Welfare Recepients Should Not Be Allowed to Vote

Hello. Thanks for taking the opposing side. It doesn't really matter whether we are discussing American welfare or British welfare, just simply the issue of whether or not those individuals on welfare should be allowed to vote. The primary worry is that their votes are essentially purchased. Either to those politicians who promise an increase to the amount of welfare, or against those politicians who campaign on trying to eliminate the welfare system. It should be noted that as that they do receive welfare, even if they pay a tax upon their personal income earned from some employment, the tax money is reimbursed to them in the money coming from the welfare check. So, the primary issue with welfare recipients being allowed to vote in elections is, in the words of one of the greater Englishmen of the 19th Century, John Stuart Mill, "Those who pay no taxes, disposing by their votes of other people's money, have every motive to be lavish, and none to economize. As far as money maters are concerned, any power of voting possessed by them is a violation of the fundamental principle of free government; a severance of the power of control, from the interest in its beneficial exercise. It amounts to allowing them to put their hands into other people's pockets, for any purpose which they think fit to call a public one; which in some of the great towns of the United States is known to have produced a scale of local taxation onerous beyond example, and wholly borne by the wealthier classes. " (This quote can be found in Considerations on Representative Government, Chapter 8, The Extension of Suffrage). People tend to vote for that which is most beneficial towards themselves. Look how many people straddled with student loan debt rallied around former contender for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States, Bernie Sanders. On the other side of the spectrum, those people who's jobs were lost when their employers moved production facilities overseas, their rallied behind now Republican nominee, Donald Trump. I am not calling any of these people selfish or lazy or xenophobic or any other such nonsense spewed by American media (I would have no idea how them media is for you all across the pond), but I merely point this out on how people vote based upon their particular circumstances. Essentially, their votes were purchased. Those people who do pay taxes have proven that they have produced for society, paid into society, and hence have invested in society, and likewise the running of their government. Those individuals who receive public financial support from the public coffers, when that support is either the entirety of their income or greater than the taxes that they otherwise pay (which is most reasonable. It would make little sense for society to offer financial support to some one only to then demand that money and more back), and this public support is not due to past services rendered, these individuals have not invested into society. In fact, they make an income off the good nature of a productive and wealthy society. This income, being freely given and since the recipient of the welfare is by no means expected to repay the amount given to him, is taken from the public coffers. If recipients of welfare vote to elect officials and legislators, much like the Sanders supporters and those that got Trump nominated, will vote for that candidate or bill which most benefits themselves. However, unlike the Sanders supporters, many of whom still produce for society and may very well be the victims of usury by the banks which loaned to them, or the Trump supporters, who produced for society until they were turned out by their employers and abandoned by elected officials in Washington (and I believe, but not entirely sure, that similar problems have befallen your countrymen in the UK), recipients of welfare do not produce for society nor are they victims of the malevolence of those more powerful members of society. In fact, they are the beneficiaries of the good-will of more powerful members of society. To allow them to vote is to allow them the ability to abuse that good-will to increase their income. Essentially, their votes will only go towards those politicians who, whether for truly altruistic reasons or ulterior motives, promise to increase the amount in the welfare check. In turn, this will not only burden the very wealthy, but this will also become a burden upon all individuals who pay an income tax and are not receiving welfare from the state. The income of all working men will decrease which could very well drive more people to enroll in various welfare programs, thus increasing the amount the state must spend on such programs which will lead again to further increases in taxation upon all who pay an income tax. In the United States, the Democrat Party is the one which is most associated with welfare, while the Republicans are usually against it. The following link has a breakdown of how recipients of various public assistance programs tend to vote. . http://rare.us...