Social Programs and Self-Reliance

In early 2010, I learned that Medicaid could be used as a secondary insurance. I was surprised, and to be honest had never thought of using social programs--those were to help the poor.

Well, more often than not, students fall into the 'poor' category, something I had failed to realize before that point.

So, Ryan and I looked into it, and decided that we should pursue Medicaid as a secondary insurance for February 2010--the month Adrielle was born.

In retrospect, that was an inspired decision because $25,000 day-of-birth expenses later, DMBA covered 80% and Medicaid covered the last 20%--more than $5,000. What a blessing.

I was thinking about Medicaid this week. My colleague and I participated in an Influencer training this week and the concept of perverse incentives came up. (According to Wikipedia, a perverse incentive is an incentive that has an unintended and undesirable result which is contrary to the interests of the incentive makers.)

In other words, they are unintended consequences...

So, during our discussion about perverse incentives, my colleague mentioned her 10+ years working for the Department of Workforce Services for the state of Utah. She said that often, individuals who are benefiting from social programs often refuse better jobs or raises because it would increase their income, bump them out of the social program range, and decrease their buying power. 

In other words, people stay on welfare or other social programs because of the equivalent dollar amount of services they are receiving... 

In other words, these social programs have created perverse incentives. 

Over the past few days, I have reflected on the benefits of social programs. I've thought about the difference between sustained poverty and what I've observed as "student poverty". I've thought about the need to lighten the burdens of others and do as the Savior would do. I have also thought about those who take advantage of the system and those who give back to the system. 

I looked up the purpose of the Church Welfare system: to help members to become self-reliant and to care for the poor and needy. 

I remembered the family who rented my parents house.  It started out smoothly, but then they started missing payments. They went months without paying while obviously spending money elsewhere, then one day (after legal action), they finally paid. It wasn't until my mom checked her bank account that she discovered the payment had come from the Church Welfare system. 

I thought about what it means to be honest. A few weeks ago in Relief Society I learned a completely new concept from the Gospel Principles manual on honesty: taking more than our share of anything is stealing. 

And to be completely candid (because I'm in the sharing mood), as I did my June budget this morning I became disappointed realizing that some choose to take advantage of social programs for the money, rather than using them to become self-reliant. 

The Welfare systems (both secular and religious) beg the questions of how much, how often, and when; but we as good citizens and members of the Church must realize that it is our initiative, our self-reliance, and our honesty that enable those trapped in sustained poverty to emerge from the cycle and become self-reliant.