[gimme1ibertee]

My solution for reducing the welfare rolls:
When a person applies for "assistance", they MUST enter into a contract stating that their "assistance" is contingent on the following:
They understand that their "assistance" is only in force for two years;
if they become pregnant,or get married within that contract period,their "assistance" is terminated;
they as a condition of the contract,will receive child care for the period of the contract;
they will,as a condition of the contract,MUST enroll in a job training or adult education program (a commuter card will be issued that is restricted to the hours and days that the applicant goes to school) and complete that program successfully,or assistance will be terminated;
thirty days after employment is secured,the contract will become null and void and all services terminated,and the person will NOT be eligible for assistance at any time after that.
It could work....but no one's crazy enough to go with it.It would wipe out a HUGE voter base.

[Chickensoup]

My solution is this:

Stop calling it assistance, call it charity.

Charity-food
Charity-care
Charity-check.

NO one is going to like me, but I include SS, SSDI, Medicare and the like as charity.

Help people remember where the monies come from.

Help to have it be a shame and embarrassment to generation.

[Anima Mundi]

There is a difference between short term and long term help. Some people just need help for a few weeks because of some situation. They don’t need to enroll in a job program or anything like that because they are not chronically needy or lacking in skills.

I would add a condition that they have to write a thank you note to their fellow citizens and that they understand that the money is NOT coming from the “Government” but is coming from the people all around them, from individuals. If they can’t read or write then this note might be a good place to start!