Government assistance, also referred to as welfare, is a government program which provides financial aid to individuals or groups who cannot support themselves. It can be argued that single mothers in particular should be allowed to rely solely on government assistance. However, I disagree. Taxpayers should not be responsible for the support of another person’s child or family if that person can work and pay taxes as well.
Welfare programs are funded by taxpayers and they allow people to cope with financial stress during rough periods in their lives. The goals of welfare vary, as it looks to promote the pursuance of work, education or, in some instances, a better standard of living. People who receive government assistance typically get a biweekly or monthly payment. However, welfare should not take the place of working a legitimate job. It should only be used for assistance if one really needs it. Mothers often use the excuse of having a child as to not work or for not being able to get a job. Some of these mothers are just being lazy and don’t really want to work because there are ways to make a schedule that will be beneficial to the mother and the child. If mothers were working to support the child and themselves, then the chances of them not needing welfare will be much higher.
A mentally or physically disabled person may not be expected to assume independence after a period of time, so welfare would provide ongoing aid to better one’s standard of living. However, if a person is mentally capable and physically able to obtain a job, that person should not become dependent on government assistance. Government aid is supposed to help people who cannot help themselves for medical reasons such as physical or visual impairment and mental ailments or a lack of education. There are many people, primarily single young mothers who take advantage of having such a privilege. It is not fair to those who have graduated from college with multiple degrees and are now working hard on a daily basis to support their own families to have to support someone else’s family because the mother chooses not to get an education and a job to support her own family after laying down making a baby.
The Federal Government provides assistance through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF is a grant given to each state to run their own welfare program. To help overcome the former problem of unemployment due to reliance on the welfare system, the TANF grant requires that all recipients of welfare aid must find work within two years of receiving aid, including single parents who are required to work at least 30 hours per week as opposed to 35 or 55 which is required by two parent families. If one fails to comply with work requirements, that person carries a risk of having their aid cut. With females under the age of 17 having children, they may find it difficult to work or even find a job because they are so young. Sometimes the best decision would be to practice abstinence or safe sex or don’t even have a baby at all if you know that you will not be able to fully care for it.
Overall, mothers should not solely rely on government assistance to take care of their children. If a potential parent sees that they will not be able to take care of a child, then the proper precautions should be taken. This will prevent the entire situation of having to even worry about supporting a family by using government assistance or trying to find a job. This worrisome situation can be prevented by making smart decisions such as not worrying about having children until college is completed and one is in a better position to get a job and actually take care of their responsibilities versus being dependent on the government to take care of them.