Is complaining about welfare counter productive?

[HIMBOB]

We all know bitching about welfare recipients gets clicks and votes but I am wondering if the cost of this bitching is increased welfare expenditure.

My hypothesis is that all the public outcry over welfare leads to more people taking up welfare.

My thinking is based upon the idea that if people are repeatedly told that large numbers of people are getting a free ride it:
A. Makes welfare more acceptable as a choice.
B. Discourages working and paying tax.
C. Makes it seem like a life on welfare is a sustainable option that provides sufficient quality of life.

This would in tern lead to an increased likely hood of people going on welfare.


So what ya reckon sherdog?

Am i crazy or could i be right?


Notes.
Im talking pure theory here so feel free to chime in with unqualified opinion and speculation. If however someone has facts to offer please share the wealth.

I do support the existence of welfare that provides for a reasonable quality of life. I also however do not want people on welfare when they could provide greater societal benefit off welfare.

 

[Trotsky]

Demonizing welfare doesn't normalize it: it normalizes economic illiteracy and justifying objectively unhelpful spending alternatives. It also does nothing to "discourage" working. Quite the opposite. In reality, there are intrinsic deterrents to widespread welfare reliance: namely that people like to work, be productive, and strive to live better and have more than their comparators. And, alongside that, there is plenty of hard data showing that welfare benefit expansiveness correlates positively with workforce participation and economic mobility: that is, empowering entitlements increases people seeking and receiving work and climbing the economic latter.

I guess your suggestion about it leading to promulgation of the non-truth of recipients living lavish lives could be true, but such misconceptions would be immediately corrected after even beginning the process for receiving benefits.

 

[boomertx]

There will always be a subset of people that will try to game the system for their benefit and do as little as possible. Couple of thoughts though.

Memory has faded over time but I think it was a 60 Minutes piece and I think it was in St Louis during the Reagan years. They experimented with having welfare recipients do work in their neighborhoods (completely voluntary, only the hours they wanted, as schedules permitted). 60 Minutes spoke with the folks on welfare about this. The majority liked to do it as they felt they were giving back and not just getting a free handout. Nonetheless, the progressives nixed the idea as they felt people would feel as though they were pushed into this.

Fast forward to the years where evacuees were given housing subsidies. As the subsidies were running out suddenly resumes went out with a significant employment gap. So what were these folks doing for the months, then years that this was going on? Apparently using the subsidies to hang out. When the money ran out it was time to find a job.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

This is the same as when people argue against unions


Yeah there will be people who abuse the system but that doesn't outweigh the majority that use the system properly.

But a lot of small thinkers like to throw the baby out with the bath water.