Welfare and Work

According to some theories in economics, some unemployment is inevitable. The question that needs to be asked is, what do you do with the unemployed.

Most people want to work; but some cannot find work. If you do not want to work, I don't want to know you. If you want to work but can't find work, I am writing for you.

In Australia, I know a woman who has mental illness and cannot find work in the market. She collects disability, but she is not a bum. She works for a very small pay at a factory. She gets disability, and she also gets to contribute.

Why not do the same thing in America? For people who cannot compete in the market, let them have public assistance under condition that they do something productive. Let them volunteer, or let them work for a reduced pay at a private enterprise. Or hire them on to do government projects.

There are many Americans who are resentful of having to pay the way of other people. The solution is to get these other people to do something that benefits the country. Let them go into the military; let them volunteer; let them do projects for the government. That way, the money spent on them won't be getting wasted, and they will be contributing citizens.

There are some states that have instituted drug testing for welfare recepients. That is a start. But ultimately there should be a way for these people to be contributing citizens.

I advise tying government assistance to doing volunteer work or doing work for the government. That way, the people who cannot compete will be contributors rather than leeches; and the people would not be as averse to paying them than they otherwise would.