Sometimes when I do a post, it will take a few days to pass for something in it to knock me across the head. Such is the case with the post entitled “America’s “poorâ€. This was an interview with Robert Rector where the following comment he made just floored me:
“Part of the reason the Census Bureau is telling us that we have 37 million poor people is that it judges families to be poor if they have incomes roughly less than $20,000 a year. But it doesn’t count virtually any welfare income as income. So food stamps, public housing, Medicaid — all of the $600 billion that we spend assisting poor people (per year) is not counted as income when they go to determine whether a family is poor.”
[...]
Most of the money goes directly to poor people either as services or as something like a food stamp or medical care. The problem with these programs is that they reward individuals for not working and not being married. Essentially, they set up a very negative set of incentives that tends to push people deeper into poverty rather than helping them climb out of it.
The problem with the welfare state is not that it has huge overhead costs. In fact, the overhead costs are only about 15 percent of total costs. The problem is that aid is given in such a way that it encourages dependence rather than helping people to become self-sufficient. (source)
As a person who was recently on welfare about 3-4 years ago, I can personally attest to the addictiveness of getting “free” food and health care without having to worry about paying for it. Seeing the ease of having a life where things like utility bills, rent, food and clothing were largely covered by the government was something my wife and I had to work extra hard to not accept as the norm for our lives. We cleaned offices, delivered newspapers, drove for miles to work in a call center—anything to get back to a life of independence. Enough about me 
.
There was a time in my life when if I was approached by a person who appeared to be homeless, I would gladly give them the spare change in my pocket. Living out here in California that has changed.
When we recently moved into our new home, for about the first month or so it wasn’t a day that went by where there was a knock on the door from somebody who offered to do our landscaping or window blinds. Every one of these individuals were Hispanic and could barely speak English. Somehow these folks managed to find the resources to put together a business card, provide me with an estimate that was written on a receipt booklet (probably purchased from the local Office Depot), find transportation to go house to house to hand out fliers (even if the transportation was by foot) and find the equipment needed to perform their service. On the flip side, less than 15 minutes from my house you will find folks (mainly young, able-bodied men) holding up a “Please help” sign on a busy street corner full of businesses where at least half of them have a “Help wanted” sign in their window. Not to mention the “free” services offered by the city for folks who are down on their luck. Sorry, but I have very compassion in these cases.
Now I am quick to acknowledge that some of these folks do have some serious mental issues which would explain a significant number of homeless cases out there. But when a person tells you to “Go to hell!” or gives you the finger for offering to take them to the nearest restaurant and buy them a meal as opposed to just giving them the money as I have experienced, I am not as quick to blame all of this on mental illness. Of course these responses are not typical of all the homeless individuals I have encountered in my life, but it does happen.
What we do in our family is to give to organizations that have a track record of getting folks out of poverty and into a state of independence. These folks know how to ‘read ‘em’ and know exactly what formula works best for these individuals.
What I will do it get better familiar with the free services offered in our city for the homeless and see if it is not some government-funded hell hole. If it appears to be doing a good job, directions and possibly a free ride to the facility will be the only ‘spare change’ given by me.
