As for the estimated $8 billion in government (taxpayer) money stolen by crooks in Minnesota, people demand answers to many questions. But the 800-pound elephant/question goes unasked: Why is government in the business of welfare in the first place?
Where in the Constitution does it permit the federal government to extract money from taxpayers for charity?
Years ago, I worked full time one summer as a “loaned executive” for the United Way of Cleveland. My job was to meet with CEOs of companies, tell them the story of the United Way and hopefully arrange for me to make a presentation to the company’s employees, take questions and then ask for donations.
Through this process, the United Way raised and donated money to other nonprofits involved in community activities such as preschooling, counseling “at-risk” youths, after-school academic programs, care for the sick and elderly and youth sports programs, among other local initiatives. There was a rigorous application process before the nonprofit could receive any money. There was regular and rigorous follow-up to make sure the money was spent properly and efficiently based on previously
The reason for the rigorous review and follow-up was simple. Donors are more likely to give if they feel their money is being spent effectively to achieve the promised result. In fact, “How do I know my money will be spent properly?” was my most frequently asked question.
Because so many worked for the United Way as volunteers, as I did, nearly 90% to 95% of each dollar donated reached the intended beneficiaries. Government welfare programs, riddled with waste, fraud and abuse, do not come close to this level of efficiency.
Government welfare represents what economist Milton Friedman called the least efficient, least effective and most wasteful spending: somebody else’s money on somebody else. Through most of our country’s history, charity was people to people — house of worship to people, nonprofit to people — not government to people.
James Madison, known as the Father of the Constitution, opposed a 1794 bill that would appropriate $15,000 for French refugees. “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents,” Madison said.
In 1831, Madison said: “With respect to the words ‘general welfare,’ I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers (enumerated in the Constitution) connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.”
Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville, who traveled to America in the 1830s, marveled at the large number of volunteer “mutual aid societies.” Tocqueville wrote: “Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite. … Americans use associations to give fetes, to found seminaries, to build inns, to raise churches, to distribute books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they create hospitals, prisons, schools. Finally, if it is a question of bringing to light a truth or developing a sentiment with the support of a great example, they associate.”
There is a question of whether no-questions-asked public welfare induces dependency and negatively affects the work ethic. A Center for Immigration Studies profile of Somalis in Minnesota found nearly half of working-age Somali adults who have lived In American more than 10 years cannot speak English “very well.”
You cannot watch television without seeing a pitch for money for wounded soldiers, for police officers and firefighters wounded in the line of duty, for a children’s hospital that does not charge patients, for cats and dogs in need of rescue and so on. Imagine the solicitations in a world where government got out of the business of welfare and allowed its citizens, the most generous in the world, to step in and step up.
Private welfare, compared to public welfare, is less likely to create a sense of entitlement, will get a bigger bang for a buck and is less dependency-inducing than no-questions-asked public welfare.
Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit here. Follow Larry on X @larryelder. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage.
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Welfare (should) begin at home. If a person in need cannot get needed help from his/her family they should should seek it from friends, neighbors or church. If the government must be called in to help, it should go no farther than the local area. Town, township or county.
When people seek help from the local options, those providing the aid will likely know if the need is genuine or just laziness and/or greed.
When I read stuff like this I get sick to my stomach, when we Americans have veterans living on the streets, and seniors who are suffering from the inflation caused by Obama/Biden and Biden/Harris and the Demonrats. What kind of leaders do we elect that would turn a blind eye to this and even condone it.
They are people who are at every turn striping you of your Constitutional rights where ever they can gain control. There are news casts that say the communist left Democrats might gain control in the mid-term election, people if that happens, you can Kiss America goodbye,
What really gets me, is we as American’s took these people in and away from poverty and gave them a chance to be free and direct their own future and what do they do, they ROB AMERICA BLIND.
We Americans are getting more stupid by the day!
God Bless America!
God Bless President Trump!
There should be no direct payment of monies for government welfare programs. Period. At most we should return to the days of commodity distribution and government soup lines. I worked my rear off for years in order to take care of my family needs and to save for retirement. I managed my income wisely. Now I am paying for everything from abortions to “free” lunches for school children. And do not get started on the “child tax credit” embedded in the federal income tax laws. Man, if not the majority, of nonprofits are nothing more than money laundering operations. And, by the way, an organization can be a nonprofit but still pay exorbitant salaries.
When I was young and the government wasn’t illegally in the welfare business, I gave to United Way, gladly. When the government ignored the Constitution and created the welfare state, I quit doing so, as I believed that I was forced to give to charity whether I wanted to or not and whether I liked where the money was going or not.
The progressive left have always been jealous of the power resting unused in the federal government. In the 1950s & 60s, the poverty level was falling until it stopped at less than 1/5. It stopped because Congress took the Presidents campaign promise and created the War on Poverty. For 60+ years it has been at that same level and after several trillion dollars from working taxpayers it has become an Institution. As Jesus said, we’ll always have the poor among us, but pre-poverty law, organizations and churches found ways to help the truly struggling. Pride and dignity kept people in work. There is no question that a small number of folks need help and that’s our individual responsibility. But a ‘career opportunity’ it is not.
THERE SHOULD BE NO GOVERNMENT WELFARE PROGRAMS OF ANY KIND! THAT ROTTEN LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON HAS DAMN NEAR DESTROYED OUR COUNTRY WITH HIS “GREAT SOCIETY”.
WATCHING THE RIOTS IN MINNEAPOLIS BEGS THE QUESTION – WHY AREN’T THESE JERKS WORKING? ARE THEY ON WELFARE?
OUR CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS FOLKS USED TO HELP PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEEDED HELP AND THEY KNEW WHO THE CHEATERS WERE.
ANYONE CHEATING WE TAXPAYERS NEEDS TO PEND SEVERAL YEARS IN JAIL!
“Welfare” is much more efficient on a local level. You can see if your “neighbors” are living in a mansion or driving a Porsche. Some bureaucrat in DC has no idea who is getting the money or how they are spending it. And he really doesn’t CARE as long as he is paid to shuffle the paperwork! A [losing] candidate in my congressional district once opined: “Federal aid is like giving yourself a blood transfusion with a leaky hose.”
Absolutely! I agree. We need to review all Federal welfare programs to ensure they are doing the intended service and NOT used fraudulently.
Minnesota Stealing: Reason to Rethink Government Welfare. D U H!!!
Welfare was originally designed for the TRULY NEEDY and for those TEMPORARILY between jobs, and NO ONE ELSE. ANY ABLE-BODIED LAZY SCHEMING FREE-LOADING PARASITE shouldn’t receive a dime of welfare, or ANY other form of government assistance. Thanks to the DAMNoRATS and RINOs, welfare and ALL other government assistance TAXPAYER-FUNDED programs have become a generational GIVEAWAY SCHEME FOR THE LAZY.
And ANY able-bodied person who has been unemployed or been on government assistance for more than six months should NOT be allowed to vote.
Also, any person receiving ANY FORM of government assistance should have to come down IN PERSON to receive their welfare check. And they MUST bring with them PROOF of all the employers they have interviewed with or copies of applications they have filled out the prior week, with the names, addresses and phone numbers of places they have submitted these applications to.
Further, they must take a monthly drug test ON THE SPOT (with the results verified within minutes while they wait) BEFORE receiving their check or any kind of assistance. BUT IF THE DRUG TEST COMES UP POSITIVE, THEY DON’T RECEIVE A DIME OR ANY OTHER TAXPAYER GIVEAWAY.
IT’S DECADES PAST TIME TO START REQUIRING A LOT MORE PERSONAL RRESPONSIBILITY, AND MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT and HONEST BEFORE RECEIPIANTS GET TO START RECEIVING TAXPAYER-FUNDED GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE, OF ANY KIND.
GEE, WHAT A CONCEPT. (Something the DamnoRATS have been ADAMANTLY AGAINST FOR THE LAST 80+ YEARS.
Okay, I am old…81. When the first welfare was given to people, there were strict rules about the qualifiers that allowed one to get something for nothing. It included weekly meetings with the “clients” to make sure they were looking for employment. If you were not interested in finding a job, you had to have a good reason like mental illness or a bad injury. Welfare recipients could NOT buy junk food, alcohol or cigarettes with welfare money. People actually got some kind of paper that showed they got to spend their welfare funds, not a card that got reloaded every month. The radical liberals have been eating away all of the regulations ever since this program began. It is a shame that we have so many on welfare and so many on disability. There are attorneys out there who specialize in getting the lazy ones onto these programs so they can sit home all day and still get free stuff. It is disgusting to those of us who always worked and paid our way. There are truly some out there who do qualify and that is fine but many do not and steal from taxpayers. We need to tighten up this system to stop the fraud.
I think this article has very valid points. Can we send this to trump and his team and maybe turn this country back to the local level.
Larry is spot on. Nowhere in our Constitution does it require the federal government to allocate taxpayer money to give to charities. Child care begins at home. My Mother stayed home to raise us as children We were not farmed out to day care at age 2 like many are today. Child care is the responsibility of the parent, NOT the government. One of the big problems in our country is young married couples feel that day care for their kids is a “right.” NO! If you get pregnant, YOU are responsible to raise that child, not farm them out to a commercial baby sitting factory paid for by the government. This is the real situation that no one wants to admit: We are now seeing the results of housing young kids in day care factories so both parents can work instead of being at home with a mom or dad. We had 2 children and my wife chose to be an at home mom and I worked 3 jobs. We made it work. One final thought: How many of these mass shooters were farmed out to day care instead of being raised at home?
No good ever came from something for nothing, Help the person to help themselves, yes, but to just keep on giving is a path to eventual ruin of both, giver and receiver.
I got welfare for a year after my husband walked out on me and our 2 babies. He paid no child support. When I went to the welfare office in Harlem there were Cadillacs parked outside. Kids running around with Sergio Valente jeans on, drinking coke out of baby bottles and wearing 24 k gold jewelry same as their moms. There will always be liars and cheats as long as there are give aways. I managed to get myself a job and paid my own way,
I looked up the number of non governmental charities and foundations exist in the USA and it’s 1.8- 2 million. There are tons of resources available for people in need.
I agree. when I grew up our family worked in many charitable ways.
I fully admit, I am the least welfare ‘help assist’ person I know. I have personally lived some really tough times in my life … (stealing grapefruit off of neighbors trees so I could have a semblance of breakfast .. etc.). I never asked for handouts on a street corner with a cardboard sign, or asked for help from my state government. I did what I had to do (within the law) to better my situation. When I married … I waited until I thought I could afford to be married … and before she got pregnant with my only child … I waited to make sure that we could afford him. So I am not one to give aid … if it was me, my family, or a friend … I would … anyone else? Sorry … I am not a bleeding heart. Pets abused and abandoned … I feel sorry for … arrest and prosecute those who are abusing them. I feel bad for kids who struggle to eat, because their ignorant mother can’t put her legs together long enough to stop adding kids with no father … just a sperm donator. I actually knew someone, who started a go fund me page, because she broke her cell phone and couldn’t afford another …. sorry .. not sorry … NOT GOING TO DO IT.
Welfare should not exist … persons that truly need help should depend on family .. but mostly themselves … surely not an inept Government.
The Amish have no insurance etc. They help each other through their members raising money to pay for their needs.
Accountablity, or in this case when it comes to our government, is the center of the storm. Who checks who? Who checks anything or anyone anymore? Apparently no one, no where, no how. It’s not that we ought not help the needy, it’s “are they needy?” Do they face vetting of any kind? And who, in the end, accounts for the money?
I agree, the govt. is not in the business of saving everyone from every problem in life. That’s the job of the people around you and organizations who accept the call to do that good work….but even there, accountability has to reign. You don’t just throw money out there never questioning where it lands…..at least that’s not how it is supposed to work.
But our government system does exactly that……so here we stand being soaked by people and organizations who live by greed and graft, not grace. I say…pull the whole welfare system off line. Put an end to it all…and let the gracious people fill the need. Right away you will see just who is really wanting…..sound cruel….nope, sounds right.
The only “welfare” the government should provide is to military personal disabled in the line of duty.
As always, Larry is spot on. The welfare state is designed to perpetuate itself by convincing low intelligence voters that they are victims. I am old enough to remember when programs like Head Start were promoted by saying that they would be gone within a generation, since the intended effect was to encourage and motivate the “needy” to better themselves. Last time I looked it was still running, providing free food and babysitting to the useless parasites who take advantage of honest taxpayers. Programs have expanded to the point where mooching off taxpayers has beome a family tradition. About 20 years ago I worked at the county intermediate unit and saw first hand how ridiculous these programs have become. There was a summer program for children of migrant workers which provided food and remedial education, but required that the parents attend an ESL program in the evenings. There was also a program with no requirement for parents to go to the ESL course. Guess which one was more popular? Other programs targeted kids with anger management issues. The kids were preschool age. Anger management? Really? Other programs had kids who were on daily medications, and they were under control while in the center. Come Monday the kids were out of control since their “parents” took the meds intended for the kids. What kind of society is this?
Don’t get me started on nonense like food stamps — people used to be embarrassed to use them, now it’s a way of life. Working people do not automatically get a raise when they have another child — why should the leeches get more money? Sterilization is looking better and better.
Lyndon Baines Johnson, President was the initiator of today’s welfare program. His rules destroyed the “family”. If a mother was poor and had a husband that couldn’t or didn’t work, Johnson’s help was to force the husband out of the house and would give assistance to the mother and her children.
Public Housing became a part of that program and through the years with the Women’s Lib movement, we are where we are today. By the way, where are of these Libber’s that were screaming that men were not needed? Population was still increasing at that time and now it takes 2 working adults to support their family unit and paying rent since there are no “starter homes” for the family to build equity and have some of their “rent-mortgage paymen” grow to be invested into their dream home.
Interesting that our Legislature can grow their wealth way beyond their pay and support 2 residences one in Washington DC and one in their home state, while serving their elected terms but the day to day taxpayer can’t! HMMMM?
In my opinion MINNEAPOLIS and some of its citizens totaly suck.Why do they support walz and his democrat buddies corruption.They support violence,they support illegals over AMERICANS.Their mayor is a leftist democrat incomplete entity.I live in Illinois and our whole state is controlled leftist marxists,including comrade pritzker,they priortize illegals over AMERICANS.I hope these democrats in every state get voted out,way out.
according to jefferson not one penny from the treasury goes to anything other than gov expenses i dont know how they did this maybe after the war for southern independence lincoln changed our form of gov to a democracy
If government is not allowed by the Constitution to redistribute tax dollars via welfare, how do “We the People” allow it? We are sheep being lead to slaughter and so many ignorant people that are on the government dole are very happy they just get our hard earned dollars. Very sad.
I AGREE! Let people(individuals) choose to whom they support! The Federal Government should not be involved in supporting welfare to individuals!
Apply to all Blue States
Anything a congressman/woman or senator’s or senat woman have a chance on getting kick backs on or able to defraud American citizens out of should be banned stock trading lobbiers ect they should get there standard salaries and that’s it give a person the opportunity to cheat 99% will and comen folk always get stuck bailing them out
Agree completely!
No government agency should be involved in any of our social issues. All government welfare programs are scams to fool citizens into thinking they are doing something for others while we are only providing Socialist political factions with money to put more Socialists into government positions. We are literally funding our own demise.
I agree government welfare is not constitutional but what I want to know is how could this stealing by a group of Somalians or anyone on welfare get away with this for years. Are you telling me we send out billions and no one sending it out ever checks on how it is being spent? I’m sorry to say that because the money is coming from the people of the government then is not congress responsible? What someone stealing billions from the people amounts to is no one is checking on them. Why? There are reasons why no one is checking on the giving of the people’s money. One or both political party’s is buying votes! In this case and usually it’s the democrats! In the end what this stealing really shows is that our government if too big to work. Take away the Christian values from our nation and what do you have?
You have what is happening to us right now. What is happening is corruption, chaos, theft and anyone can see where it starts. It starts at the top of our government!
When a representative is voted in and making about $174,000 a year plus much additional with perks and by the end of their four year term is worth millions this shows exactly what’s wrong. It would be interesting to see what each representative and senator was worth when voted in and what they are worth every proceeding four years! Then we would know the truth and the truth would convict them. What we need is DOGE on everything we spend! Thank you DJ Trump and Elon Musk!
the mild language – rethink welfare – are you kidding me?? start rising up and fighting back people – do you KNOW what is going on in society and has been for decades – i claim 0 exemptions on taxes, have extra w/held both fed and state – last year OWED taxes on both state/fed – to feed other lazy entitled not to mention illegal people – LUDICROUS – how many years do I have to see able bodied healthy young people with cars, homes, dancing up and down the aisles – ooh oooh oooh i couldn’t get one more thing” then handing over not one but TWO food stamp cards – btw call it FOOD STAMPS not the the trendy SNAP call it what it is – DISGUSTING.
The Governor and the Mayor are complicit in the theft and need to be charged. They are instigating the violence as well and need to be charged as such.
Welfare should never be given to illegal peoples. Welfare monies from the taxpayer should always go to help our own American people who are going through hard times. Take care of the American people and many need help. Democrats be damned!!
bravo.
Federal government should never be handing out money for welfare , that is a states rights issue and they should never use federal monies for welfare projects.
My sentiment exactly! I say the same thing about welfare in news article comments whenever the chance presents itself. The government should not dabble in charity because the result is waste, fraud and abuse. DOGE uncovered the scam of NGOs. Now we have just scratched the surface of the welfare scams. The Dems are screaming and inciting violent protests. That tells us all we need to know about what/who is behind the fraud. Dems will not discuss the fraud just the FED agents trying to get it resolved (along with illegal aliens). Congress needs to be confined to strict Constitutional duties.
We are at a crossroads and the LEFT intends to drive the country into Marxism. Stand up America!
Sounds like a lot of sound common sense to me, why is our Government in the Charity business. It is simple, way to much unspent TAX MONEY, GIVE IT BACK TO THE PEOPLE THAT PAID IT IN. Our Government, THE ROOT TO ALL EVIL
Government Welfare, as per the US Constitution, is unconstitutional! The Welfare Clause of the US Constitution concerns the continuity of a collective federal government to provide protective services for its citizens from all enemies, foreign and domestic, including economic welfare that they themselves earned and created, and not to cease giving to others. It also secures each citizen’s God-given freedoms. This is all explained in the Federalist Papers and in individual correspondence regarding the content of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights for ratification by all 13 colonies. The Founding Fathers never intended or wanted any form of wealth distribution by a government entity, federal or state. If citizens require temporary assistance, it should come from their local community, faith-based, or voluntary organizations. Later in our history, not-for-profit organizations (NFPs) that received tax-exempt status assisted with welfare programs that provided food, clothing, shelter, job training, and healthcare. There is, however, another option in today’s landscape: a national lottery system, which has been used to finance education and low-income and senior housing, but could be used to provide food, clothing, and healthcare. US taxpayer funds should be used only for the 19 specific duties of the federal government set forth in the US Constitution, and not for subsidies to foreign countries or entities, for refugees, or for lending entities to provide financial assistance to failing countries. The USA is one of the youngest nations, which defended itself against foreign tyranny, financial crises, natural disasters, and political differences with little assistance from foreign sources except from those who believed in individual freedoms during our Revolutionary War period, such as the French and Poles.
the feds need to get out of the welfare business and give it back to the states!
Time has come for these thriving pieces of scam to be put to death along with the murders, child molesters! Rapist, Socialist, Marist and all enemies to America!
” nearly half of working-age Somali adults who have lived In American more than 10 years cannot speak English ‘very well.’ “
Do they not, though? Turns out, another common fraud is to pretend not to speak English very well, so the government will provide an interpreter for you when you go to, for example, the doctor. The interpreter gets paid for an 8-hour shift, and that translator can be whoever you like. According to the reports, virtually no Somalis speak English well enough to not ‘need’ that interpreter. I’ve said for years that we need a Constitutional amendment defining English as the official language of the US. This would remove any reason for the US to provide interpreters for anything, except US government foreign relations. Provide your own interpreters, choose doctors who speak your language, or learn English.
People got lazy and groups wanted easy access to money, so they found ways to get politicians to just take taxpayer money and donate to charities for votes. With no oversite or accountability of course. JMO
Just one more thing the government has demonstrated that it cannot do. No government organization or entity can manage money – because it’s not their money. Look at the postal service. Hell, not even the military can pass an audit.
A few random thoughts–
Government welfare cannot remain efficient and effective because it becomes an industry which works to maintain itself. People whose purpose it is to help the homeless, for example, need for people to be homeless. Solve the homeless problem and lots of people are out of a job.
What are the statistics of “families” without a legal marriage? Choose to marry or not marry, but don’t expect the government to pay for what statistics show the consequences will be.
I’m not stingy. My husband and I tithe over 10% of our income in charitable donations. Non-government welfare is the most helpful.
In 1985, I was newly divorced mother of a 9 year old. My friends father had a small business, hired me, My parents let me move in with them. They helped with child care while I worked, when he wasn’t in school. I also paid rent to them. There was an article in the paper, talking about women collecting welfare with kids because working they didn’t make enough to pay for child care. What they were making on welfare, was more that what I was making working. But my logic, was as I gained experience then I could make more, and also I was able bodied, and should be working. Today, I think I made the right decision. I cringe when I know there are generations of people thinking that the Government should take care of them, no matter what their choices in life are.
United Way has funded some great charitable needs over the years; and is much preferred over Government funding – which too often is about ‘getting votes’ vs. dedicated assistance.
Above said, as an ‘Old fart’ I well remember both a prior United Way high paid Exec Director embezzling $Millions a few years back, and UW staff discriminating against viable Charities – specifically The Boy Scouts of America, which funded a great after school program for young boys – to keep them off the streets. (Way too much politics in UW at that time.)
When the government gave money to education, they thought it would go to real education. Like Tranvestite read a book to kindergarten students.
If I take your money and use it to feed a begger on the corner I’m guilty of theft If the government does it it’s still theft.
Hmm, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are coming for the democrats, especially the politicians. Beware…………………..