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8
million families are headed by
tuomen
oc
disabled meo. Of the remaining
230,000, half are in school
oc
other–
wise occupied.
According to the Nixon Plan ·less
than
one
percent of today's poor would
be candidates for job training. The rest
are already employed
oc
incapable of
work in their present situation,
oc
women who are heads of households.
Job training does not attack the
came
-oc
even the primary
effect
-
of our
poverty problem. The main cause of
poverty becomes crystal dear when you
examine the breakdown - both statisti–
cally and literally - of the families
pl'esently
on the Public Assistance
role~
in America.
FATHER ABSENT
Father not married to
mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.2%
Father deserted . . . . . . . . .
18.4%
Father divorced or legally
separated . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.3%
Father deceased . . . . . . . . .
7.7%
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.8%
TOTAL ...........
74.9%
FATHER PRESENT
I ncapacitated ...........
J7.8o/o
Unemployed . . . . . . . . . . .
5.1%
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2%
TOTAL ...........
25.1%
The true solution to the welfare
problem is obvious. Eliminate the
t•oot
ca11se
of poverty-
FAMILY BREAK–
DOWN-
not mere unemployment.
Job training has its part, the elimina–
tion of racial and wage discrimination
have their parts. Many factors contribute
to the involuntary cultural enslavement
of poverty.
But the
roo/ ra11se
is family break–
clown.
What can
be
done about it?
First of aH, we must realize happy
fami lics are not
bo1tght.
No amount of
financia! incentive can create binding
love in the family. In fact, it is not even
in the hand of governments to be able
to bind families.
Welfare reforms
cannot
succeed unless
they are capable of binding families
together. And families cannot succeed
without a change in the
human heat·t!
With proper character training in the
home, the cause of poverty - the
ca" se
of second-generation welfare cases
- will be solved.
To effect such programs there must
The
PLAIN TRUTH
be
plans.
The right type of welfare pro–
gram is needed to get people back on
their feet - to "prime the pump." But
what are those programs and where can
they be found?
Effect ive Welfare Programs
A welfare plan that
tuorks
was pro–
posed long ago. Not many people have
heard of it. But it was practiced by an
ancient nation.
" lf
thy brother
be
waxen poor," said
the Lawbook of this ancient nation,
called Israel, "and fallen in decay with
thee; then thou shalt relieve [strength–
en] him" (Leviticus 25:35).
This Lawbook also provided special
financia! support for "the stranger, and
the fatherless, and the widow, which are
within thy gates" that they "shall eat
and be
satisfied"
(Deuteronomy 14:29).
Further statutes and judgments pro–
hibited any form of discrimination.
These laws provided temporary help
for those who had become poor through
circumstances beyond their control, and
also permanent help for those incapable
of supporting themselves.
Notice these people were not to be
degraded with a pittance or a "dole"
barely
able to cover their needs. They
were to "eat and be
Mlisfied"
by a wel–
fare program which opened a
"wide
hand" to them. Further study of this
law reveals a "social security" program
for the aliens, orphans, and widows
that cost less than 4.3% of the total
personal income - not upwards of
10% to
40%
which sorne nations
spend today.
What was the secret behind such
success?
The secret was the stress on
family
1111ity
-
family support.
1f
any person
did not provide foc his own relatives
and especially those of his immedíate
fami ly, he was considered worse than an
infidel.
Think what a savings to any nation's
budget it would be if each family
looked after its
own
members,
especially
the elderly - their own parents and
grandparents! But, more importantly,
this kind of system made it possible foc
the
elderly
to take cace of the
grandchildren !
This ancient set of Laws also attacked
January
197 L
the root cause of
poverty!
And that
cause resuJts in the enslaving housing
patterns we call ghettoes. In the Israel
of 3,000 years ago, each head of house–
hold owned his own property. That
land could not be taken away from him
as long as he lived. And where there's
land, thece's food for those who will
u·ork
that land.
No property tax took the fruits of his
labor on that land. For that matter,
there was no sales tax, surta.'<, excise tax,
or any of our other labyrinthine finan–
cia! siphons. There was a straight
income tax (non-graduated, ten pcrcent
across the board) .
This was no welfare state!
WORKfare Programs T oo
While this system of law provided
personalized and Joving "relief" to all
who needed it, it also made it clear that
everyone who was able to
WORK
was
expected to tuork.
The Book of Proverbs, written by
Solomon, a king of ancient Israel, is
replete wíth admonitions to work. Per–
haps the most familiar - but Jeast
practiced - is "Go to the ant, thou
sluggard; consider her ways, and
be
wise: which having no guide, overseer,
or culee, provideth her meat in the sum–
mer, and gathereth her food in the har–
vest. How long wilt thou sleep, O
sluggard? ..." (Prov. 6:6-9.)
So a program of
u;orkfare
-
a com–
bination of helping the helpless and
providing work for the able - is the
proper foundatíon foc welfare systems.
But the necessary tools are (
1)
a strong
famil)
/(1/it
which wouLd teach (2)
a
ll'illingneu
10
tvork.
The welfare programs of any nation
can work
only
if the individuals in that
nation are taught to respect thesc two
simple principies. O
Write in for two free Ambassador
College publications which amplify
these points. The first is
Your
í\tarriage
Can Be Happy,
explaining the living
laws that bind families together. The
second is
The Seven
ÚJtl'!
of S11cress,
giving valuable principies on how to
tvork
toward personal success regardless
of your present financia! or social
conditions.