Right to Welfare

Right to Welfare

Welfare liberalism wants to provide everyone with a “safety net”. The government will make sure that no one will be financially lost. The question then is should we have such a right to this “safety net”? My belief is that we do not. While the idea of helping everyone out is a nice one, things like self-responsibility, growth of government, and redistribution of wealth are too large of issues for me to be for it.

Self-Responsibility

First there is the issue of self-responsibility. The risk is that if you are constantly having others help you out then you will start to lose your own urge to help yourself. Getting through hard times and making it on your own can only help build self-confidence and self-esteem. Do we feel better when we solve a hard puzzle or when someone comes by and gives us the answer?

Sometimes things do get very bad and we simply have gone beyond the hope of ever getting ourselves out of a situation. When this does happen it is not suddenly the governments role to be your savior. The government should be there to make sure your freedoms exist so that you have an opportunity to reach your full potential. They are not required to make sure that potential is fulfilled however. We instead would have to look to private charities and family for support and assistance. When all is said and done it is a sink or swim situation.

Growth of Government

Next would be growth of government. When government is responsible to help us out then its only going to get bigger. There will be more agencies, bureaus, and regulations to contend with. Government doesn’t exactly always do everything the most constructive way either. The people involved in all these new agencies also need to be paid, which is where you as the taxpayer come into play.

Redistribution of Wealth

Welfare might not be such a bad idea if politicians could just go to their local money tree, pick some dollars off, and then give it to the poor and needy. Unfortunately as the old saying goes, money doesn’t grow on trees. So then where does this money come from? The answer is taxpayers.