Monday, April 19, 2010

Dependency

I often hear some conservatives decry the growing dependency of the citizen on Government. The creation of the welfare state for some marked the beginning of the decline where liberty and freedom would slowly wither. Social programs like old age pension, employment insurance and welfare sapped the will and settled the shackles ever so gently on an unsuspecting population.
These entitlements said with a slightly up curled lip are a danger to the citizen. When people know they have a net they are prone to act differently maybe even recklessly, taking chances they ordinarily would avoid. The successful citizens are then forced through taxation to permanently support a class of people that sponge off the rest. While i agree that some people take advantage of programs designed to soften the blows of economic and social mischance. Many and i think the majority, make use of social programs to lighten their load or provide a soft cushion to land on, then get up dust of and start again.
The conservative is willing to throw over the legitimate need to avoid support the free loaders. While the liberal (me) is willing to support the few bad apples to ensure they many get the help they need.
I do not think that conservative are heartless, the amount given in charity for one thing is quite high. It is the way they seek to effect change, on the level of the person not the State. By person, i refer to the religious giving, job creation or personal patronage. It allows the conservative the freedom to help or not too, it's a choice. Only those deemed worthy get the help they need, with the State every one applies and can get benefits first then later if proven fraudulent they can be removed.
That brings me back to dependency, the conservative that abhors the welfare State, is quite comfortable with dependency on a personal level. Things like charity and to some extent jobs have no guarantees, they maybe with drawn at anytime leaving the former beneficiary in a position of great need. State funded programs or stable with well understood rules and obligations.
It is a fair to say that the economically vulnerable you are the less free. The welfare state tries to lessen this vulnerability and in doing so allows a person to preserve a modicum of freedom in the direst of straits.
I would if only two choices were available, which is seldom the case, rather be dependent on Government which is responsible to me in law if not always in fact, than to find myself beholden to private citizens or business that owe to me nothing and whose goodwill may be withdrawn on the slightest of pretext.

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