Summer Regular Tournament - Welfare should end in the U.S

Welfare and Unemployment The effects of welfare on employment can be quite severe. As I will explain more later, welfare is often seen as an unemployment trap because it essentially removes the incentive to work by literally handing benefits to the unemployed. As more un/minimal-skilledlabourworkers find themselves out of work and in need of welfare, they tend to consciously avoid further employment in fear that they will lose the benefits that are being handed to them. This is counterproductive because finding new work is essential to climbing up the “ladder”, from which people develop their skills, which allows them to find a better-paying job. Not onlythat,but as Milton Friedman explains, welfare deprives families, especially those who feel they should provide for their families, of their dignity. In turn, this can further amplify economic issues, where parents begin to feel that they are incapable of providing for their children, and decide to permanently rely on welfare for however long the program is designed to last. These are also well supported by statistics. The bulk of the United statespaymore than a $8/h job in welfare benefits, while 6 states pay more than a $12/h job, and $8 states pay more than the average salary of a U. S teacher. [1] The citation also includes a ranking of top welfare-paying states, with Hawaii being on top, paying out the equivalent of a $17.50 job in welfare benefits. A study done by Hotz and Mullin also indicates that cutting welfare benefits can have a positive effect on employment, as they measured employment rates between two different groups, one being the experimental group, where these cuts were tested, and the other being the control group, to compare changes against. The result was that a modest cut in benefits can lead to a modest increase in employment. [2] Political Corruption in the Welfare System The title is quite self-explanatory, but to summarize, welfare is also a working tool that attracts voters, especially from immigrants and other minorities, who've had trouble finding work. For example, Immigrants who come here from Mexico, and are provided with welfare benefits, are more likely to vote for the party in support of these benefits than they are for the opposition. The same goes withanyone who's parents have had financial issues, and could not afford proper schooling for their child. Instead of giving these people the freedom to climb up the skill ladder, they are stuck in the welfare trap under the illusion that these benefits have been kindly fought for by members of a certain party. However, it's clear that this is more likely to part of an agenda to outcompete the opposing party. Evidence for this exists on PewResearch, which has found that of Latinos who are likely unauthorized immigrants, and who identify with a party, are overwhelmingly supportive of the democratic party, likely because of the abovementioned illusion. [3] Spending has not Improved Poverty Rate The below graph indicates poverty rates and anti-poverty spending. [4] As seen, the poverty rate has remained relatively stationary, with a few ups and downs, but the graph doesn't show much vertical displacement when graphing the data. On the other hand, percapitaanti-poverty spending has gone up tremendously. This clearly indicates a fault in the system – that the increased spending isn't tackling the problem, and therefore should be scrapped and replaced with more entry level-based employment benefits for these people such as the EITC, which provides a tax credit to those who are unemployed, incentivizes them to continue work. Conclusion Welfare spending has proven to be less than useful in tackling the issue with poverty. It acts as an unemploymenttrap,and is also used to advance political agendas by parties who are known for their support of these programs. Moreimportantlythough, it is highly ineffective, and should be completely replaced with a more suitable alternative. Sources [1] . http://www.statisticbrain.com... [2] . http://www.econ.wisc.edu... [3] . http://www.pewresearch.org... [4] . http://www.nationalaffairs.com...