Why does Scrooge think workhouses are adequate?

Answer 1

At the time it was a offence to be poor. Many people who had money thought that the "workhouse" was simple institution where people went if they were homeless would give the people bed and a meal in exchange for work. That was far from the truth. Workhouses were in fact inhuman places where the people were treated like slaves, they ate poor dietary foods and were made to do labour that at best was mundane and brutal. Scrooge believed that if people didnt want to look for work (which at the time over 90% of British people were out of work and child labour was taking all the provider roles) they should be sent to the workhouse as a punishment. The statement about workhouses comes back to haunt Scrooge when he is faced by the children; Want and Ignorance who are revealed from beneath the robes of The Ghost of Christmas Present.

Answer 2

Scrooge thought workhouses were adequate because they kept the poor alive with minimum food.