End welfare? - What if there was no welfare?

If there was no welfare, working people wouldn't have to support non-working people, but would taxes go down or would the government find some other reason to keep our money?

Of course not all poor people would die, but would some of them? Do we have to view this process of release from the welfare state as one of coping with "acceptable loss?" I would have a hard time with that. Even one child dying because of poverty seems like too much to me.

I've been on the fence with welfare issues for many years. I can see that the welfare state has robbed people of motivation, encouraged dependency, and created an era of protracted poverty mentality. But how can we withdraw a helping hand when so many are destitute already?

Do you think it couldn't happen? Already California's governor tried to abolish welfare for the poor, and if it could happen here, it could happen anywhere. Our country is in very bad shape, financially. How can we continue sending support checks to so many?

I've met so many generous people, especially since I started writing here on Squidoo, a site that was created to make donations to charities. This site has definitely helped me to become more charitable. But is charity enough to supply the needs of the poor and destitute?

Today while doing the research for this lens on YouTube I came across a video about Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, a church that attempts to help the ailing and suffering masses in the poorest districts of that city. Though charity was massive and constant, they still didn't think they'd be able to do enough to fulfill all the needs of the people who would be left suffering if welfare ended.

I believe many people will help more, so much as they can, but that not all people will find the kind of help they need when they need it. Single mothers may be one of the most difficult groups to help because they can't work if they can't maintain a home and child care.

If welfare ends, there will probably be a lot more people dining in soup kitchens. A society encouraging charity would be an amazingly different place than this society we have dependent on welfare.

Most of us would like for young women to think before they agree to be in a situation where pregnancy could happen. Our country isn't focused on trying to make young people resist having sex, however. In fact, sex education as taught in the schools may encourage early experimentation.

When my daughter was 12 and in eight grade I was notified by the school that if she wanted birth control, school officials would take her to the clinic behind my back and I would not be notified. (Crazy, in my opinion, but true! This is California!) So perhaps that's our civilization's answer... teach them about sex, take them to the clinic for birth control, and send them out on the streets.

Would these well-educated young ladies be more careful not to get pregnant? Perhaps they'd be more careful to get birth control, at the very least... but isn't free birth control a form of welfare? Who pays for that?

And oh, one more thing. The school notified me that if my daughter needed an abortion she could get that through them without notifying me. So, that's another option, presumably somehow paid for by the government.

It is hard to get away from government funded welfare programs these days.

Here's a very heart-warming notion. Would young fathers be more likely to stay with their girlfriends who were pregnant because they would no longer be able to think, "she can get welfare," or "she can get an abortion paid for by medicare," or "they can get food stamps?"

Would they realize they created a life (I don't want to say 'made a mistake') and try to do something manly like get a job and support mother and child?

Or would they freak out and become hobos while their children starved? What do you think would happen most often?

I think there's no doubt that more children would be left with their grandmas (or grandpas) because the end of welfare also means the end of government subsidized child care such as Head Start programs and maybe even all public schools, since the government school system is another form of welfare. (Of course - government likes that because it gives them a chance to inculcate their values into the children at an early age.)

But what about families where the single mom is working at the local pizza parlor for minimum wage plus tips, and she has no family to leave her children with. This could be a disaster! I believe most families would be able to manage just fine, but it is those isolated cases of destitution and hardship that would keep me up at night. Would private charitable organizations be able to pick up the slack?

I am no economics expert, so I can't answer this question. I'm putting it out here for others to consider.

I believe it helps for people to have lower expectations of what life should be giving them. Joy in living a simple life is what has saved me... there's still plenty of happiness to be had even if you can't buy everything you want.

The woman in the next video got off welfare and within a few years became a millionaire. She did it by hard work and saving money.

My grandmother had a little sign in her flower garden... it said, "One is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth." I finally found the poem that line came from and put it on this lens: Preparing Garden Soil. If you've never had a vegetable garden before, that lens is a good place to start.

For those of you living in apartments: Urban Farming: Window Farms.

There's nothing quite as sweet as self-sufficiency. "God bless the child who's got his own."

Joyous news! This lens was chosen a winner of the Summer Sunshine contest on June 21, 2010 - Summer Solstice!

All proceeds for this lens go to the Food For Everyone Foundation, an organization that helps destitute communities and families create bountiful, healthy gardens.

Every weekday from June 7 to August 27 a charity lens will be chosen to win the Summer Sunshine Award. Here's more information about the contest: Squidoo Summer Sunshine Award.