A strange thing about Welfare

 Something for Nothing

The MAGA crowd likes to complain about poor people getting something for nothing. They call it welfare and act as though receiving an unearned benefit is a moral failure.

But consider the son of a wealthy father who inherits millions of dollars. He did not earn that money. He did not work for it. He received it because he was lucky enough to be born into the right family.

How is that morally different from a struggling family receiving food assistance? In both cases, someone receives something he or she did not personally earn. The difference is that one recipient is rich and the other is poor.

We do not call an inheritance welfare because society respects wealth. We call food assistance welfare because it is easy to look down on people who need help.

The poor person may need assistance to feed children, recover from an illness or survive after losing a job. The rich heir may use his inheritance to buy a yacht or another mansion. Yet MAGA politicians condemn the first person while demanding tax breaks for the second.

If receiving something you did not earn is wrong, it should be wrong for everyone. If it is acceptable for the children of the wealthy, then we should stop shaming struggling families for accepting help.

You cannot honestly defend one and condemn the other. That is not principle. It is hypocrisy.