Research-Based Toulmin Argument Paper The term “welfare” is one that is used too loosely and without the proper knowledge in our society. “Eligibility for participation in government benefit programs can be based either on financial need or the occurrence of an event, such as reaching retirement age” (Kessler, 2015, p.1). This research-based toulmin argument paper considers if our government is truly taking steps in the right direction to assist citizens in need in a way that will benefit them for the long haul by exploring the following questions.
Welfare is helpful to a certain extent, but why do some use it as a crutch for longer than appropriate and who is to blame for this?
In what ways is the current welfare system not living up to its
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The term “welfare” generally has a negative connotation when being discussed because it represents lack of resources. Many people think that it’s recipients may be “milking the system” or “lazy” and don’t want to go out and earn their living however, welfare can and should be used as a positive asset to society. However, it tends to be used as a crutch for longer than appropriate but, after conducting in depth research it has become obvious that this is rarely the recipients defect. The government creates these programs that are designed to help those in need and they generally do for some amount of time. But when an individual strives to obtain a higher paying job, it doesn’t even have to be much of a pay increase, they are at risk of losing for example, their rent assistance. So ultimately, those who are striving to better themselves are losing the government assistance that they previously had, while doing less, for a job that will not pay them enough to cover their bills. Because welfare is more than you get by going into an entry-level job and working your way up, recipients are in a lose-lose situation, which is the the cause of these individuals staying on government aid for extended periods of …show more content…
Some argue that the government is already doing too much for those in need, causing them to become less and less self reliant but there are so many areas in which the government struggles with setting recipients up for long term success. “ What most people seem not to understand is that even when single mothers work. They must pay either babysitters or daycare providers, and both are expensive” (NY Times, 2016, p. 2). Any reasonable parent would consider this and most likely it would cross their mind that almost all of the money they will be making that day will go straight to paying for a babysitter so it’s a lost cause. “Welfare should be not just about forcing women into the workforce, but also about helping them continue their education so that it might lead to a better job” (NY Times, 2016, p. 2). If the government were to function in a way more like a partnership, it will be helping individuals become more productive members of society which in turn will benefit the government. If the government invests in the people, they can expect them to return the investment in themselves which will hopefully yield more productive