Welfare Reform

Welfare Reform: A Permanent Solution or a Temporary Band –Aid?

Welfare Reform is a very big factor in our American society .It is need by many, hated by most. Some see it as a handout to the lazy, or a helping to those facing hard times. The debate continues, even in the face of sweeping welfare reform, which, for all of its sound and fury, has not helped or changed much. What's wrong with welfare and how can we fix it? This is not a simple question, and there is no simple answer. However, one thing remains eminently clear. Welfare desperately needs to change and improve. But where are we to help with this change and improvement. Are we headed backward or forward in welfare reform. To answer these questions, we must catch a glimpse of the world of welfare.
In our society welfare is Odessa, a grandmother in her seventies, who digs through other people's trash to find suitable clothes for her grandchildren. Welfare is a Mariluz, who lived in a tent with two children below the age of five, because her welfare check would not pay the rent of even the most squalid apartments in North Philadelphia. Welfare is destiny; a five year old that cries in class. Because when asked to recite her address, she realized that because of the numerous evictions she had been through she could not remember it. Welfare is Cheri, who after being cut off welfare for missing a meeting, worked as a topless dancer to avoid being out on the street with her teenage son. Welfare is a Virginia family of four living on $347 a month. Welfare is waiting years to be placed on the waiting list for a job- training program. Welfare is run down neighborhoods, inferior schools, and dilapidated housing. Welfare is not a picnic in the park.
Of course, from a less human standpoint, welfare is a group of entitlement programs aimed at helping the poor. What most people are referring to when they say "welfare" is Aid to Families With Dependant Children (AFDC), a program that provides monthly checks to... [continues]

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