[LittleRedToyota]

i think nineseven hit the nail on the head.

but, the question is...what do you do about it?

the only answer that actually has much of a chance to work is: take the kids out of the environment--break the cycle. in other words...take them from their parents. and that just ain't gonna happen.

so, how else can we at least try to break the cycle?

step 1: stop paying people to have kids. no more additional welfare because you have another kid. now, i agree we cannot just abandon the kids, so...instead of giving the "parent" (to use the term loosely) money for the kids, give the kids what they need directly.

"here is where you can bring your kid and he/she can have a free well-balanced, nutritional meal. you can bring the kid there 3 times a day if needed."

"here is where you can bring your kid for free health care"

"here is where you can send your kid to play basketball all night instead of hanging out on the street getting into trouble."

etc.

but no more cash to the "parent".

step 2: turn all welfare into workfare. "we are not going to *give* you another penny. but, you can show up here, and we will have some work for you to do to *earn* some money. the city will get its potholes fixed, garbage cleaned up, abandon lots cleaned up, etc. and you will develop some self-respect that comes from earning your own way."

step 3: simultaneously, the effected communities need to change their value systems from within. the leaders of these communities need to teach their followers that they need to help themselves...and that providing for their own financial security should be at the top of their priority list as it enables everything else in life.

here is a great example of how this is not happening here in pittsburgh at least:

over the last few years, there have been a lot of murals painted on the sides of buildings by local artists...legally, with the city's approval and, i would even guess, possibly some public funding (which means the messages in the murals are being approved by city/community leaders).

it's cool...it makes the city look nicer and discourages graffitti.

looking at the mural that are painted in the economically depressed neighborhoods in the city is very telling, though.

they portray young women as brides and/or pregnant and/or with a bunch of little kids following them around. this is completely the wrong message to be sending to high school aged women in these communities. these women should be being encouraged to do well in school, go to college, and establish a career before starting families. the murals should show young women walking around college campuses with textbooks in their hands...they should show women in business suits or in a professional setting...not pregnant and getting married at age 19.

now, the murals don't cause the problems, of course...but they do reflect the attitudes of many of the people in those neighborhoods. they see woman as nothing more than baby making machines, and a woman's "value" corresponds to how many kids she has. this has to change.

likewise, these murals portray young men with fists clenched and screaming out demanding "change" from someone else. again, this is entirely the wrong message to send to young men in these communities. they certainly should be encouraged to stand up for themselves and fight for their rights, but they should not be taught to expect someone else to change things for them...rather, they should be being taught to do it for themselves. again, murals with young men walking aound a college campus carrying text books, young men in professional settings, etc. would be a good start

obviously, there is much, much more to it than murals...the murals are just windows, but they are telling. there needs to be a fundamental shift in the attitude of many people in these communities away from one of dependency. and, frankly, it is up to the leaders in those communities to make it happen. leaders in these communities need to start attaching a stigma to being on government assistance. needing someone else to help pay your way means you are failing in life. it doesn't mean you cannot pick yourself up and start succeeding in life, but it does mean that you are currently failing at life. and, as long as you continue to be on government assistance, you are continuing to fail at life and should be ashamed of it. and, that shame should motivate you to do something about it.

the leaders in these communities need to start instilling that outlook on life. outsiders cannot do it for them. however, outsiders can help by stopping just giving people stuff. they need to earn it. we should provide avenues to enable that, but no handouts.