Corporate Welfare

Reader comment on: Welfare Reform Act of 2011

Submitted by Emperor Bob (United States), Mar 22, 2011 22:24

Cuts or restrictions on people needing survival assistance shouldn't even be on the table until Corporate subsidies have been completely eliminated.

Then we need to expand programs like Job Corps and other eduction opportunities.

Excerpt from my blog post: Public Assistance to Self-Sufficiency http://bit.ly/exYvyllic

If we were to treat public assistance as a project and "Begin with the end in mind" (Stephen Covey) what end are we looking for as a goal? I think everyone would agree that the only goal should be a self sufficient family that no longer needs public assistance to enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

So we have to look at the reasons why somebody is in need of public assistance. What got them here and what do they need to get where we want them to be. There are many reasons why people turn to the public for help. Is it substance abuse, health, child care, transportation, housing, education, job skills, lack of a mentor, or what. Once that is determined, and we know where they are and how they got there, it's a simple matter to help them draw a map to their independence.

I envision a system like the application for Federal Student Aid. The application for public assistance would include resources from the government, private sector, non-profits as well as the applicants own resources. Drawing on the available resources, a case manager would develop benchmarks to measure progress against goals, compliance with conditions set, and coordinate the various components required by the plan. There would be a cap on the total amount of public assistance over a specific amount of time according to the plan.

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