Reform our social service system (Entitlements etc.)

I believe that the current entitlement system (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, food stamps etc.) needs to be reformed. I am not suggesting that society not help those in need. I am simply suggesting that our current system is inefficient, expensive, harmful to individual human progress, and undermines our system of limited government.

Definitions: Human services, social services, social program, and entitlements are nearly interchangeable in meaning. The Department of Health and Welfare administers these programs.

The numbers:
• the human service portion of the federal budget is 63 percent of the total federal budget
• at the state level, education and Health and Welfare make up 85 percent of the general fund
• at the local level almost 50 percent of all costs are social service costs
• China sends 5 percent of its GDP on Social Services while the USA spend 13 percent of its GDP

The budget problems facing America are largely because of the costs of delivering social programs.

Why have these costs increased? The answer is simple. Government social services are funded through taxation. These social programs tend to increase the number of people that need them by encouraging poor decision making. Social programs also encourage individual consumption while discouraging people to produce and work. The reason is simple. If a person on food stamps earns too much money, they no longer qualify. There is a real incentive not to work and as the number of people not working increases, the burden on the productive increases.

Also, those that do produce are punished through high taxation to fund social programs. If there were no social programs in place and all charitable giving was voluntary, then taxes could be reduce by at least 50 percent and maybe as high as a 70 percent reduction in tax levels.

It is not realistic to simply eliminate all social programs; however, they can be reformed, altered, and improved while reducing costs. These are the steps that I think we should consider:
1. Start transferring social programs from the federal government to the states. This would allow states to control costs and improve services. A place to start would be with the Medicaid program. This simple act would reduce costs by 30 percent without reducing services.
2. Eventually return all social programs to the state over a several year period.
3. Allow those that pay into Social Security to have an option of maintaining the current system or controlling their own retirement account as is done in Chile.
4. While social programs are being returned to the states, reform them from a materialistic system that helps people with material needs to a system that helps individuals become self-sufficient. Instead of giving a fish, let’s help people learn how to fish.
5. The value of the family needs to be rediscovered. The family is the most efficient social service delivery system ever invented. Parents provide social services at no cost to other taxpayers. This year the Idaho Legislature passed a bill that directed the Department of Health and Welfare to place children taken into protective custody first with extended family members, second with an adult that has a significant relationship with the child, and third in the state foster care system. This concept will increase success rates and reduce costs. Other such common sense ideas can be found if we look for them