In 1996, President Clinton signed a bill ending welfare as we know it; however, its true demise remains yet to be seen according to James Payne. In his new book, Overcoming Welfare: Expecting More From the Poor--and From Ourselves, Payne explains the problems with government operated welfare programs. The bill signed by President Clinton is not the first attempt at welfare reform. Payne argues that after more than a century of welfare reform efforts, we continue to develop and implement the same type of public assistance--hand-outs. He explains that our welfare system has resulted in a segment of our population expecting something for nothing; which, in Payne's eye, is not charitable but harmful both socially and morally. The author defines two types of assistance--a right and a wrong way to provide for the needy. The first type is sympathetic giving as exemplified by government-operated welfare programs. Sympathetic giving is providing for those who are in need without expecting anything in return. The opposite approach is expectant giving--providing for the needy, but expecting something from them as well. Payne argues in his book that the latter type is more beneficial to the recipient and that our welfare system is a disservice to those it serves. Unfortunately, sympathetic giving weakens the social disapproval of harmful behavior by appearing to endorse it. He points out that must forms of such giving are done with good intentions but creates dependence. Payne analyzes the philosophy of nineteenth-century charitable workers, or what he likes to call, "charitable theorists." They believed that personal interaction with the needy and the requirement of some action in exchange for aid was the best way to serve the poor. Requiring some form of "payment" they mainta...
