Skip to content   Viewpoints » Columnists  Dethroning the
welfare queen  Those who vilify the welfare state attempt to
preserve their own privilege.  The most potent weapon in the
conservative arsenal is the myth of the welfare queen. The
argument that American society is plagued by hordes of lazy,
greedy freeloaders hell-bent on extracting as much money, food,
and benefits from the public dole as they can, justifies a lot
of the poor-hating rhetoric regularly spewed in town halls, on
the campaign trail, and around dinner tables all over the
nation. They have no incentive to work, the logic goes. The
nanny state pays their bills, gives them healthcare, and
provides them food stamps as they irresponsibly rack up debt.
And, lest we forget, they used to sell food stamps on street
corners at a discount to buy their drugs. Good thing the
government instituted those Link cards, and is continuing its
rollback of the welfare program.  Well, the welfare queen is a
myth. It’s the cornerstone principle in a decades-old