I have a dear friend who believes the Federal government, or any government for that matter, is the real problem and should be dismantled entirely. I have other friends who believe that Billionaires and the ultra wealthy are the problem, and most of their money should be taken from them and redistributed. Still others think that the poor and homeless themselves are the problem, and they just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and stop waiting for handouts.
The problem isn't any of these. The problem is our common human malfunction, and yes, it is a malfunction or dysfunction peculiar to the human brain. It causes us to overreact to things that please or displease us and treat them as survival necessities or threats to one degree or another. It is the cause of murders, thefts, frauds, rapes, and so on. As much as we want to believe the problem isn't inherent to each and everyone one of us, it is the very reason why laws and rules exist. As Paul wrote to Timothy, "the law isn't put there for a human being who is operating the way he's supposed to, but for the lawless and those refusing to comply." Laws and rules are meant to constrain harmful, selfish, and destructive behavior so that the person doesn't cause harm to themselves or the rest of their community either through overt action or through neglect. They are only effective however if they are enforced by the rest of the community, because, after all, they are only words on paper or stone unless people choose to obey and enforce them.
Government exists in order to enforce the agreed upon laws and protect the community as a whole. The only reason government exists is because of our common, inherited human dysfunction. Were we all of us operating as we were supposed to, in submission to and cooperation with the Spirit of Christ, there would be no need for laws or rules, and thus no need for government. But as it stands, we are not all doing so. It is fair to say that the vast majority of the eight billion people on the planet operate from their own perception of survival threats and necessities, and either attempt to self-regulate these based on a personal or communal moral code they agree with, or are regulated by the governmental structures and laws put in place by their communities.
The idea of the poor just pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, going and getting a job to solve their problems, etc. is a complicated one at best. Lack of education, lack of opprtunities, mental illness, family stresses or issues, racism, and other factors make it far more complicated than many believe it is. Many of those now who qualify as under the poverty line do in fact have jobs, some two or three. When the cost of living however is far above your paychecks, just having a job doesn't lift anyone out of poverty. Things like social services, food stamps, and medical assistance become survival lifelines without which everything collapses. When the poverty line is $60,000 a year, your $45,000 salary only goes so far. $24,000 salaries fall much farther short.
Some folks don't believe laws like those which render assistance to the poor should exist. Instead, at best, they believe those services should be provided by non-governmental non-profits. In an ideal world, that might be true. But the reality is that such non-profits would become overwhelmed immediately, as they likely are right now with SNAP benefits going unpaid. The truth is that while there are many wealthy people who donate large sums of money to such organizations, the majority do not. It is the instinct of the human malfunction to hoard those things it sees as beneficial to itself and attempt to destroy those things it sees as a threat. This plays out frequently among the wealthy. This is why the laws surrounding food and medical assistance for the poor exist, because the human instinct to hoard is often greater than the human instinct for compassion.
The existence of Government may not be the ideal, but it is a necessary evil until we are all relieved of our common human dysfunction and operate the way we're supposed to. We may not like the government forcing us to pay for assistance to those under the poverty line with our taxes, but they only do it because we won't otherwise.
