#welfare #subsidy
This week, the Trump administration got into hot waters about a plan they have to deny citizenship to people that have relied on public welfare. Like all things, on the surface this seems like a good thing. After all, we are America, the land of the free and self-starters.
Welfare, like socialism, is a dirty-word in the American lexicon. People on welfare are undesirable. Welfare is for those who didn’t try hard enough. Certainly, welfare is not for immigrants. Again, on the surface, you’d be hard-pressed to disagree. If we offer welfare, even if under protest, at least we should limit it to our citizens. That is a fair point, no? However, what happens if that legal immigrant, through the process of their stay, falls into hard times? What do we do then? I imagine there will be some sort of time frame, I would hope, that would qualify or disqualify the immigrant form a path to citizenship. But what would that be? Would we have something like this for citizens? Why not?
This whole thing got me to remember that other welfare we tend to ignore. We have a different name for it, we don’t call it welfare, it’s a subsidy. The US has many subsidies, the one that touches my heart the most are the agriculture subsidies. These are subsidies which pay farmers to produce certain products for which the market is either weak, or non-existent, and the government will pay you for it. You tell me, what is the difference between this and welfare? If you say that at least farmers are “doing something” to earn this “welfare”, I’d respond that “something” is simply playing the system. Just like those who take advantage of our welfare system play it, so do those farmers that take subsidies. I have nothing against farmers. No, I have something against the hypocrisy and double-talk of those in power playing to populism.
The whole point of welfare and subsidies are to help people, or industry, through lean times. I have yet to meet a “happy” welfare recipient. Neither welfare, nor subsidy recipients, want to remain dependent on the government more than necessary. Just like all Americans, they want to make their way through life, pay taxes and live free. This is the American promise; to do well and help others do well. We do that through taxes, which in turn help others in their time of need.
So next time someone argues that people on welfare are somehow inferior, or less worthy of it, remind them that subsidies, like those paid to farmers, are also welfare.
There is a famous saying “You don’t make peace with your friend, you make peace with your enemy”. Equally, “You don’t provide help to the prosperous, you provide help to he needy”.
