re: #804 BryanS

How does one distinguish someone who “truly needs it” from someone who is lazy? The beauty of the welfare reform Clinton signed off on was not in the withdrawal of benefits, but in the belief they would be withdrawn. All of a sudden, long term welfare recipients found jobs at record rates. Now, surely there are many who receive this assistance who truly need it, and that is more true these days due to the state of the economy. But I just don’t know how the government tells the difference between the needy and the lazy.

I’m not sure it’s possible to distinguish between the two. People will find a way to take advantage of the system, whether its a social system or a financial system, whatever. The price for this sort of thing is a certain level of abuse. Many people here are seriously against that.