Most of the more divisive issues between the Republican and Democratic parties are among the array of domestic issues and most of those can fall into the definition of attempts to help people. These break into two main areas: moral and economic.
Let's begin with the economic side.
When I talk about economically helping people, I am referring to any programs which provide goods or services to people either without charge or at a greatly reduced price. All charity work is a form of economic assistance at some level. There are different types of charity both private and public where the aid is giving in specific form such as offering food, education, child care, medical treatment, etc. Other programs require some type of effort, competition or other form of merit. These details are important for helping to ensure that the funding used for the programs are used as intended, but they don't change the essence of what the program is about. It is about collecting or taking resources from one group to help another.
Generally speaking, Democrats are in favor of very large government economic assistance programs. Also generally speaking Republicans oppose them. Republicans are consequently often accused of being uncaring, greedy, and unwilling to help those in need, and these accusations are not always without merit. There is, however, another side to it.
Economic assistance programs are both a good thing to do and vital to a health economy and society. Circumstances often put people in position where they can be trapped in a cycle of failure with little or no ability to get out of that cycle and achieve success. Sometimes this is through no fault of their own, but even when they are culpable, it is important to allow people a way out. None of us want to live in a society where people can make a few poor decisions or simply be unlucky and have to suffer through a terrible or meager existence because of it. Prevent that is what these programs are about. Proving a safety net so that people can fall only so far is a good and important thing for society to do and Democrats rightly point this out and support programs to help people in this way.
On the other hand, providing assistance is not always the same as helping people. There is a danger in providing too much assistance. Providing assistance, even when it starts out as beneficial can lead to dependence. At a certain point, some people stop using assistance to help themselves improve and start using it to get by. When they happens they start growing dependent on that assistance and, eventually, unable to care for themselves. Taken to the extreme, the act of providing assistance even with the intent to help can actually cause harm. This is one of the issues which those of us who oppose many economic assistance programs are concerned about.
Does that seem unreasonable? People are motivated by different things but few of us like to change. We change only when our desire to have something different in our life overcomes the desires we've been following to that point. Few people, for example, are good about saving money until they want to buy something they cannot afford. People don't try to get a better job when they are happy with where they are, and the longer people go down a path the hard it is for them to change direction.
Consider someone who is out of work and starts begging to get by. At first, the people who are giving him money are helping him. Depending on the person and on how much money he is about to get begging, he will either use that charity to get back on his feet or he might continue begging. As he continues it will be harder and harder for him to change from a life of begging. Not only is it becoming more comfortable, but he is getting further removed from normal society and any work related skills or education he has are atrophying. At some point is his begging, the money he received has changed from helping him, to hurting him. Instead of being the thing to help get him on his feet, it has become the thing which is keeping him down.
Even when you look at less extreme circumstances. Just as we would lose many opportunities to see great people rise up if we provided no assistance, we can also lose the opportunities to see people thrive by providing to much. Motivation is a fine line to maintain sometimes. Provide too little incentive for people and they will not struggle to overcome challenges. Provide to great of challenge and they will either fail or not make the attempt. Providing economic assistance is one significant way to manage that motivation level for people and it is something which has to be in balance.
Despite the rhetoric, it is not about helping people or not helping people. It is about finding the right balance so that our attempts to help result in actually providing benefit and not harm as much as possible.
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