Since the American Industrial Revolution era, the culture in the country places a huge value on work and employment. The assumption is always that a person is employed or working and employment is the way one provides value to society (Ali, Bahar, Gopalan, et al., 2018). Nevertheless, it is arguable that these underlying assumptions in the American culture are not necessarily true. Traditional employment has undergone radical shifts in its definition and there is much unpaid labor that people often manage. These assumptions place a stigma on poverty and make people view the poor as lazy. Consequently, poor people, especially those on welfare, often feel ashamed. There are various reasons why people seek relief and they are not necessarily in control such as unavailability of jobs, number of children, illnesses and disabilities, and psychological factors. Therefore, people on welfare should not feel ashamed because the definition of poverty does not necessarily place them in the category of the poor.
Many people on welfare feel ashamed because society views them as hopeless or unable to work. However, most people on welfare are ashamed because of the huge stigma placed on poverty and the assumption that those in the program are poor (Ali et al., 2018). Such people should not feel ashamed because there are various reasons why people are poor or on relief. The unavailability of jobs is a problem in almost every society worldwide. In most cases, especially in the US, people do not decide to be unemployed. The economic, social, and political systems have traditionally determined the availability of employment for citizens. When such events as inflation, economic depression, and pandemics occur, the economy fares badly and unemployment increases. In response, people who become jobless are forced to enroll in relief programs. Such people are not necessarily poor but unable to meet their needs because the economy does not allow them to have jobs, which means that they should not be ashamed of their status.
Some people are on relief because certain personal problems that do not allow them to work make families depend on government support. For example, people living with physical disabilities or illnesses that cannot allow them to work are forced to depend on welfare. It is difficult for the blind, crippled, or those with other forms of physical disabilities to take jobs that need efforts requiring their bodily participation (Ali et al., 2018). In the same way, people with mental issues are unfit to work since their decision-making abilities are likely to be impaired. Moreover, people living with advanced levels of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and others cannot work. In all these situations, children and those who depend on the affected persons will have to rely on relief. Therefore, they are not necessarily poor but need to meet their needs, which the authorities must provide.
A part of the American population is on welfare because the social and economic systems require people to have education as the chief qualification to get jobs. Nevertheless, not everyone is good at education, which means that some people are simply unemployed not because they are not able to work but because their level of education is low (Ali et al., 2018). For example, some people can be good social workers with the ability to provide care for the sick, elderly, and disabled. Nevertheless, they cannot work in such settings because they need to have at least a college diploma. Therefore, they are unemployed and have to depend on relief.
In conclusion, people on welfare should not feel ashamed because they are not necessarily poor. The American social and cultural system places those on welfare in the category of the poor and helpless. Nevertheless, this assumption is wrong because the reasons why people are on welfare are many and diverse. In most cases, people do not choose to be in the situation. The social, cultural, political, and economic systems in the country play the largest role in determining whether one should be in the program or not.
Reference
Ali, S., Bahar, O. S., Gopalan, P., Lukasiewicz, K., Parker, G., McKay, M., & Walker, R. (2018). “Feeling less than a second class citizen”: Examining the emotional consequences of poverty in New York City. Journal of Family Issues, 39(10), 2781-2805. Web.