Thread by @usacsmret

Many children who grow up on welfare eventually follow in their parents’ footsteps when they have families of their own. dailysign.al/2MGueYG via @genevievewood @DailySignal

@genevievewood @DailySignal Currently, the United States spends about a trillion dollars a year on 80 different federal, state, and local welfare programs.
About 40 million Americans are considered poor.

@genevievewood @DailySignal If we divided that $1 trillion among those 40 million people, we could give each person approximately $25,000 a year, or $100,000 a year for a family of four.

@genevievewood @DailySignal We’re clearly spending a lot of money, so why have we not ended poverty?
Our welfare system discourages work. It discourages families from staying together. And it encourages dependence on government.
In other words, welfare keeps the poor poor.

@genevievewood @DailySignal n many cases, welfare has harmed the very people it was supposed to help, especially children.
Why has this happened?
As welfare benefits grew over the years, they increasingly served as a substitute for a working parent.

@genevievewood @DailySignal As the taxpayer became the family breadwinner, that encouraged many men to stop upholding their responsibilities, leaving more and more women as heads of single-parent households.

@genevievewood @DailySignal Single mothers were discouraged from marrying the fathers of their children because that reduced their benefits. Sadly, the cycle continues today as many children who grow up on welfare eventually follow in their parents’ footsteps when they have families of their own.

@genevievewood @DailySignal First, we have to understand that the problem with the current system is that it discourages work. Work is the fastest and most effective way to get out of poverty and become prosperous.

@genevievewood @DailySignal Welfare programs should be designed to offer temporary help while encouraging able-bodied recipients to find work and become self-reliant.

@genevievewood @DailySignal In states that have implemented time limits and welfare-to-work requirements, recipients have received job training, found jobs, and increased their incomes dramatically. They’ve also dropped off the welfare rolls.

@genevievewood @DailySignal Second, we must continue to create jobs that help recipients transition to work. Cutting taxes on individuals and businesses and cutting regulations that hinder business growth are the keys to massive new job creation, high levels of employment, and increased wages for workers.

@genevievewood @DailySignal Most Americans want a social safety net that helps those who can’t help themselves and they want to help the poor find meaningful work. We’ve learned through decades of experience that throwing more money at poverty doesn’t end it.

@genevievewood @DailySignal Temporary assistance, jobs training, growing the economy, and promoting self-sufficiency do.
As we wage the war against poverty for the next generation, let’s fight smarter.