A History of Welfare      

   Early American compassion flowed from churches and synagogues, close to the action. They offered personal and spiritual help to immigrants, writes Marvin Olasky in WORLD magazine.

   By the 1960s, a federal welfare system with rules and regulations replaced personal help. The system offered uniformity: Income x and number of children y results in welfare check z, he says, regardless of values or willingness to work. 

   Republican welfare reform in 1996 supposedly improved the system. No, we now have about 80 different federal welfare programs, one of which is Aid to Families with Dependent Children (now called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). 

   Here's the problem, Olasky writes: We know every person has a unique set of circumstances, needs and values. But we prefer uniformity (fairness). 

   When "experts" propose changes, politicians usually strangle their proposals, claiming they won't work because society has changed so much. 

   The biggest changes, he says, involve beliefs, values, family formation or non-formation, and education. Marriage rates are down.

   More kids grow up without a sense of right and wrong. Schools pretend that most everyone should go to college, so millions end up without work skills. 

   Old virtues might work with new opportunities, if we give them a chance.

      Jimmy 

PS. Today is someone's anniversary.