Many Aid Programs Bad Ideas

In my column last week, I presented evidence that government handouts are contrary to the Constitution’s intent. In this column, I would like to expand on this theme by arguing that programs such as welfare and social security, in addition to arguably being unconstitutional, are simply bad ideas.

Of course, whether or not a law is a good idea has nothing to do with its constitutionality. When the constitutionality of a law is challenged, courts should not take into account whether or not it is a good idea, but only whether or not it violates the Constitution. In the era of judicial activism though, that often doesn’t happen.

Let’s start with Social Security. The idea behind this program is to help Americans plan for their retirement. Thus the very basis is insulting: it assumes that Americans are not intelligent enough to plan for their own retirement. What if we wish to opt out of the program, and keep the money we earn? Can’t do that, because the government assumes we are too ignorant. Thus we are coerced into giving up portions of our paychecks to pay for a program for ourselves that we might not even want! Is this fair?

Another objection to Social Security is that you must reach a certain age before you can draw it. If you die before that age, you lose the money you paid in. Let’s say someone dies at age 64. They have worked for 45 years, and paid money in the entire time. What happens to that money? They never see it, nor do their heirs. Does this sound like a good program to you?

Another unjust federal program is Welfare. Welfare, as we know it, began under Roosevelt during the Great Depression. At the time, it didn’t seem like a bad idea; after all, millions of Americans desperately needed financial help. Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Over the years, welfare expanded (as virtually every government program does) far beyond what it was intended.

Lyndon B. Johnson presided over extraordinary expansions to the welfare state. At the time, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) warned that the welfare state would be destructive to the family. Sadly, though Moynihan’s concern fell on deaf ears, it has proven to be accurate. Welfare has created a dependency on the government that has squelched individual freedoms and destroyed many families.

Star Parker, head of the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education, recently wrote a book entitled Uncle Sam’s Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America’s Poor and What We Can Do About it in which she argues that dependency on the government has created a new kind of slavery. Ms. Parker speaks with authority on this subject as she was once trapped in this state, but managed to get out through hard work and faith.

Regardless of what politicians and some civil rights leaders tell us, the way out of poverty is not more government programs. These programs only breed dependency and despair. The only way out is through a strong work ethic and the ability to take responsibility for your own actions. No government program can instill these qualities in individuals.

Anyone who doesn’t want to be poor should do these three things: finish high school, don’t get married until you’re at least 20, and don’t have children until you are married. The poverty rate among people who follow this advice is less than ten percent.

It may sound radical to suggest that Social Security and Welfare should be abolished. We have grown up during a time when both these programs were simply taken for granted. It’s important to remember, however, that from our nation’s founding until the 1930s, these programs didn’t exist. How did people in need survive during this time? Simple: they went to family members, friends, churches (or other religious organizations), and charities for help. The aid they received also didn’t have to go through the government and pay countless bureaucrats either, thus making the help they received much more efficient.

I have used the examples of Social Security and Welfare because they are among the most prominent of government programs, and are the ones we are most familiar with. There are many other acts of government “benevolence” which should be abolished as well, including subsidies (for corporation, farms, or anything else), tariffs, business regulations, and many others.

Some may think that the Founding Fathers were heartless because they didn’t include provisions for government aid in the Constitution. Nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, when we examine the effects these programs have had on America, we can only conclude that the Framers knew what they were doing after all.

John Brown is a senior in political science at the University of Tennessee @ Knoxville. Contact him at johnnyb325@aol.com, or visit www.johnnorrisbrown.com. This column originally appeared in the January 22, 2004 edition of The Daily Beacon, available here.