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Welfare—the PC way to say "Get Back In The Slave Shack"
by Neale Osborn
[email protected]

Special to The Libertarian Enterprise

Is Welfare the new slave chains, just aimed at the poor, no matter the skin color? I think so, and here's why. Back when slavery was legal, slaves lived where the master said, ate what he provided, wore what he supplied, and did what master said. There was an infinitesimal possibility of getting away from him and running your own life. Families were broken up at his whim. So how is welfare the new Slave master, with a larger target group? Here's my take on it, but first some facts. I am white, lower middle-class, and I have never been on welfare. I do not guarantee that my opinions on this are based on factual info, it comes from talks with many who have been on welfare, and from long conversations with a black engineer at Corning, Incorporated, where I used to do contractor work. He grew up on welfare, and told me how it went for him. We would talk politics, and one day, Teddy Kennedy's name came up, and a man there said "Well, Teddy is a good friend to Blacks, isn't he?" My friend said "No, and here's why."

His thesis was this—Teddy DID support social welfare programs, which does, on the surface, appear to help Blacks. But it is my contention that these programs are carefully designed to enslave, rather than free, minorities in general, and ALL poor in specific. It goes with the old saying "Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for life". My belief is that the entire welfare system ENFORCES a subconscious belief that government is the only way to survive, stifling initiative.

Having said that, I know many "welfare families" that went on to succeed in some branch of business, get off the rolls, and become financially solvent, and some even wealthy. Unfortunately, we both know this is not the norm, but the exception. And it is NOT due to a lack of talent, it is due to a lack of necessity. While no one will claim that welfare provides a comfortable lifestyle, it penalizes rather heavily any attempt to better yourself financially. So, unless a welfare recipient is GUARANTEED a very quick return on their effort, it is too expensive to get off the rolls.

Now, as I said, I haven't been on welfare, so I don't know just how hard it actually is to get off and actually succeed. I know it is done, and I know those who do it are fine people. I have known people so poor that the only way they knew to survive was welfare, and I don't begrudge them the help. The single parent who lost their partner and needs a helping hand to get back on their feet, the family that loses their primary source of income due to illness, these are worthy reasons for the existence of welfare. But families, 3rd generation on welfare, are not being helped, they are enslaved to the government. And the saddest thing is, I am not sure if they even realize it. Yet what to do about it is something I can't answer. The hard hearted bastard in me says "Kill welfare, let them work or starve!" But I am not that cold, and I doubt you are. But I don't want the system to continue the way it is now, either. I certainly don't condone throwing these people out of their subsidized housing (Master telling them where to live). I wouldn't just shut off Food Stamps (master telling them what to eat). You can't just force them to work, that is slavery, but I don't want to be forced to support them forever, either. They have no right to just sponge off the working class, but we have no right to just slam the door without warning, and without first providing a way out.

So, it is time for the next Emancipation Proclamation. This time, when we free the welfare slaves, we can't just form a new plantation, and call it helping them, and then brush off our hands, pat ourselves on the back, and promptly forget about the poor for another few generations.

First published on Newsvine

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