Public assistance is a broad term for the many programs that are meant to help lift people out of poverty and hard times, yet some people abuse these programs and find ways to stay on public assistance for the long run. The solution to all the problems they cause is not hard to find. Welfare should be temporary.

One of America's biggest misconceptions about public assistance is that of people on welfare. Rita Jensen, an investigative journalist in New York city and a former welfare recipient states that, "[W]hen one says 'Welfare mother' the listener hears 'black welfare mother.' This is a skewed perception that leads to an ongoing underlying racial motive against the welfare program. In general, when speaking about welfare most Americans believe it refers to mostly poor black people. However, in reality the largest percentage of welfare recipients are white women (Jensen).

Another...