Kerby Anderson

Cal Thomas begins his column by recounting his visit to Singapore a few years ago. He asked the cab driver about the unemployment rate. He was shocked to hear it was fewer than two percent. What was the reason for such a low rate? “We don’t have any welfare here,” the cab driver responded. “If you are able-bodied and don’t work, the government doesn’t send you a check.”

The apostle Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 that, “If any would not work, neither should he eat.” He recognized what the leaders in Singapore discovered. We need to be motivated to work. Regularly giving someone a handout can be a great de-motivator. Handouts rob people of their dignity and ultimately devalue their work ethic.

Welfare programs have been around for decades but they seem to be increasing in number and expense. There are at least 126 separate programs and an annual cost of $1 trillion per year. Certainly many of the recipients have a financial need, but we need to evaluate whether whole generations living on welfare is good for the families and good for the nation.

Few Americans would deny the value of giving someone a hand up by providing temporary assistance so they can get back on their feet. But providing decades of handouts creates dependency and corrodes the human spirit. Humans were made to work and express their energy and creativity in their work. Laziness and idleness is usually the by-product of many welfare programs.

We have also made welfare very attractive. In previous commentaries, I described studies that concluded that welfare pays more than minimum wage jobs in 35 states. In more than a dozen states, welfare pays more than $15 per hour. People on welfare may not be lazy, but they aren’t stupid. Why work when welfare pays so well? Perhaps that is why the unemployment rate in Singapore is lower than in the United States.