Welfare

• General Welfare is not the same concept as Individual Welfare. General Welfare would benefit the people generally, whereas Individual Welfare targets a certain segment of society to benefit that does not directly apply to all people. Providing Individual Welfare is not authorized in the Constitution.
• God, who endows us with life, liberty, property, and the right to pursue happiness, also exhorts individuals to care for the needy, the sick, the homeless, the aged, and those who are otherwise unable to care for themselves. America’s welfare crisis is a government-induced crisis. Government social and cultural policies have undermined the work ethic, even as the government’s economic and regulatory policies have undermined the ability of our citizens to obtain work. Charity, and the provision of welfare to those in need, is not a Constitutional responsibility of the civil government. Under no circumstances should the taxpayers of the United States be obligated, under penalty of law through forced taxation, to assume the cost of providing welfare for other citizens.
• The message of Christian charity is fundamentally at odds with the concept of welfare maintenance as a right. In many cases, welfare provisions are not only misdirected but morally destructive. It is the intended purpose of civil government to safeguard life, liberty, and property – not to redistribute wealth. Such redistribution is contrary to the Biblical command against theft. I encourage individuals, families, churches, civic groups, and other private organizations, to fulfill their personal responsibility to help those in need.