Deliberate Dismantling of Welfare Reform

Posted: Jul 16, 2012 12:01 AM

Well, he’s done it again.  The old sleight of hand trick when we weren’t looking.  As the entire media was foaming at the mouth over Mitt Romney and whether or not he was a “felon”, our President signed another directive that completely gutted the Welfare reform act that was signed into law under Bill Clinton in 1996. 

This was the only entitlement program that had teeth to it and was actually working to wean people off of the welfare rolls.  What did he do?  His Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an official policy directive rewriting the welfare reform law of 1996. 

The new policy guts the federal work requirements that were the foundation of this reform. The underlying idea of welfare reform was that able-bodied adults should be required to work or at least prepare for work as a condition of receiving welfare benefits.  Now, the work requirement can be waived or overridden by a legal device under the social security law. 

Am I crazy or does this look like a deliberate takedown of our country?  Every time we turn around this administration is undermining the work ethic.  Obama is feverishly trying to get as many people as he can on food stamps, unemployment, disability and welfare.  He is trying to encourage people NOT to work while he spouts off at his fundraising rallies how we need to get this country going again.  He demonizes Mitt Romney and anyone making over $250K a year as the evil rich and then holds out his hand to the Hollywood elites and the New York socialites!   

The damage that he is doing is far worse than we can even imagine.  In particular you can see it among many of our youth in this country.  More and more teens don’t really want to work, or if they do find a job, they aren’t loyal to it.  There is no sense of pride and accomplishment anymore.  It’s too difficult or it takes them away from their friends or the tanning bed.  Many get hired, show up for two or three days and then don’t ever come back.  What do they do then?  Go on unemployment or some other kind of entitlement program.  The socialist welfare state and the “victim society” have spread like a cancer.  We have created an army of dependency.

We can see in the “Occupy Wall Street” movement how the young college students won’t take jobs at an entry level salary.  They feel entitled to start at the top instead of working their way up through the ranks.  Why not?  All of their lives they have been told how special they are even if in reality they are mediocre.  If you are given a trophy for just showing up, why work for anything?  Why strive to make a decent living when the government penalizes you if you do?

If we are to change this attitude and counteract what Obama is deliberately doing, we need to return to the words and ideals of Benjamin Franklin and other brilliant men who formed the strong foundations of our country.  Where are the rags to riches Horatio Alger Jr. stories that were so embraced in the nineteenth century?  I know, we live in a different era but basically aren’t we still striving for the same thing?  If we are to restore this country to its former self we need to start stepping up to the plate and demanding results. 

Take away the safety net of entitlements for all but the elderly, very poor and legitimately disabled and people will have to fend for themselves.  They will have to work and find their way.  Stop with the endless programs and bailouts. One in five Americans relies on federal aid in obtaining housing, food, income, healthcare or education. 67 million people!  How is this helping them?!

I have a bit of hope when I look at our Olympic athletes in London right now.  I see in them the hard work, the dedication and the desire to be the best in the world.  This is what we need to publicize, these are the people to look up to and admire.  There are still a great many people who believe in the work ethic.  Even though they are being demonized for their success, ridiculed for working hard and doing the right thing they still forge ahead.  That is America, and no matter how hard he tries, how many executive orders he signs, or how many handouts he gives, Americans should not let Barak Obama win this fight.