The morality of welfare systems, or the morality of making laws to help American citizens in poverty, is a subject that (like a myriad of questions ethics) is, to say the least, hotly debated. For example, some opponents of welfare institutions argue that such programs “increase the reward or reduce the penalties” of poverty; thereby ostensibly making a poor state attractive even to people who might initially have been motivated to earn a living through conventional means. In other words, social programs (according to their opponents) encourage otherwise productive individuals to embrace laziness, because basic human needs would be met by such institutions, thereby eliminating the need to work. Opponents of welfare plans have also been known to claim that an "unfair burden is placed on workers who must pay for the system." Considering the opposing views above, it would then make sense that proponents of welfare programs could argue that it is the moral responsibility of working citizens to provide assistance and funding for programs such as aid to families with dependent children, the food stamp program. program, or similar. This assumption is confirmed by examining the idea that when basic human needs such as "food, shelter, and medical care" are not met, the individual is consequently unable to maintain any level of social freedom. Considering the above information, it can be safely inferred that modern proponents of welfare organizations are under the impression that such programs provide the poor masses with the means to achieve the much-needed level of general well-being to find a job in the first place. Perhaps Congress was leaning towards middle of paper......y monetary support for the elderly and disabled through taxes paid. Works CitedErkulwater, Jennifer L. Disability Rights and the American Social Safety Net. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Social policy: essential primary sources. Eds. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006, 356-358. Oliveira, Victor, Elizabeth Racine, Jennifer Olmsted and Linda Ghelfi. “The WIC Program: Background, Trends, and Issues.” USDA Economic Research Service, 2009. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR73/ERR73c.pdf (accessed November 10, 2011). Westfall, Joseph. “Community Well-Being: Government Subsidies Pit the Right to Liberty Against the Right to a Minimum Level of Well-Being,” Issues in Ethics 8, no. 3 (Summer 1997): 21-22, 24.