Are We Changing For The Worse?

President Barack Obama's stimulus package has been in the news all week, and gradually parts of the package are surfacing that are causing alarm amongst the regular folk. The New York Post is reporting that as part of the stimulus package the Welfare Act of 1996 would be amended:

The very heart of the widely applauded Welfare Reform Act of 1996 is a cap on the amount of federal cash that can be sent to states each year for welfare payments.
But, thanks to the simple phrase slipped into the legislation, the new "stimulus" bill abolishes the limits on the amount of federal money for the so-called Emergency Fund, which ships welfare cash to states.
"Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated such sums as are necessary for payment to the Emergency Fund," Democrats wrote in Section 2101 on Page 354 of the $819 billion bill. In other words, the only limit on welfare payments would be the Treasury itself.
"This re-establishes the welfare state and creates dependency all over the place," said one startled budget analyst after reading the line.

Hopefully our new President isn't giving away the entire store in this stimulus package. Although some form of welfare is necessary, a return to an open checkbook doesn't sound like it would be good incentive to get people off their butts and willing to work.