The Broken Welfare System

Day Care for the Poor

By Darryl Weng

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According to Greg Heilman, in an AS article, New Yorkers may receive a total of $804 in weekly unemployment benefits. Of course, the onslaught of unemployment benefits is due to the loss of jobs and savings through the coronavirus pandemic. However, as the coronavirus is ceasing to physically and mentally injure Americans, there is little to no need for unemployment benefits. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of job opportunities and plenty of empty positions. With high unemployment benefits, like the weekly compensation Heilman observed, the incentive to return to work has been completely annihilated. This is the plight of the American welfare system.

Welfare systems, to a great extent, do not work. It may be broken down to a simple sequence, for the sake of time. First, the government increases its control over its people. Second, the people continue to rely on the goods and services that the government provides them. Third, the people lose their freedom. But there is a hidden part of the sequence that is fearful the most - the greed for more goods and services from the government. Allow me to elaborate: when the government provides, for example, weekly unemployment benefits of, per say, $400 a week, the people receiving those benefits would not accept any less than $400 a week. If the government were to decrease the amount of unemployment benefits, there would be an increase in crime, rioting, and dissatisfaction from people. In other words, the people receiving those benefits believe they are entitled to such a service. And because greed exists, the people desire more benefits. And when the government accepts such demands, there is no turning back. As such, in times like the pandemic, there is no choice for the government but to hand out unemployment benefits for the sake of the economy and the livelihoods of the people.

As a result, unemployment benefits only climb, leaving people to be babysat by the government. This loss of freedom only decreases the will of the people to be independent to work, earn their own money, and be responsible for taxes. But the plight of America's welfare system does not end there. The Delta Variant now surges, taking over the pandemic as the coronavirus retreats. Even further into the future, is the upcoming stock market crash that is predicted to be in early 2023 when interest rates are said to be raised. The American welfare system and its broken system of unemployment checks may survive the upcoming disasters, but they will not last for long.

Heilman, Greg. "How Much Unemployment Benefits Will I Get in New York?" AS, 11

May 2021, en.as.com/en/2021/05/11/latest_news/1620687244_377419.html.

Accessed 7 Aug. 2021.