This essay is based on Kandaswamy’s view on the importance of social welfare in the society. Social welfare exists for one sole purpose and that is to cater for the needs of the less fortunate for instance, the old and disabled. The government, religious institutions and charitable organizations in developed countries like United States work together to provide for the needy people. Since it began after the great depression of 1930, social welfare has been a controversial issue in the United States.
People who are opposed to social welfare like Montague, argues that it encourages laziness among the people. According to Montague, everybody must work hard to cater for his or own needs instead of depending on the government or the charity organizations. On the other hand, the proponents of social welfare argue that not all the people have the ability to work and settle their bills. There are those who are unemployed others may be too old to work while others are disabled. Kandaswamy for instance, argues that the old and disabled people deserve to live decent lives and that the society has the responsibility of taking care of their needs. It is also important to admit that social welfare has its own challenges in that people with the ability to work enroll themselves and become the beneficiaries even if they are not needy. This however does not call for a complete overhaul of the program; rather there is need for reforms to identify those who actually deserve the social welfare (Reese, 2007 p.49).
If I had written a middle ground, I would have adjusted my argument to be a bipartisan one not favoring any side. The essay would have concentrated more on the reforms in the social welfare programs in U.S and the people who deserves to benefit from such programs. I would find additional sources to back my arguments, sources that take the middle ground. The middle ground is actually the only solution to the controversial issue of social welfare because it combines the ideas of both the opponents and proponents of social welfare.
Works Cited
Reese, Ellen. "The Causes And Consequences Of U.S. Welfare Retrenchment." Journal of Poverty 11.3 (2007): 47-63. Print.
