Some Americans see government assistance just giving away money to those who do not deserve it. Government benefit programs are such things as paying electric bills, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Lifeline Assistance. These programs are programs that help people survive. A person must have food in order to survive and must have health insurance in case they are seriously ill or injured. These resources are important for the people who work jobs but do not make enough of an income to support the hunger needs of their families. Food is not a want and should not be treated as one. Food is a need for a person to survive and all people, wealthy or poor, should be entitled to have food to survive. These programs help so many Americans with eating right, being healthy, having a doctor when needed, and having utilities; such as electric and water, that one needs to have.
The government is only providing what a person needs to live. The government is not handing out laptops, cars, spa days, etc. that people just want to have. I think there are a lot of people who think that people who receive government assistance are just lazy people who want things such as the wants I just listed, but in reality they are people who do not make enough money to provide food for their families. More employers these days are considering their employees as “part-time” so they do not have to offer benefits. I feel as thing is also a problem with why so many people are receiving government assistance. Employees are working 39 hours, 1 hour short of full time, so that they do not have to receive assistance from their employers. There employees are working just as much as full time yet not given the benefits they deserve.
Even though government programs are great and helpful to so many deserving people, there are people who do not deserve them, and it is those types of people who make the deserving people look bad. I think that these programs can be improved so that those deserving can get their assistance with not feeling bad, and those who are not deserving can stop receiving. I know that is it is required now that if you are a single party you must have a job and work at least 20 hours a week or do 20 hours community service to receive benefits, which is a great start to improving! There are a few more ways that they programs can be improved. These ways would be drug screening weekly for recipients, drugs are a huge factor in receiving benefits from the government. People can receive money to help pay for groceries but cannot get a job or quit drugs. Assistance is given to any family that has a minor present in the household, no matter if the parent has a job. It is in households like these where they parents will not or cannot get a job because they cannot pass a drug test. This is one factor that is HUGE and should be weekly tested to receive benefits. Another improvement these programs could make is to monitor what is being bought with cash or food stamps. If you receive food stamps or assistance cash it should go towards NEEDS. Buy meats, fruits, vegetables, bread, milk, toilet paper, shampoo, toiletries, etc. A lot of these people are buying energy drinks, junk food, electronics, etc. which is not what the money is supposed to go toward. I think if the government could track what is being bought that that would help with the problems and they could see who is using it for the right purposes and who is not.
Government benefit programs are so helpful to those who need it for themselves and to support their families. These people are being looked down upon because they need help in order to survive and they should not have to feel that way. These programs are great and very important, but with a little improvement these programs could be even better and not make those recipients feel as they are looked down upon.
