Alyssa Eashoo
Geoff Bouvier
ENC 1102
9-25-14
Welfare is FAIR Imagine every couple yards on a street there was a new homeless person on the side of the road. That would definitely wound the United States ' pride. But luckily, we have a welfare system where we can help those in need. Whether it be through unemployment benefits, health insurance, or food stamps, the government has been there for citizens in need for almost 100 years. The government has created a safety net for any of us who find ourselves in a situation where we cannot afford health insurance, or have enough resources to even pay for food. This system will more than likely help you or loved ones get back on their feet to become the responsible, independent person(s) that we all know. Having a low to no income makes people tight on money. After paying rent for housing, they need to spend more on food. However paying for food can become very difficult for those with minimal income. With the way the price of food is going now, I honestly feel very sorry for those who with minimal income. But the government provides a way for those individuals to
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Taxpayers fail to say this because they would like everyone to think that recipients are abusing their income- creating a reason for the government to stop providing services. News reporters don 't ever mention this because they need a story to go on.. Welfare has not only saved people from turmoil, but it has turned their life around. On welfare, recipients have started to budget and are not buying items as much as those who are not on welfare are. A report shows that those who are on welfare have an easier time saving up to buy things through budgeting than those who are not on welfare. Actions such as this are then carried out with individuals after going off welfare, creating a better life for them in the
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.
Working money provides more for families than borrowed money. Money cannot continue to be distributed unfairly from productive Americans to Americans who refuse to be constructive. Americans need to concentrate on the long-term effects of welfare. People are depending on the programs available to survive. What are we teaching our future generations, to rely on someone else? According to _ over one hundred and forty million dollars were spent on SNAP/Food Stamps in February 2016 alone; however, this was only in Tennessee. Welfare recipients are taking advantage of many aid and programs that should be profiting other families or children in crisis. Growing up there were five of us in our household. I have no problem with tax dollars being used to help families in a crisis. There were three children, my dad, and step mom; however, my dad was the only source of income for our family; therefore, my dad had to pay not only his expenses, but for four other family members too. Welfare recipients must think about this on only a small spectrum of how this would affect a family
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.
As part of the Affordable Care Act, beginning this year Medicaid will expand eligibility to include all uninsured individuals under the age of 65 whose incomes fall at or below 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, or about $32,500 for a family of four. However, the 2012 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law also allowed states more flexibility concerning what parts of the ACA they can implement and said that those same states would not lose federal funding for their existing programs. This result would leave the decision to opt out of the law's provision into the hands of state legislators. While twenty-six states have chosen to expand healthcare coverage, twenty-one states have not and four have yet to make a decision. The state of Florida is among those not seeking to expand coverage and that decision alone could cost Florida millions of dollars a year in tax penalties. As conservative and liberal state lawmakers square off into a maelstrom of debate over whether Medicaid should cover more people, thousands of uninsured Floridians will be caught in the crossfire.
Food insecurity does not discriminate; it reaches many segments of society (Whitney, DeBruyne, Pinna, & Rolfes, 2007). Even through closely related to poverty, not all that have food insecurities are in poverty. Often it is the working poor that are hit the hardest. The working poor are a group that despite having a job, there income is too low to meet their need or that of their family. Most of the working poor (56%) live in families with children, so that the poverty of these workers affects many others as well (Problems Facing the Working Poor, Kim 1999). Many lower to middle class families will temporarily struggle with food insecurity at various times during the year. For these families government assistance may not immediately available. Appling for Supplemental Nutrition Assistanc...
Welfare benefits are provided by the Government to help those who are unemployed or receive a low income. These benefits are there to provide families or individuals with enough money to survive. Unfortunately sometimes surviving just is not enough. Due to lack of work, idleness, disabilities and a number of other reasons people turn to benefits. A minority of these people are classed as or class themselves as living in poverty. Poverty comes in a range of forms. It has been suggested that there are two main types of poverty relative, people who are considered 'poor' compared to those around them, however can afford the basics. Where as those in absolute poverty do not have enough money to survive. People who live in poor conditions often claim benefits resulting in them becoming trapped and reliant on the benefit system.
Homeless individuals are known for taking hand outs and they prefer to plead for money rather than to go work for it. People assume most of the the money that is given to homeless people they spend it on drugs and alcohol because of the fact that many homeless people have drug and alcohol addictions. It is not uncommon to come across homeless youth and older homeless population that are known to abuse substances like drugs and alcohol. Because of the fact that homeless people have substance abuse problems, they tend face illnesses and infections. Many hard working Americans ask themselves “why don’t homeless people just get jobs?” The assumption is they are just lazy and unmotivated. Homeless people choose to live the life they live. Everyone goes through problems but not all people take the path homeless people do. The problems homeless people face is not an excuse for them to be helped and maintained by other hard working people. Although homelessness might be a choice to some, no one knows the hardships these people have gone through. Some assume these people are just lazy but in reality a lot of these homeless people have jobs of their own, they just can’t afford housing and a decent life. Everyone has their own opinion on homeless people, but that does not change the fact that one should still serve the homeless. Not because homeless people need help but because we are
The government has the power to help reduce the risk of becoming homeless due to economic reasons. Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, points out that, in order to end homelessness, the government could make housing more affordable to lower income families “or figure out some way to supplement people 's income through vouchers or tax credits" (qtd. in Housing the Homeless). This would mean that even if a person, or an entire family, lost their main source of income, they would still have the me...
The welfare system has helped families over time sometimes for their entire lives. Welfare is a social support system that helps families. It is provided by the government. Funding for the welfare system comes from general government revenue. The welfare system was originally call the aid to dependent children and this was created in the great depression. The AFDC was created to decrease the poverty during this time in American history. Overtime the welfare system has evolved. Although welfare provides assistance to some families, some people take advantage of the system by living off of unemployment and this can cause unfair expenses for taxpayers.
While humans have for generations acknowledged the importance of children in the society, the government involvement in child affairs has been varied over the decades. In the US, the government did not play a major role in the promotion of the welfare of children and youth in the country by the end of the 19th century. This trend changed in the early years of the 20th century when the federal government started to demonstrate a major interest in child welfare. This took place in the progressive era which saw the immergence and active engagement of the child-savers movement. Owing to the efforts of such organizations, several policies and legislations were worked on by the US government from the start of the 20th century to promote child welfare in the society (McGowan, 2005). The marked shift by the government in social welfare was caused by some important economic and social issues that were taking place in the progressive era.
The programs to help the poor and homeless are few and far between. There are five general programs that assist those who are not able to provide for certain things, such as food, shelter and care for the children. These programs are Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Food Stamps programs, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Unemployment Compensation, and General Assistance. These programs are generally harder to get into than what most people think. People must meet strict requirements to be able to receive money from the federal government. For example, a household qualifies for the expedited service of the Food Stamp program, a family must have less than $150 in gross monthly income, be a migrant or seasonal farm worker with resources o...
The hunger problems in the United States are often exaggerated. We often see news stories of children going hungry or starving kids out on the street. I am not saying those problems do not exists, I am saying they are not as common as the media portrays them to be. There are 50 million Americans classified in poverty, yet only 4% percent of American parents say their children are ever hungry. I firmly believe that no child should go hungry, but 4% is a very small percentage, considering a record high 46 million Americans (1 in every 7 citizens) are receiving food stamps (Kozak). I am aware many families need the support of food stamps to help keep food on the table for their children. I am not convinced, however, that 1 in every 7 citizens need this help. I believe the government could do a much better job of investigating families or making requirements a little tighter to make sure only the people that need these benefits may receive
Being hungry makes an average human being unfocused and emotionally unstable. For children, being hungry is worse because they lack the nutrition to grow and learn. Children will be unable to focus on school because they are too hungry to concentrate on anything else. Most families in poverty struggle to feed their children and can’t afford to buy nutritional food and instead purchase food that is the cheapest with the great amount. Families that do not make enough income rely on food stamps. However, families that make a little, emphasis on the little, over the standard income are disqualified for the program. In other words, they are stuck; they make too little to provide enough food for the table and yet make too much to receive food stamps.
Millions of people go without a proper place to sleep or food to eat every night. A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle, or any other unstable or non permanent situation (section 330 of Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.,254b). On one night in January of 2015, it was reported that 564,708 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States ( The State of Homelessness in America, 2016). Homelessness in the United States increased in the early 1980’s. Between 1980 and 1983, 140 billion in domestic spending was cut. HUD (Housing and Urban Development), unemployment,disability, food stamps, and