A Response to "Public Assistance in Texas"

I read both the original opinion & the response of my colleague's and have come to have a response to both people.

To "A Gee Statement":
I understand where you're coming from. A great 34.2% of our tax money is going to these assistance programs and the people who aren't in need, don't deserve our help. Although there are some "clever recipients" whom have manipulated the system, I don't believe there's a great percentage of those who actually get in. All applicants go through various interviews and all paperwork is verified with detail before being admitted, in order to prevent fraudulent applicants/information.

To, Wendy of "Government Matters":
It's true that a single parent and two children can hardly live off of $1,500. To worsen matters, eligibility requires you make below $1,341 in a household of three. It seems impossible to survive with income limitations so low but remember these programs were meant to only assist.

Raising the bar on eligiblility requirements won't help anyone on either side of the fence. Therefore, I feel one of the best solutions could be to keep our eligible income limitations at the same rate or lower it and enforce more strict eligibility requirements. We shouldn't be giving money away just because there are many of those who need help but instead assist them in finding jobs. There's a program called Texas Workforce and that's where we should take a percentage of our taxes should be going instead of these "assisting programs." Texas Workforce Commission offers various programs to train those who need jobs and not only assist in childcare providers, but also have educational institutions and many more. These programs help those in need to get back on their feet and make make something of themselves. Our tax money should be going somewhere worth the effort and time; especially spent wisely. Now that's something to be happy about (for both sides of the fence).