A controversial welfare issue is whether there should be unconditional giving or instead if giving should include reciprocity of some sort. The issue is prevalent in charitable organizations too.
Robert L. Woodson, Sr. has spent most of his life fighting the war on poverty concentrating on trailblazing strategies from firsthand experience. His Woodson Center has instituted more than 2,500 grassroots community-based programs. His book, Lessons From The Least of These, is filled with compassion and a history of giving, mentoring, success and failure. In the book, he proposes a set of principles when working with the poor. I was struck by the word “reciprocity” which he uses in his principle #8. That is not a word usually associated with charity or government programs – instead, they practice unconditional giving. Here is the full principle #8:
“No one should have to surrender his or her dignity as a condition for receiving help. Unconditional giving leads to pity rather than the desire to succeed. People should be agents of their own uplift. Never do more for them than they are willing to do for themselves. There must be reciprocity as the framework of any meaningful relationship. In other words, the person should be given the opportunity to give in return for what is received.”
In my book Poverty in the U.S., I use the term “something for something.” Here is how I describe it in the book:
- Perhaps the biggest problem of our current welfare programs is that they do not require something for something. If we made one change to welfare that would be it. It could include contributing time to any community needs such as volunteer work in day-care centers, schools, nursing homes or charities. It could be modeled after community service that many courts use today.
- The something gained doesn’t have to be of equal worth to the benefits given, but it has to be something. It can start small and build over time. If a person is working full time, that would be factored into the obligation. If a person is enrolled in a training program or obtaining a degree, that also would be factored in. The goal is to involve the poor within the community. We have many needs in our communities, such as cheaper childcare. Having those on welfare help our communities can accomplish many things, such as:
- Communities get help where they need it.
- We tell the poor they are important and matter to the community.
- We develop life skills.
- We stop cheaters.
- We combat idleness.
As Mr. Woodson says “people must be agents of their own uplift.” Yes. If there is no buy-in from the recipient of aid to improve their neighborhoods and their lives, then no progress will be made. That is the problem with unconditional giving – it leaves improvement unaddressed. Mr. Woodson is right, reciprocity forces that attention and adds back pride.
Here is how reciprocity in welfare can be used to help the poor help themselves.