Conditional Welfare

Welfare has been probably one of the most destructive government programs in the Western world. To take the example of the United States, welfare programs from the 1960s have been most responsible for the breakdown of so many families. Welfare without strings attached destroyed the incentive to work and created a entitlement culture that is still present in the nations.

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When welfare was first enacted in the 1800s in America, its destructive consequences then were so evident that it was repealed and didn't establish itself in America until the 1930s and the 1960s. It took another generation of enlightened Americans to see that by handing out money one doesn't build self-reliance and productivity amongst the poor, but, rather, malaise. That second realization brought the second end to widespread American welfare.

That being said, certain types of conditional-based welfare can actually do much good in society. This article in The Economist highlights what is called conditional cash transfer (CCT) welfare. Instead of just handing out money to the indigent, CCT programs hand out money to families only on condition that they enroll their children in school and register them for medical checks.

Just a program was first established in Mexico and has now spread to almost every Latin American countries - with Brazil's CCT program aiding 11 million families - and to many other nations around the globe including Turkey and Indonesia.

Although such conditions do not mean that children receive a quality education - since CCTs cannot mandate good teachers - or even that children are properly vaccinated, but it does put a new generation in a better position to reach prosperity than just handing out cash.