Over the past few years I've noticed people seeming to crack down more on any kind of government spending for the poor, which is argued to create a welfare state. Having talked to people from different walks of life I can definitely say that our welfare system IS indeed broken - oftentimes people get more money from welfare than from a job, which incentivizes people to stay on welfare rather than work. This is a serious problem.
On the other hand, the best so-called argument I hear is usually to cut these benefits and for the poor to stop being "lazy" without considering that the world just doesn't work like that and this country doesn't have the same kind of upward mobility that it used to.
There are some policies that I think push the issue in the right direction. Affirmative action certainly can (although there are definitely instances in which prioritizing diversity over qualifications has gone beyond what allows an institution to function properly, but I see this as a band-aid. Race is still tied to class to an extent, but location seems to be the bigger issue. People that grow up in the slums and "make it" aren't going to stay in the slums, and stimulate the local economy there - they're going to LEAVE. That means poor areas stay poor. More importantly, I feel like affirmative action isn't proactive enough - it slaps a band-aid on the problem but doesn't address the root issue, which is that impoverished areas have shitty schools that doom students before they have a chance to succeed in the first place (I'm referring both to the quality of education as well as the school to prison pipeline.)
So what CAN we agree on as a solution to poverty in this country? Personally I feel like the best thing we can do is increase spending on primary and secondary education - subsidizing teachers and give people incentive to go into education, providing better supplies for students, and increasing the quality and quantity of school breakfasts and lunches (after all, even if the child's parents are irresponsible with money, the child is a minor and doesn't deserve to go hungry as a result of their parent's poor decisions.)
College education is something that's a bit more controversial, but it makes sense to me to subsidize this as well. People argue (with some degree of validity) that this country is becoming over-inflated with degrees, but this overlooks the advantage we could have over other regions of the world by educating our own. Similarly, arguing that college is a privilege and that people ought to earn their own undersells the investment that it is in our country. Sure, an education benefits the person who has it, but it also allows them to be a more productive member of society. Education is an investment in the greater good and is an example of how a rising tide lifts all boats.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on poverty, welfare, and what we can do to address it?
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