Public assistance is a broad term for the many programs that are meant to help lift people out of poverty and hard times, yet some people abuse these programs and find ways to stay on public assistance for the long run. The solution to all the problems they cause is not hard to find. Welfare should be temporary.
One of America's biggest misconceptions about public assistance is that of people on welfare. Rita Jensen, an investigative journalist in New York city and a former welfare recipient states that, "[W]hen one says 'Welfare mother' the listener hears 'black welfare mother.' This is a skewed perception that leads to an ongoing underlying racial motive against the welfare program. In general, when speaking about welfare most Americans believe it refers to mostly poor black people. However, in reality the largest percentage of welfare recipients are white women (Jensen).
Another big misconception about public assistance is welfare fraud. It is believed that so many people are cheating the system, but how is this possible when applying for public assistance requires everything to be documented? The public assistance agencies are usually very thorough in their documentation and require proof of utility costs, child care costs, and how many children are in the household (Jensen).
The agencies do their best to find the facts, yet some welfare mothers still cheat the system. The question is, do they have a choice? Katherine Newman, a professor of social policy at Harvard, states "Women on welfare cannot possibly pay the rent, the food bill, utilities and other basic necessities (let alone any luxuries) on the stipend provided by [welfare]. They have to find additional resources, and most of them do: They work off the b...
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Works Cited
Clinton,Bill. "Welfare Should Be Reformed." Welfare. Eds.Charles P. Cozic and Paul A. Winters. Greenhaven Press, 1997. Opposing Viewpoints. Galenet. Walter State Library. 15 October 2003 http://galenet.galegroup.com/ servlet/OVRC.
Jensen,Rita. "Welfare Is a Necessity for Some Women." Welfare. Eds.Charles P. Cozic and Paul A. Winters. Greenhaven Press, 1997. Opposing Viewpoints. Galenet. Walter State Library. 15 October 2003 http://galenet.galegroup.com/ servlet/OVRC.
Newman,Katherine. "The Problem of the `Working Poor' is Being Ignored." Povrty. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. Greenhaven Press,1999. Opposing Viewpoints. Galenet. Walter State Library. 15 Oct 2003 http://galenet.galegroup.com/ servlet/OVRC.
When speaking about Welfare we try to avoid it, turning welfare into an unacceptable word. In the Article “One Nation On Welfare. Living Your Life On The Dole” by Michael Grunwald, his point is to not just only show but prove to the readers that the word Welfare is not unacceptable or to avoid it but embrace it and take advantage of it. After reading this essay Americans will see the true way of effectively understanding the word welfare, by absorbing his personal experiences, Facts and Statistics, and the repetition Grunwald conveys.
Federman, M. et al. What Does it Mean to be Poor in America? 1996 (2009). Pp. 296-310
Issitt, Micah, L. Flynn. "Welfare: An Overview." Points Of View: Welfare (2013): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
Swan, Richelle S., et al. "The Untold Story of Welfare Fraud." Journal of Sociology & Social
Zuberi, Dan. Differences that Matter: Social Policy and the Working Poor in the United. New York: Cornell University Press, 2006.
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
Day P. J., Schiele J. H. (2013) A NEW HISTORY OF SOCIAL WELFARE (7th ed.) Location: United States
It is a commonly known fact that a large percentage of Americans are living on and relying on welfare, which is a government program that provides financial aid to individuals or groups of people who cannot support themselves. Welfare began in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. There are several types of assistance offered by the government, which include healthcare, food stamps, child care assistance, unemployment, cash aid, and housing assistance. The type of welfare and amounts given depend on the individual, and how many children they have. There are many people who honestly need the government assistance, but there are also many who abuse the privilege.
Welfare programs are an important part of American society. Without any type of American welfare, people will starve, children will not receive the proper education, and people will not receive any medical help simply because they do not have the resources available to them. Each of the three aspects of the American welfare system are unique in their own ways because they are funded differently and the benefits are given to different people. While support for these welfare systems has declined in the more recent years, the support for it when it was created was strong.
Welfare Recipients-False Positives, False Negatives, Unanticipated Opportunities. Women’s Health Issues, Vol. 12(1), pp. 23-31, Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1049-3867(01)00139-6
Cottle, Michelle. “Reforming Welfare Reform.” Washington Monthly 28.11 (1996): 9. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
In the book politics of power, Katznelson supports how welfare has shifted in the 1960’s where more families needed income assistance it grew about 10% per year. Welfare changed because more women and African Americans were in need of public assistance. This is what strained the US Welfare state because of job discrimination towards women and the restrain against black mobility. Women are having illeg...
Since the Welfare reform law was introduced in 1996 it has impacted American society greatly. The new welfare policy, named the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), replaced the Aid to Family and Dependent Children (AFDC) program; they have five known differences that only affect the ones who need the assistance. Critics argue that the TANF has negatively impacted the society while some argue that it has not. Linda Burnham, author of “Welfare Reform, Family Hardship & Woman of Color,” asserts that “welfare reform has increased the hardship faced by many women leaving welfare for work and their movement into low-wage jobs, exposes them to higher level of housing insecurities, homelessness, food insecurity, and hunger.” She also argues that women of color “are especially vulnerable to the negative impact of welfare reform” (38).
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
Welfare is intended for families or individuals that are in need of assistance with no or little income. For those who do not know, Welfare funds come from hard working individuals that are required to pay taxes. Now we wonder, are the tax payers’ hard earned money going to the right deserving recipients? Welfare fraud is on the rise in this country. Many are taking advantage of the system taking away the help that is meant for people that truly needed help to provide for their families or people that need assistance until they can stand on their own feet. Statistics clearly show that “785,000 to 1.2 million families are illegally receiving welfare benefits. At the average rate of $11,500 per year, this means taxpayers are being scammed out of roughly $9 to $13.5 billion dollars every year” (User, par. 4) that is $13.5 Billion dollars of the tax payers hard earned money that is going to the wrong people that do not deserve it. What are the types of Welfare fraud that are being committed in the United States that our government needs to pay close attention to? To start, hopeful recipients will intentionally give false information about their household income to qualify. Some will sell their food stamps also known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP). Also, illegal and misuse of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is one of the problems our Welfare System is facing today. All three are considered illegal and these type of activities need to be stopped immediately. People that are in need should be given the assistance they desperately ask for. The System should re-assure tax payers that their hard earned money is going to the right recipients and is not going into the wrong hands.