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Part 1 historical development of welfare
Essay on history of welfare
Essay on history of welfare
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Government welfare was created to help people who were struggling get back on their feet again. People now abuse this privilege that was meant for good. People expect the government to give them food stamps, free health care, and other necessities of life. By doing this, tax dollars of the working class are taking care of people who will not work. To solve this problem, welfare should be temporary not permanent, prove you are looking for a job, have random drug screenings, and work in community service in exchange for welfare. Although government welfare can be a great resource to those in need, there needs to be restrictions and limits put on it so it will not be abused. It is believed that welfare began after the Great Depression. During …show more content…
A very good program that supports this is called the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or TANF. The primary goal of TANF is to create employment opportunities for parents of needy children, so that these families will no longer be dependent on federal assistance. TANF also helps people find work. “It promotes job opportunities through skill assessment programs, employment training programs, and assistance with job placement.” TANF not only focuses on finding jobs, it helps recipients with marriage and pregnancy issues and focuses on maintaining a secure family life. TANF has certain limits of assistance that an individual or a family can receive. The TANF requires recipients to find work as soon as possible. “If a TANF recipient has not found a job within two years of first qualifying for assistance, their benefits are terminated.” “That said, TANF recipients are eligible to receive additional assistance in the event they become unemployed again, although the maximum lifetime duration of benefits is five years per family.” (“Temporary Assistance to Needy …show more content…
Welfare was meant for good, to help individuals and families who are less fortunate than most get back on their feet so they may have a prosperous future. Our society has strayed away from these principles. Welfare has turned into a necessity for most. It is used as an easy way out and allows people to lose the initiative to work because they know the government will take care of them. If we continue to let this go on, the minority will be taking care of the majority and our great country, which was built on the principle of hard work, will economically fall. It is up to the American people if welfare destroys our country.
“States Consider Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients.” Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly 21.8 (2009): 4-6 Academic Search Premir. Web. 28 Sept. 2015
“Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.” Everyday Finance: Economics, Personal money management, and Entrepreneurship. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale 2008. 514-516. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Sept. 2015
“Welfare.” Everyday Finance: Economics, Personal money management, and Entrepreneurship. Vol. 1 Detroit; Gale, 2008. 263-265, Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 24 Sept. 2015
“Welfare Can Not End Cycle Of Poverty In U.S.” UWIRE Text 13 Nov. 2014: 1. General Onefile. Web. 25 Sept.
Welfare can be defined as “systems by which government agencies provide economic assistance, goods, and services to persons who are unable to care for themselves” (Issitt). The United States welfare system is an extremely complex and unique entity that encompasses ideas and concepts from an abundance of different places. Many people believe the current system is an excellent resource for the population, while others believe the current welfare system requires reform and budget cuts to become effective.
O?Beirne, Kate. ?The State of Welfare: An old and tricky question resurfaces.? National Review 54.2 (February 11, 2002): 1--2. Online. Information Access Expanded
One of the most prominent concerns of Evicted is the issue of inescapable financial instability as it relates to eviction. In the very first few pages of the book, Desmond reveals that the majority of poor renting families in America spend over 50% of their income on housing, with an even more astonishing one in four spending over 70% of their income on it (4). When families are spending the majority of their already meager income on housing alone, it is no surprise that they have little money left for savings or self-betterment programs such as a college education. Compounded with this is the fact that some welfare systems are constructed in a way that discourages long-term financial responsibility. For example, Supplemental Security Income, a program that provides monthly stipends for low-income elderly or disabled individuals, is revoked if individuals have too much money in their bank account (217). For
"States Consider drug testing for Welfare recipients." Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly 21.8 (2009): 4-6. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 04 Feb. 2011
, implying that because they are poor, they must be drug addicts. However, individuals that support the law, express that the plan being put in effect is to ensure that tax payer’s money isn’t being thrown away on people who only plan to abuse this assistance. Out of the fifty states, only nine have proceeded with the drug testing of candidates. The drug testing has proven to be quite expensive. Consequently, some of the states only test subjects with whom they find suspicion, or that have admitted to drug use in the past. Though the proposal of drug testing Welfare applicants appears to be a good idea to weed out spongers from getting assistance, it seems that more money may be wasted on the testing itself, which would be imprudent in proving this law worthwhile.
In today’s America, there are many people who would either be disgusted at the very mention of Welfare or be highly grateful for its existence. I believe that in order for welfare to be more effective in America, there must be reform. From the time of its inceptions in 1935, welfare has lent a helping hand to many in crisis (Constitution Rights Foundation). However, at present many programs within the system are being abused and the people who are in real need are being cheated out of assistance. The year after the creation of welfare unemployment was just about twenty percent (Unemployment Statistics). The need for basic resources to survive was unparallel. Today, many people face the same needs as many did during the 30s. Some issues with
Should Welfare Recipients Be Tested for Drugs? U.S News & World Report. 2014: Pgs 1-2.
There is an ongoing debate over whether or not welfare recipients should be drug tested to receive the benefits. Both sides of the argument have merit. Those who oppose the idea of drug testing say that it is unconstitutional and violates the Fourth Amendment. Furthermore, they claim that this law stereotypes and discriminates against those from low socioeconomic demographics, implying that because they are poor, they must be drug addicts. However, those who support the law note that its intended purpose is to ensure that taxpayer money is not being squandered on people who only plan to abuse this assistance. Only nine states so far have instituted drug testing of candidates for welfare assistance. This drug testing has proven to be prohibitively expensive in many cases. Consequently, some states only test subjects with whom they find suspicion, or who have admitted to past drug use. Though proposed drug testing of welfare applicants initially appears to be a good idea to eliminate potential abusers of the system from receiving assistance, it appears that even more money may be wasted on the testing process, which negates the savings that are the primary objective of the law.
The United States is sometimes described as a “reluctant welfare state.” I agree with this statement. Too often there are programs created by our government that, although may be lined with good intentions, end up failing in their main purpose. The government may, and hopefully does, seek to help its citizens. However, by applying unreasonable qualifying or maintenance criteria, or too many restrictions that bar people from even receiving aid at all, they end up with many more problems than solutions.
Welfare can be defined as health, happiness, and good fortune; well-being; Prosperity; and Financial or other aid provided, especially by the government, to people in need (Merriam-Webster, 2014). It can be very beneficial to people in need of it. Tim Prenzler stated that, “Welfare systems are often seen as providing a ‘safety net’ that prevents citizens falling below a minimum standard of living (2012, p2). Everyone is able to use is if they are in need of it. People have successfully used welfare to get out of their slum, and started to support themselves. Others have decided to not try to get out of that slum, and live off that welfare. They decided that they didn’t have to try, and let the government support them. Welfare is a good tool for people to get back on their feet, but shouldn’t be that persons steady income.
Issitt, Micah L., and Flynn, Dr. “Welfare: An Overview.” Points of View Reference Center. Great Neck Publishing, 2013. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. .
"States Consider Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients." Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly 21.8 (2009): 4-6. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
Welfare is purely used just to help people get back on their feet until they can find a stable job that will help them provide for themselves and their family. People never use it to just feed off of government money so they do not have to work or try to find a jobs. This is never a cop out for not getting a college education. Because of welfare, America has no need to look for other ways to help the unemployed. It is completely unreasonable to think of programs that include job training for people who did not go to college or maybe never graduated from college but still have families that they need to provide for. That could maybe be a great solution; or it could go terribly wrong because nothing could ever replace how perfectly welfare works. Welfare is also pretty much ethically perfect, right? We give money to the people who can not get it for themselves. But, what if we taught them how to make money for themselves so they could be self-sufficient? No that’s a terrible idea, job training would never
Imagine yourself living on $14,000 each year under the poverty line. One might have trouble paying for child care, medical assistance, or even feeding their own children. One might struggle in finding a stable job or have a difficult time paying for social security income. The following paper will discuss, how welfare and poverty have affected the United States, what type of people are affected in the process, and how one can help provide cash payments for needy families who are under the given poverty line.