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Should Conservatives Use Welfare Programs? — John Boyer
My wife and I recently found out that we are pregnant. Hooray! I make very little money as an adjunct professor and full time college tutor. I am a PhD student working on my dissertation. I know I’m in a transitional period. Nevertheless, money can be tight. With a baby on the way and my wife deciding she doesn’t want to work for the first six months after giving birth, it’s going to be even tighter.
While filing my income taxes, TurboTax told me about another website they run called MoneyFinder. It’s straightforward. You enter in your projected income, some information about yourself (Is anyone in your household pregnant or has anyone in your household recently given birth?). Hit enter. The internet gremlins crunch the numbers. And voila! A list of government programs you may qualify for.
One of the programs which we may qualify for is WIC, which is food stamps for families with young children.
Now, I never considered using a government program. Even when I was fired from my first job about eight years ago, I never thought of going on unemployment. That’s just not what conservatives do. We don’t ask for handouts. When I couldn’t find another job, I moved back in with my parents and applied to graduate school (which had been the plan all along). But now, with a child on the way, the idea of a little help sounds attractive.
I think we can get by on our own. Tightening belts and whatnot. The idea of going on welfare instinctively offends my conservative mindset. If I can trim fat from our budget, why should I take money from my fellow citizens? Isn’t that government-organized theft?
But if it would help and if I don’t intend to continue on welfare after I get a full-time job, where’s the harm? The money will be spent anyway. And we appear to qualify. Thus, I pose the following question: Should conservatives ever use government safety net programs? If so, under what circumstances?
Published in General
It’s an interesting topic with pros and cons and I come down on the side of taking the benefits.
Our society is about the accumulation of capital. Our conservatism is in large measure based on that too.
When the government takes control of so much of the available capital it reduces our ability to accumulate it in the market.
Since the government stacks the deck against you, take back when you find you are in a position to do so. As others have pointed out, so long as it doesn’t become a life plan take the benefit.
If government didn’t rip so much from you to begin with, you wouldn’t need their help in the first place.
I write this on April 15, ironically.
I tend to avoid taking advantage of government programs, but sometimes you need to.
Why do I avoid them? Because usually they demand something from me that I’m not willing to give. There is no free lunch or free money, there are costs. The most onerous ones are the second order effects where the subsidy changes the incentives in some way.
For example. I don’t know your situation or what you do. Is unemployment solvable only by making a very tough decision; moving, focusing on another career path. There is a very high cost to remaining unemployed for long periods of time, no matter the cause, and a subsidy could encourage you not to take those hard paths and essentially doom you to further need.
It isn’t an ideological issue or in some way pinning a medal to your chest. It is a practical thing. The duration of your responsibility for the child is 18-20 years, so think in those terms. Do what you need to do to fulfill that responsibility.
It is perfectly reasonable to take the “benefits” of a Big Government that you oppose. As others have noted don’t let it make you a client (and supporter) of the Welfare State, and realize that you are just trying to get back some of which was taken from you in taxes and regulations. Beside doing so puts more pressure on the system, so maybe it’ll crash sooner so that change can come.
John, the comment log is getting pretty long so forgive me if I’m repeating someone else. I would love for you to do the research on any government benefits you might qualify for, and report back to the Ricochet folks. You might find that the amount you receive would be a pittance and not worth the time and aggravation. But I suspect that a large number of the folks here don’t have in-depth first hand knowledge of the receiving side of government benefits, and your experiences might prove beneficial (not monetarily!) to us. When I was dealing with an indigent relative I kept telling everyone I knew “I don’t know how to get on welfare! I’m a Conservative!”. It’s a labyrinth that takes arcane insider ‘smarts’ to navigate, and your journey could prove extremely enlightening!
To this end, many churches and communities have food banks where families with young children are able to shop for exactly what you need.
Your local La Leche league may be able to help with resources if your wife is planning to breastfeed (the infant formula makers are tied in to the WIC program so not sure how much NGO help is there).
There’s nothing wrong with the occasional beer that’s been well earned. Just don’t become an alcoholic. Congrats on the new little person.