Welfare Question?

[drafdog]

We pay taxes. This provides funding that under Mosaic law would have been collected by the Levites for distribution to the poor. That was the reason for tithing under the Torah. Today much of our almsgiving is subsumed under the heading of taxation by the State. If there were no need, there would be no tax. The recipient of the alms performs the needed function of providing a place for the righteous to perform the mitzvah of almsgiving. Thus by receiving welfare you are providing the rest of us with the opportunity to perform corporal works of mercy including feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving shelter to the homeless. It is in fact a virtuous thing.

Matthew

 

[Dan_Grelinger]

We pay taxes. This provides funding that under Mosaic law would have been collected by the Levites for distribution to the poor. That was the reason for tithing under the Torah. Today much of our almsgiving is subsumed under the heading of taxation by the State. If there were no need, there would be no tax. The recipient of the alms performs the needed function of providing a place for the righteous to perform the mitzvah of almsgiving. Thus by receiving welfare you are providing the rest of us with the opportunity to perform corporal works of mercy including feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving shelter to the homeless. It is in fact a virtuous thing.

Matthew

Matthew,

Almsgiving is by its very definition, giving of a gift. From dictionary.com: “Give, Giving; to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow: to give a birthday present to someone.” Taxes are compulsory, extracted through threat of deadly force, therefore not freely given, and do not satisfy our requirement for almsgiving.

Please reconsider this statement: “If there were no need, there would be no tax.” There are too many real world examples disproving this statement for it to stand much scrutiny at all. Your taxes have been used in part to pay for many things for which there was no need.

The payment of taxes is only virtuous to the extent that we are submitting to just state authority. It does not replace charity or almsgiving. For us to benefit morally from any action, it must be freely done. To be forced is to make our action amoral, i.e. neither moral or immoral. A free will offering is required for us to gain the grace avialable to almsgivers.

Dan

 

[Jason_Hurd]

I currently work as a TANF/Food Stamp/Medicaid eligibility worker in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I would just like to encourage the original poster not to neglect good medical care, especially for her children. If the family is eligible for Medicaid, by all means accept it. It is vital that the kids get proper medical and dental treatment in their formative years in order to avoid health problems later in life. Dental care, in particular is important, and it is not just a matter of their teeth falling out: periodontal disease has been linked to a variety of maladies, including heart attacks. Please don’t let pride(if that is indeed what it is)prevent you from providing your children with the necessary health care NOW.

 

[Sr_Sally]

We have done without even basic things such as going to a dentist for ourselves and at times for our children. They used to send home letters from the school saying we qualify for certain things and I would throw them away.

I urge you not to think of dental care as expendable. Dental care is medical care and you should not go without it. In MD recently a boy died of a blood infection because of lack of dental care! It has been in the national news, so you can search for the story easily.

Certainly choosing NOT to work and “live off the dole” instead is not a good idea. But if your husband is working and you are budgeting and living carefully, then using assistance for things like medical care or even a school lunch is not being greedy or lazy!

Unfortunately, we do not always have control over our circumstances, and that includes finding a job with medical benefits, staying in perfect health, or even keeping a job.

In hard circumstances, you may need help to care for your family properly.