6. Evaluate the social welfare system in the U.S. In doing so, be sure to discuss the types of programs and principal characteristics of each. What is your overall assessment of the American social welfare system, whether in itself or in comparison with other countries.
The United States government is considered to be a social welfare state. As discussed in class and mentioned in our notes a social welfare state is, “a society with a set of government programs that ensures a minimum standard of living for families and protects individuals from loss of income”. The United States in turn has several programs in its social welfare system. One of them is Medicare, which has seen a huge growth in recent years, and is funded by payroll taxes. Medicare
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This might be why the United States ranks as one of the lowest when compared to other countries welfare system, as it has the smallest system, but the largest number of complaints. It is also significantly tilted towards the elderly and away from the youth, which is very different from other countries, especially Scandinavian ones as discussed in class. It is seen to be less redistributive and there is also no universal health care system.
7. Discuss the history and structure of the United States as a superpower.
For quite some time the United States of America, has been considered to be the lone superpower, however it was not always this way. This can be seen during the time period of 1945-1989, known by most as the Cold War era, in which there were ideological tensions between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Soviet Union or U.S.S.R.. It was at this moment in history in which the United States faced its lone competitor the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in terms of world power. During this time the United States took on an economic policy that allowed them to dominate the world
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This is based off of several factors, including economic power. As since the mid-1990s, the United States of America has had the largest economy in the world, which has performed better and more consistently than others. This in turn has led to the globalization of American companies. Military power is also another important factor, as the United States of America is considered to have the most powerful armed forces in the world. The recent openness, cultural dominance, and the new information age have all led to the United States of America becoming even stronger. The nuclear capability of the United States also makes it the lone superpower as well. While the United States of America is currently known as the lone superpower, it may not be this way for long. As recently there has been a strong amount and degree of anti-Americanism in the world. This can be seen especially in terrorist attacks such as that of 9-11. This is due to an increase of resentment regarding United States unilateralism and what many perceive to be arrogance as well. Another idea ( that helps support the claim of arrogance), is that less developed countries are jealous of the United States of America’s wealth and
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.
The United States today, both militarily and economically, is the strongest force in the world. In order to get to that point, however, the United States had to pull of the miracle upset in its infancy stages against the reigning super power of the time in what would become to be known as the American Revolution. This was not an actual revolution for there was not a political overhaul with an exception to who now collected the taxes. This instead was a rebellion against the British by people who largely considered them selves to be British. The new American government was even modeled after the British government. In fact, many Americans did not want war but instead just wanted to have the same rights as a British man. They felt like their
The United States has had a changing view on the management of foreign policy from neutrality to a defender of democracy. It is characterized by the Monroe Doctrine during the 20th century that states no American interference in European affairs unless the democracy of the western hemisphere were to be threatened. This ideology was later abandoned with the entering of the U.S. in WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam War. The immigrants of this nation were the backbone of the working class that enabled for the U.S. to prosper economically in an open trade. As an established super power the United States has had a series of world relationships that began in 1877 to the progression of today that established the fundamental values of American exceptionalism.
After the Second World War, America came out of the war with the responsibility of being the “superpower” of the world. In the past America would never get involved in foreign affairs however after World War Two things had changed. Since America was considered the most powerful natio...
The United States is the Super Power in today’s world and two reasons for that are the outcome of World War II and how the President at the time, Franklin Delano Roosevelt handled conflicts at home as well as overseas. America was going through a very difficult time dealing with the Great Depression and the problem of Germany starting conflicts in Europe where nothing was being done about it. World War II was something America stayed out of for about three years, but when we finally did get involved the “scales” were now tipped in the favor of the Allies due to the American involvement. Also, as shown in World War I when the United States gets involved with conflicts dealing with issues overseas we are very successful and are adamant on becoming victorious. Much like the conflict America is dealing with today in Iraq, although many people do not agree with the war and the grounds for the war I think that our government is doing the right thing. People need to realize that our government would not do anything to hurt the nation or its people because that is just a reflection of the government and the people who run it. They want to be perceived as the super power of the world and would not do anything to hurt that image. Much like Roosevelt helped the United States to appear the Super Power, President Bush is also doing his part by continuing the war on terror and not ending it until he feels we have conquered the men behind the 9/11 attacks.
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
Medicare is a social policy many of our seniors look to for their stability when they reach 65
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.
Social welfare is the use of material and physical aid by the government for its citizens in need. It comes in the form of unemployment compensation, food stamps, retirement benefits, and various social services ranging from drug rehabilitation to child care assistance. Also, before there was public welfare provided by the government, there was private welfare issued by private organizations, like churches and groups of individuals wanting to help the less fortunate. Some of those institutions still live on today, and provide people with food, shelter and clothing. Those places are where the ideas of public welfare started, and soon worked their way up to the people that could make those decisions. Unemployment compensation is given when an individual is unemployed, and cannot pay for the necessities. That payment is intended to be used to buy clothes, food, pay bills, ect. Other types of welfare that are commonly used are retirement benefits. Retirement benefits are given out to individuals who have reached the age of 65, and have accumulated money in taxes over their lifetime. Different benefits for the retirees in include
Social Security along with Medicare, are benefit taxes that are equally paid by the employer and the employee in the form of a payroll tax. This tax constitutes the largest portion of the federally mandated benefits with its purpose being to “help provide financial support to workers and their families when workers retire, die, or become disabled. Medicare provides healthcare assistance to older workers and to people with long-term disabilities … often referred to as FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) or OASDI (old age, survivors, and disability insurance) for Social Security deductions and as MHI (Medicare hospital insurance)” (BLS.org, 2005). In other words, Social Security and Medicare provides for the needs of both individuals and their families. This program protects aging individuals and the disabled from expenses that they cannot afford and that may drain their savings. Social Security is an insurance system administered by the federal government and as stated before, it is mandatory for both employees and emp...
The United State of America is the world superpower. It is the country with the biggest muscle in the military strength. It is also among the eight richest countries in the world commonly known as (G-8). Its president has considered the president of the world and the presidency is very powerful. As powerful as it is, the decision made from the biggest office in that land, White House is not even opposed by the United Nations. Simply America is final in making decision in the world. A good example is the decision to invade Iraq, the United Nation's leadership was against, but America went ahead to invade Iraq. Since the end of the World War II, America acquired the supremacy of the world and because it was not affected by the war
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it." This is one of Mitt Romneys famous quotes. The scary part about this quote is that he is right. About half of our country is dependent upon government assistance, and some are passing this way of life on to their many children. This is the main problem, if the future generations begin to think this is a good way of life our government will crash, again. Government assistance is a problem due to the fact that; there is no incentive to work, people get handed money with no enforced restrictions, and there is no constant supervision for people, “needing” this assistance.
The time following the Second World War turned out to be a crucial time for the development of national welfare states. European countries took different approaches to support their people. Some countries like the United Kingdom built a completely new welfare system while others like Germany and Austria decided to keep existing social welfare systems (Kaelble 264). Ultimately different plans and ideas regarding welfare led to divisions between countries that still exist. Different countries have different values regarding the necessary level of contribution one must put in to receive welfare benefits. Additionally, countries disagree on how generous benefits should be. All of these competing philosophies and visions have led to the creation
When we as in the individuals think about what a Superpower is, we usually think that it’s pretty much dominance. But actually the answer isn’t wrong at all. A superpower is a state that achieves generally unopposed dominance and can exert international influence at will. There are no set rules that make a state a superpower, but there are some common characteristics that most agree are necessary to earn the difference. It’s quite a few countries that we contemplate superpowers. The superpowers countries in the world are most effective in doing some political or either economic decisions. There are a number of factors that you must contribute to become a superpower including military resources, political influence, economic power and human resources. Military power is the most valued consideration that helps in becoming a country superpower. France for instance, its economy is ranked as the ninth largest in the world and fourth largest in the Europe by purchasing power. Its military budget is ranked at number six in the world and its military is 29th largest in the world. France is also one the seven nuclear powers of the world. It is a large maker of the agricultural products and is the third largest biggest exporter in the world. Another country is Germany It is a global leader in different technological and industrial sectors and is the second largest exporter of goods including electronics and textiles. It has highest military expenditures and is ranked at number nine in this category of superpowers. Germany has a great power and is very important in global and regional affairs. It is also an affiliate with United Nations, EU, and NATO. Japan however is another country that’s considered a superpower even though it’s ranked at...
With the end of the Cold War emerged two superpowers: The United States and the Soviet Union. The international system then was considered bipolar, a system where power is distributed in which two states have the majority of military, economic, and cultural influence both internationally and regionally. In this case, spheres of influence developed, meaning Western and democratic states fell under the influence of U.S. while most communist states were under the influence of the Soviet Union. Today, the international system is no longer bipolar, since only one superpower can exist, and indisputably that nation is the United States. However China is encroaching on this title with their rapid growth educationally, economically, and militaristically.