In the United States welfare system or social programs are a broad collection of many programs with corresponding mandates and complicated, and poorly managed rules about eligibility, benefit level and subject to fraud and abuse. The most appealing way to reduce the welfare misuse, and exploitation, while increasing the productivity of the programs, government should not loosen the restrictions on the welfare but furthermore strict it in more effective strategy, for the purpose of weeding out those who abuse Social programs, particularly the cash assistance, food stamps, housing assistance and Medicaid.
Welfare is defined as a process or social effort intended to promote the basic physical and material well being of people in need. (Webster) Welfare or social programs in the United States is way that the federal or the local government provides supports for those who are less fortunate in every society or communities. The Social program in the USA has wide-ranging parts and includes several forms of public assistance. To name a few of this programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and food and nutrition programs (SNAP), Medical Assistance Welfare Benefits, Welfare Benefits for People with Disabilities. The history of welfare in the U.S. began in the early days, but it become more operational when Great Depression hit, many families suffered the economic collapse although the great depression affected everyone different, those who are effected the most are the working class and those who couldn’t support them self. The government stepped in to solve the problem and great majority of the population seek help from the government for any sources of assistance. The federal government created many programs to ...
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...ty net and those who misusing of the system. By loosen restrictions on welfare benefits will make system unsuccessful, also it will increase the caseload of the recipients, and it will create dependency.
Reference
Longley, Robert. "Welfare Reform in the United States." About.com US Government Info. N.p., 01 Dec. 2010. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. .
Marshall, Jennifer, and Robert Rector. "Welfare Reform: What Needs to Be Done." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. .
Sawhill, Isabel. "Welfare Reform: An Analysis of the Issues." Welfare Reform: An Analysis of the Issues. URBAN INSTITUTE, 01 May 1995. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. .
In the summer of 1996, Congress finally passed and the President signed the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996", transforming the nation's welfare system. The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act sets the stage for ongoing reconstruction of welfare systems on a state-by-state basis. The combined programs will increase from nearly $100 billion this year to $130 billion per year in 6 years. Programs included are for food stamps, SSI, child nutrition, foster care, the bloss grant program for child- care, and the new block grant to take the place of AFDC. All of those programs will seek $700 billion over the next 6 years, from the taxpayers of America. This program in its reformed mode will cost $55 billion less than it was assumed to cost if there were no changes and the entitlements were left alone. The current welfare system has failed the very families it was intended to serve. If the present welfare system was working so well we would not be here today.
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.
Jeff Grogger, Lynn A. Karoly, Jeff Grogger. Welfare Reform: Effects of a Decade of Change. New York: Harvard University Press, 2005.
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
The unsustainable growth of welfare is becoming a big issue in the United States. The government is spending money it does not have to support people it cannot afford. Welfare only adds more debt to our country. Welfare could be a wonderful aid if people used it with justice, but welfare only creates lazy dependent people. Welfare should only be a resource someone can turn to when you are out of all your options, and are in desperate need of help. In this day and age it has turned into a way of life for some people. Too many Americans would rather turn to government assistance than to get back on their feet themselves. Welfare is being taken advantage of.
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.
Cottle, Michelle. “Reforming Welfare Reform.” Washington Monthly 28.11 (1996): 9. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
O’Campo, Patricia “Welfare Reform and Women’s Health: Review of the Literature and Implications for State Policy.” Journal of Public Health Policy. Vol. 19.No. 4 JSTOR (1998), 420-46.
Welfare has been a safety net for many Americans, when the alternative for them is going without food and shelter. Over the years, the government has provided income for the unemployed, food assistance for the hungry, and health care for the poor. The federal government in the nineteenth century started to provide minimal benefits for the poor. During the twentieth century the United States federal government established a more substantial welfare system to help Americans when they most needed it. In 1996, welfare reform occurred under President Bill Clinton and it significantly changed the structure of welfare. Social Security has gone through significant change from FDR’s signing of the program into law to President George W. Bush’s proposal of privatized accounts.
...rs in the system, there will never be any hope for those on welfare to get off. The welfare program has turned into a vicious circle that traps the recipient, namely single mothers, into a cycle of poverty. But before we can change anything politically or economically about the welfare system, we must first re-evaluate our beliefs and prejudices against those who did not ask to be put in this situation is the first place.
Being raised in a single-parent lower class home, I realize first-hand the need for welfare and government assistance programs. I also realize that the system is very complex and can become a crutch to people who become dependent and complacent. As a liberal American I do believe that the government should provide services to the less fortunate and resources to find work. However, as able-bodied citizens we should not become complacent with collecting benefits and it is the government’s job to identify people who take advantage of the system and strip benefits from people who are not making efforts to support themselves independently. I will identify errors that exist within the welfare system and several policy recommendations to implement a change that will counteract the negative conditions that currently exist.
Murray, Sara. “Numbers On Welfare See Sharp Increase.” The Wall Street Journal. 22 Jun. 2009. 20 May. 2012.
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 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.
The welfare system in the United States has had many problems arise in recent years and there has been nothing done to try and fix these issues. Welfare is supposed to be a financial boost for people who are struggling to survive by themselves. However, there are many people trying to take advantage of the system and use the money provided by the government for certain items that are not necessary to live. The other major problem is with the inefficient government that is so divided ideologically that nothing has been done to repair the system because both parties believe that their ideas are more effective than the others. In order to resolve the ongoing dispute of the welfare system, changes to the process of screening recipients and how the government conducts changes to the system have to be made.