Is Welfare of God?

[Beulah5]

What are ur thoughts?

[MsKayLander]

Wow, that's going to be a weighty subject... (grabbing my popcorn)

[Jasmine nsi]

I think there are positives and negatives to the welfare system.

As for it being of God. I dont think Ive read a scripture in the bible that suggest, people in need should not accept money from the government or obtain help when they have encountered a financial crisis.

[Beulah5]

Happy New Year to you sis (hugs)

Pass me dat popcorn gal

[ybrown]

Gotta' run but will be back for this one.

[lanl ns]

Before taking this any further one should understand the History of Welfare system and why the system was created.

I would say the original welfare system verses the present day welfare system will probably weigh more into the question of whether Welfare is or is not of God?

I will be back with a brief history lesson:

[MsKayLander]

beulah5 said:

Happy New Year to you sis (hugs)

Pass me dat popcorn gal

Girl...(legs crossed and eating popcorn)... this is going to be good... (passing the bowl)

Happy New Year to you too!!! (hugs and much love right back!)

[And Such Were Some Of You]

I had a brief discussion with Bee on this last night and she brought out some interesting insights that I pray she will share as the discussion continues.

[krazeeboi]

"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God" (Lev. 23:22).

[Bee]

Hello,

Could you please explain how this scripture ties in with welfare?

Lanl i am waiting for you so we can kickstart the discussion

[lanl ns]

Brief summary of How the Welfare System started in the USA:

How Welfare Began in the United States:

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, local and state governments as well as private charities were overwhelmed by needy families seeking food, clothing, and shelter. In 1935, welfare for poor children and other dependent persons became a federal government responsibility, which it remained for 60 years.

MINNEAPOLIS—Several hundred men and women in an unemployed demonstration today stormed a grocery store and meat market in the Gateway district, smashed plate glass windows and helped themselves to bacon and ham, fruit and canned goods.

—from the New York Times, February 26, 1931

The 1920s in America seemed like an age of endless prosperity. Construction boomed, business flourished, and the stock market soared. Then on October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed. The crash sent shockwaves throughout the economy. Banks failed. Businesses closed. Millions found themselves out of work. The Great Depression, which would last through the 1930s, had begun.

When the Great Depression began, about 18 million elderly, disabled, and single mothers with children already lived at a bare subsistence level in the United States. State and local governments together with private charities helped these people. By 1933, another 13 million Americans had been thrown out of work. Suddenly, state and local governments and charities could no longer provide even minimum assistance for all those in need. Food riots broke out. Desertions by husbands and fathers increased. Homeless families in cities lived in public parks and shanty towns. Desperate times began to put into question the old American notion that if a man worked hard enough, he could always take care of himself and his family.

The effect of the Depression on poor children was particularly severe. Grace Abbott, head of the federal Children's Bureau, reported that in the spring of 1933, 20 percent of the nation's school children showed evidence of poor nutrition, housing, and medical care. School budgets were cut and in some cases schools were shut down for lack of money to pay teachers. An estimated 200,000 boys left home to wander the streets and beg because of the poor economic condition of their families.

Most elderly Americans did not have personal savings or retirement pensions to support them in normal times, let alone during a national economic crisis. Those few able to set aside money for retirement often found that their savings and investments had been wiped out by the financial crash in 1929. Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois made this observation in 1936:

The impact of all these forces increasingly convinced the majority of the American people that individuals could not by themselves provide adequately for their old age, and that some form of greater security should be provided by society.
Even skilled workers, business owners, successful farmers, and professionals of all kinds found themselves in severe economic difficulty as one out of four in the labor force lost their jobs. Words like "bewildered," "shocked," and "humiliated," were often used at the time to describe increasing numbers of Americans as the Depression deepened.
Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt focused mainly on creating jobs for the masses of unemployed workers, he also backed the idea of federal aid for poor children and other dependent persons. By 1935, a national welfare system had been established for the first time in American history.

In summary the welfare system was created to help out the poor during the Great Depression after the Great Stock Market Crash.

Today's welfare system (some say) fosters dependency on the government.

The problem I have with the welfare system is that the majority of black women can only receive assistance for their children as long as there is NO Father in the household.

Let's talk about it! Thanks Bee for reminding me slipping a lil bit

[MsKayLander]

The problem I have with the welfare system is that the majority of black women can only receive assistance for their children as long as there is NO Father in the household.

Does that still hold true or is for women in general?

[Beulah5]

Thank you for that update lanl. I learned a lot of new things as well. I at present disagree with the current welfare state and believe it is an abomination. I do agree that in the days of Depression that the government has an obligation to its people-i dont disagree with that.

The Bible states that if a man doesnt work he should not eat. But it goes deeper than that.

If you are on welfare and you are reading this start planning to get off it for ur own peace.

Feel free to throw rocks.

I will be back.

[And Such Were Some Of You]

lol, only Bee!

[lanl ns]

Another thing about welfare is that the system puts limitations on your life if one allow themselves to become dependent on welfare.

First of all welfare is a slap in the face to able body people. If one is able to get up each morning and go to work than do so, because $144.00 a week is sure better than $144.00 a month.

And there are programs that will assist with childcare, education assistance, housing assistance and so forth if one is deciding to get off the AFDC.

Working brings about an independence and a feeling of self worth.

I will be back