People have talked about it. Some say it's unfair, while others say it's long overdue.
And it's coming. Under pressure from constituents and our new governor, it's looming closer and closer.
I'm talking about welfare reform.
Usually, the first ones crying foul are those who are truly in need of it. Namely, senior citizens and those who are physically or mentally disabled.
However, those are also the same groups that read only the headline and not the whole story, or are just unable to comprehend it.
And the whole story is this...welfare reform is designed to discourage those who take advantage of a system designed to assist, not support.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has one of the highest numbers in the nation of able-bodied people under the age of 65 who receive public assistance.
Here in western Pennsylvania, we have a growing number of people moving here from sunbelt states because they've either exhausted their benefits there or the laws have changed requiring them to work for a living, rather than wait until the 3rd of each month for their check.
And the system here is cruelly and shamelessly abused. EBT cards (which replaced food stamps) are sold on the street for cash or traded for drugs, as are WIC checks intended to feed infants, the most helpless members of society cast aside like dirty socks so mommy and daddy can get a fix in between their visits to the methadone clinic across the street from where I work. And I'm not exaggerating when I say this...I see them with their baby carriers in tow.
My native Michigan has one of the strictest welfare reform programs in the country. You draw from the system, and don't eventually find success getting a job on your own, they will find a job for you.
Whether its sweeping floors, flipping burgers, or anything you might feel is 'beneath' you, you're gonna do it. And if you think they can't make you do it and don't show up, guess what...you're not getting your check.
Not that it's completely infallible. People do find a way around it, but it's much more difficult than it is here. It never ceases to amaze me...those who work so hard trying to buck the system would probably be quite successful if they applied that same philosophy to honest work.
Notwithstanding, I've still found that the vast majority of people who are on welfare, don't want to be on it. Mentally and physically challenged people who are unable to hold a typical full-time job and have to depend on 'the system', do sincerely want to give back what they take to sustain them.
And they do.
You'll find them ringing the bell at the Salvation Army kettles each holiday season. Or working at your local Goodwill Industries store. Or sweeping floors at the courthouse. Perhaps even doing volunteer work at a nursing home.
Though Bill Clinton was a pretty liberal Democrat, he also instituted a national welfare reform policy (even endorsed by conservatives) that helped single mothers enter the workforce by not only finding them jobs, but providing them with childcare assistance while at work. The latter especially is what was needed and the results were overwhelmingly positive.
This is what the system needs to be...one of assistance, and not total support.
Welfare reform has to happen NOW in Pennsylvania. Drug testing, work assistance for the able-bodied, you name it. We need to get back on the job and off the dole.
NEXT WEEK: Why Work Works
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