When Help Isn't Really Help

Everyone knows the unemployment statistics at this point. Almost 9% of Americans are unemployed, and an estimated 15% are either unemployed or underemployed. Unemployment benefits have been extended across the nation as we try to wait out this recession and hope recovery is coming soon.

The Food Stamp Program is also seeing record numbers of people enrolled. As of February, 31,784,453 people are being helped in some way by the Food Stamp Program. But what exactly does that help mean, and are we offering a hand up, or giving a handout?

The other day I was in line at a local drug store buying some ice on my way home from work, and in front of me were two people asking the cashier if they could use food stamps to buy some form of energy drinks. Normally, I don't really pay attention to the people in a line around me, never mind what they are buying, but after hearing that, I had to look. On the counter was a variety of snack foods. Candy, chips, snack cakes, some form of fruit smoothies, and the aforementioned energy drinks. All of these items were paid for with food stamps. As they left the store, I couldn't help but wonder if this is what the program was designed to do.

A couple of decades ago, I was a clerk in a major grocery chain. I worked nights mostly, but from time to time I would fill in during prime time shifts, either at my store, or at others if they were in need. I regularly saw people come through with cartloads of what I would deem "questionable" food purchases paid for with Food Stamps. At the time, my only thought was if I were on Food Stamps, I would use those to buy steaks, chops, or seafood, then use my cash to buy the cheap stuff. There were also the people who knew how to work the Food Stamps to get enough change back to allow them to buy cigarettes or beer, etc. My only concern then was how much better they could utilize the program if they only had the sense.

It should be noted that there is also the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Program that many people are enrolled in. If you are not familiar with this program, it offers checks for specific items, i.e. 64oz pure orange juice, 128oz 2% milk, etc.. No additional items can be purchased using WIC checks. While this process was more tedious for both the consumer and the store clerk at checkout, I always respected the fact that you could only purchase items that were deemed "healthy".

The thoughts that stuck in my mind as I left the store with my ice was "Are we really helping them?", and "Couldn't we do better?".

This past weekend, one of my daughters was part of a group that went to help a family move. When they arrived at the house, virtually nothing had been packed, and, from her description, "the place smelled like a barn." One of the group commented that she wasn't sure what to pack and what to throw out. We talked about the conflict in wanting to help others, but the difficulty of doing so when the people aren't willing to help themselves first. At the end of this moving session, the mother of the house said that there would still be some of the small stuff to get gathered and moved, and she hoped all of the people who were there would come back for that the following weekend. I told her the difference between a hand up and a handout was the handout was almost always met with another hand reaching for more, while the hand up would enable someone to offer the same for someone else in need.

It seems that if we are going to extend our hand further in an attempt to help more, there should be a greater expectation from those receiving help. There has been massive outcry against corporate executives using bailout money for bonuses and posh trips to luxury resorts. When the American automakers used separate corporate jets to fly to Washington D.C. to lobby for bailout money, people were outraged. But what about the taxpayer money being abused with this program? Statistics show that the average individual cost of the program in 2008 was $101 per month. If you multiply this by the number of people enrolled I mentioned above, the cost is over $3,200,000,000 PER MONTH. This would equate to approximately $38,400,000,000 PER YEAR. Seems like that would be an amount of money worth tracking.

With so much focus on rising healthcare costs, and the rate of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes climbing, it seems like a natural place to start would be to limit what can be purchased with Welfare Assistance Program funds. If you want to buy your energy drinks and junk food, make the money necessary to buy it. It is also critical that the goal of the program be to get someone off the program as fast as reasonably possible. To do that, some people need help with household budgeting and finance. Monthly expense and income reports should be required and reviewed to make sure people on the program are making the types of sound financial decisions that will enable them to get off the Program as soon as possible. Requiring a higher level of personal accountability should be the least we can do. People on the program should be drug and alcohol tested on a regular basis to assure their own money is not financing a drug or alcohol habit. I will repeat what I said above. If you want to have drinks in the evening, make more money and afford it on your own. And, as harsh as it sounds, people on a Welfare Program should not be having children until they are off the program. If you cannot afford your housing, your utilities, or your basic nutritional needs, you sure as hell don't need to be adding to your financial dilemma with a child. Lastly, for the duration of the time you are on the Program, you should be required to perform community service, doing jobs that don't currently have a budget or are under funded. This can also double as vocational training in many areas, which can help people land jobs and get them off the Program.

There are people who will read this and think I am cold and heartless, and to them I say wake up. One of the major reasons we struggle as a society is a lack of personal accountability. Have a hardship, sign up for a program. Company struggling, sign up for a bailout. It's time we return to a level of higher personal accountability. Everybody has heard the saying "God helps those who help themselves". Seems to be some wisdom in that saying we can all learn from.

For those who agree with me, we need to make this an issue if we want to see it reformed. Write your local Congressmen and Senators, your Federal Congressmen and Senators, and even the White House. Create a form letter and send out one a month. Have anyone who you know who agrees send the same letter. E-mails, letters, calls, whatever works for you, use it.