A Charge To Keep: on Welfare & Poverty

Work and responsibility to replace welfare

place time limits on welfare benefits;
require able-bodied welfare recipients to get a job, attend school, or train for work;
require participating mothers to identify the fathers of their children so they could contribute to their support;
and emphasize personal responsibility by requiring welfare recipients to sign an independence contract pledging to stay drug-free and keep their kids immunized and in school.

Source: “A Charge to Keep”, p. 32

Too much government fosters dependency

The new culture said if people were poor, the government should feed them. If criminals are not responsible for their acts, then the answers are not in prisons, but in social programs. People became less interested in pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and more interested in pulling down a monthly government check. A culture of dependency was born. Programs that began as a temporary hand-up became a permanent handout, regarded by many as a right. Source: “A Charge to Keep”, p.229-230

Religious charities deserve government support

Participation in faith-based programs must be voluntary, and we must make sure secular alternatives are available. But government should welcome the active involvement of people who are following a religious imperative to love their neighbors through after-school programs, child care, drug treatment, maternity group homes, and a range of other services. Supporting these men and women. is the next bold step of welfare reform. Source: “A Charge to Keep”, p.232

*The above quotations are from A Charge To Keep: My Journey to the White House, by George W. Bush.* Click here for definitions & background information on Welfare & Poverty. Click here for more quotes by George W. Bush on Welfare & Poverty.
*Other candidates on Welfare & Poverty:*
Pat Buchanan George W. Bush Al Gore Ralph Nader Harry Browne Dick Cheney Joe Lieberman *2002 Candidates:* Elizabeth Dole Janet Reno Jeb Bush Robert Reich	*Withdrawn Candidates:* Lamar Alexander Gary Bauer Bill Bradley Steve Forbes Orrin Hatch John Kasich Alan Keyes John McCain Dan Quayle Bob Smith Donald Trump Paul Wellstone
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