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Blackcat31 08:10 AM 02-14-2013
Originally Posted by Willow:



I got financial counseling from Lutheran Social Services, and I'm not even Lutheran! Made me smart about my money, instead of just dependent on others.

You teach a man to fish as opposed to just giving him one and the results will be night and day!

Maybe would be a good idea if there isn't just a cap but some mandatory budget counseling that would go along with any government obtained assistance?
I like that idea.

I watched a PBS documentary a while ago about the dust bowl. It talked about what the families who lived there went through during the drought.

One woman narrator made a comment about government assistance and said something along the lines of "The government couldn't just toss out assistance and expect these hard working people to willingly accept it. Accepting help without having to do anything in return robs a man of his self-respect and taking away what little they had left was often a death sentence"

They said not one family showed up for the free help.

If I remember the story correctly, the government then stepped in and offered the assistance to those who were willing to work for it in exchange for the help. ALL the families living in that area who were struggling now showed up and accepted the help.

These people valued their self-worth so much more because they felt as though they weren't taking something for nothing and had earned what help they were given.

For some reason that story has stuck with me and I often think of it when discussions of welfare and government aid comes up.
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