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"Just give cash" strips people of their dignity and practically ensures they will become permanent wards of the state, as they are left to wallow in shame and w

"Just give cash" strips people of their dignity and practically ensures they will become permanent wards of the state, as they are left to wallow in shame and without the guidance they need to substantially improve their situation. Every welfare recipient should have a shrewd case worker that dispenses welfare as needed, sees that the recipient is really doing all they can to be self-sufficient, and creates opportunities where the recipient can make a contribution back for the gifts they receive (like volunteering at the food bank once a week), tailored specifically to the recipient's condition.

emmett 11y ago
[citation needed] What makes you believe this is true, beyond simple assertion?
Matumio 11y ago
If there is just a tiny bit of truth in the stories about the Hartz IV system from Germany, it's actually the means tested welfare system and its case workers (who don't have much time per case) that strip people of their dignity. Up to the point that you think the whole system is designed to punish rather than to help. Just getting some extra cash with no strings attached certainly doesn't strip you of your dignity, and if it does, you can always refuse and demand food stamps instead. In Germany, getting food stamps is what strips you of your dignity. You hold up the queue at checkout while they figure if they can accept those and if they are allowed to give you change, etc.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
Real life points to the contrary. It's conditional welfare that strips people of their dignity, to the point of many eligible not seeking it out of shame. I know some examples of that first-hand. "Just getting cash" strips one of dignity no more than "just getting water from the river" or "fruits from a tree" stripped humans of their dignity in the past. Nature provides for us unconditionally. No one is truly independent from the systems they're embedded in, and the assumption that a baseline amount of resources that can form a stable foundation will make one forgoe "improving their situation" is, frankly, offensive to me as a human being.

emmett 11y ago

[citation needed] What makes you believe this is true, beyond simple assertion?

Matumio 11y ago

If there is just a tiny bit of truth in the stories about the Hartz IV system from Germany, it's actually the means tested welfare system and its case workers (who don't have much time per case) that strip people of their dignity. Up to the point that you think the whole system is designed to punish rather than to help. Just getting some extra cash with no strings attached certainly doesn't strip you of your dignity, and if it does, you can always refuse and demand food stamps instead. In Germany, getting food stamps is what strips you of your dignity. You hold up the queue at checkout while they figure if they can accept those and if they are allowed to give you change, etc.

TeMPOraL 11y ago

Real life points to the contrary. It's conditional welfare that strips people of their dignity, to the point of many eligible not seeking it out of shame. I know some examples of that first-hand. "Just getting cash" strips one of dignity no more than "just getting water from the river" or "fruits from a tree" stripped humans of their dignity in the past. Nature provides for us unconditionally. No one is truly independent from the systems they're embedded in, and the assumption that a baseline amount of resources that can form a stable foundation will make one forgoe "improving their situation" is, frankly, offensive to me as a human being.