David Gauke Quotes

There was no welfare state, and people had to rely mainly on the Poor Law - that was all the state provided. It was very degrading, very humiliating. And there was a means test for receiving poor relief.

What we don't have a right to is healthcare, housing, or handouts. We don't have those rights.

I don't believe in welfare.

An indictment of entitlements has to focus on the huge 'social wealth' that the welfare state creates at the stroke of the pen. Yet statistical tests of the effects of welfare spending on employment yield erratic results.

I was once a welfare recipient and am very aware of the successes and failures of this critical safety net. There are those that would have us believe that those receiving TANF benefits are lazy, shiftless, freeloaders who are just sitting around thinking of another way to suckle from the government teat.

Welfare is killing this country.

Welfare is hated by those who administer it, mistrusted by those who pay for it and held in contempt by those who receive it.

We're moving more and more toward user fees, but the people who use social service programs obviously don't have the ability to pay for them.

Americans oppose public intervention or regulation if it helps others, but favor it if it helps them — take social security, disaster relief, public works projects, for example.

I’m really not concerned about the very poor. They have a safety net.

The states, just like the Federal government, just can’t let the poor die.

There is much in American society which I admire, but I have long held the view that the absence of an effective safety net in that country means that too many needy citizens fall by the wayside.

Government should take care of those in America who can't care for themselves. That's a role of government.

Most Americans get that there is a need for a safety net in our country, and we support that safety net.

Is our national goal to place as many people on welfare, food stamp support, as we can possibly put on that program? Is that our goal? Is that a moral vision for the United States of America, just to see how many people we can place in a situation where they're dependent on the federal government for their food?

Working class people and lower income people we have to help more.

Social Security is the greatest swindle of the poor ever.

The important thing for the government to do is to help people who cannot help themselves by providing a range of support.

The matter of social security and these grants is to help to address the levels of poverty in the country.

The United States has more people living in poverty than at almost any time in the modern history of our country. I believe that in a democratic, civilized society none of our people should be hungry or living in desperation. We need to expand Social Security, not cut it. We need to increase funding for nutrition programs, not cut them.

I wrote my thesis on welfare policy.

This administration is cutting the programs that our Nation and its citizens need most, while dissolving the safety nets created to protect the elderly and less fortunate in this wealthy Nation.

At a time of economic recession, the need for Medicaid and other safety net services is even greater. And we don't want to raise taxes on people who are having a tough time paying their bills.

Welfare makes you dependent upon someone to take care of you.

Speaking as a black person, welfare is the worst thing that's ever happened to us.