants to be with a man and have his children who lives an aimless, slothful life.
Bravo, Mr. President. This is a critical part of MAGA for sure.
The Left loves Norway but you can't become a citizen of Norway if you aren't earning at least $40k a year.
Many grown males are not men.
He is fearless. He is fixing the things that others lacked the courage to even mention, this will accomplish great good.
Starr Parker WAS on welfare herself and COMPLETELY turned her life around under POTUS Clinton’s welfare to work program!!! She was FORCED to improve her life AND now she is one of us says the government enabled her for years!!!!
Actually, that was Newt Gingrich's program. The Gingrich reforms were so successful that Clinton ran on them -- as his own idea -- in 1996.
We’ve needed him since the “War on Poverty,” which did nothing but condemn millions of people to government dependency and poverty for going on 50 years now.
Look at the history of the CCC. Many young people begged to get into the program so they could work, get a few bucks, meals and some clothing. Granted, there were some make work projects under the program but the reforestation, park, dam and road building, and education, some 400,000 learned to read and write, were worthwhile. I believe the pay was $30 per month of which $25 was sent home to support family.
There is a big difference between those capable of work and those who can’t. Those who can’t should be cared for but those capable should provide something in return for taking my $.
Government isn’t providing charity! Charity is the free giving of your own resources. The government is redistributing someone else money, the someone else having no say or choice in the distribution.
Reagan had GHWB sabotaging his efforts.
Amen.
They also need to get out of the education business. There is nothing in the Constitution about either one.
Reduce all immigration to zero, end H-1B and promote on shoring of manufacturing back to the USA with a 20% import tariff. Then watch wages go up, deficits disappear and prosperity return to the USA.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.