Welfare Stimulus?

(Toronto, Ontario) A news article today is cheerleading for handouts from the government as a method to stimulate Ontario's faltering economy.

Showcasing the plight of the gimme crowd is the anecdotal experience of jobless welfare mom René Adams who complains that she needs more money to buy healthy food for her daughters and to pay for swimming lessons. Adams seeks more than the $20,000+ she now receives yearly.

"More money for food and (increased) child benefits would really help," said Adams, 37, who supports her 7- and 14-year-old daughters on about $1,100 in monthly disability support payments and $626 in federal and provincial child benefits.

"It would make the difference between me choosing frozen vegetables or fresh vegetables when I go shopping," she said. "Swimming, dance, gymnastics, music lessons – these are all things my daughters do without right now and that every child deserves to have to get a good start in life."

Adams also said she wants to remove the shame of receiving welfare.

I'm skeptical. Although René Adams claims she is feeling shame, her picture and her words are prominently displayed in a pro-handout puff piece in the mainstream media. Seems contradictory to me. Typically, I don't think that a person feeling shame would permit herself to be featured in a news article.

Regarding welfare as a method to stimulate the economy, there are more effective methods. Cutting taxes would free up funds for investment which leads to growth. Welfare recipients don't usually invest the money from their government checks. Of course, if the amount of welfare continues to increase, sooner or later it will become discretionary income available for investing.