Ronald Reagan stated, “We should measure welfare’s success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.” Social welfare programs are a necessity of a civilized society, yet care needs to be taken by that society not to create a dependent class of citizen who no longer seek employment, no longer seek self-sufficiency, and tend to settle for the subsidized squalor that our welfare system has a potential to create. Our own federal wildlife agencies prevent us from feeding animals in the wild so as to inhibit an animal’s natural ability to find food on their own, but when it comes to our own citizens, the same government has created layers upon layers of programs that can have the same inhibiting effect on one’s desire and ambition to care for themselves and their families.
We have all seen how children who are given everything grow into spoiled adults who are granted the “failure to launch” status by helicopter parents. We are keenly aware of the disservice that is done to a child to be supplied their every need, yet we are not so aware of what we do to our fellow man by creating a dependent class.
We give housing, transportation, food, health care, day care, et. al, not only to those who need it, but also to those who could succeed without these things, if they were not so dependent upon them. There is nothing wrong with someone desiring things, but when someone’s wants become more important than someone else’s, the rights of the others are trampled. If someone elevates their desires as being more important than others, the result breeds an arrogant, ego-driven, childish person.
This type person usually lacks in kindness, understanding, charity and compassion. Their world becomes wrapped in “what have you done for me lately”, and life becomes cheapened. When one always looks to others to gain what they should provide for themselves, individuality, self respect and moral dignity is lost along the way.
Our leaders tell people that the reason they are doing without is because someone else has in essence “stolen” their money and material possessions. People are told that the only reason they are poor is because others are so rich. People are told that they are being mistreated if they have a smaller, older car, live in a poorer part of town or don’t have the creature comforts of those better off than them. How far of a stretch is it to imagine the entitlement mentality going and taking what they want when they are continuously told these things?
Another harmful effect of building an entitlement class is that we take away the learning process of people. Life has its struggles, and if we take away the struggles, people do not learn how to cope in times of stress and trouble. Innovation, creativity and drive are taken away when we supply everything to someone as a lifestyle.
Charities are neglected by those paying taxes because we feel that we have given enough through our taxes. We know that there are so many agencies created to help others through our taxes that we lose our duty to help others out of our bounty. The entitlement state has “delivered” the rest of society from our guilty feelings of lack of charitable giving. I am not advocating doing away with help where help is truly needed, but we are turning what should be a safety net into a mattress.