For some, welfare is a sign of weakness or idleness, but no one should be denied needed help. A life should not be cut short due to starvation, dehydration or sickness that can be stopped by the help of the government.
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.
As of 2012, roughly thirty five percent of the population in the United States was living with some sort of government assistance. The Welfare Reform Act was passed into law in 1996. Many of the country’s leaders promised to end welfare with this act. (“Welfare Reform”) This act ended the legal entitlement to welfare benefits. The bill also created time limits and work requirements for participation in the program. Welfare in the United States should be reformed because reform decreases poverty, increases independence in the country’s citizens, and increases the quality of life for former welfare recipients.
The United States Government has pumped more than $3.5 trillion U.S. taxpayer dollars into welfare but, ironically, the poverty rate is higher than when they started (Tanner, Welfare Reform). This outrageous amount of money proves that welfare will lead United States into debt. The original intent of current welfare benefits has failed; therefore the national welfare system must be reformed. To fully understand how to reform the welfare system Americans must know what the history of welfare is, illegitimate births’ obvious connection to crime and welfare, how welfare has failed to keep the poverty rate down, the great problem of dependency, and finally what reforms must be made. Welfare reforms will greatly help this Nation become stronger and have a more secure future.
Many sources conspire against any sort of reform of social welfare programs, some good, some bad. Originally designed to protect the elderly during the depression, welfare programs evolved to include all of the American poor, but also some factions that were not suffering. Abuse of these programs by corporations leads to a push to eliminate ways for the system to be exploited, but the need of the poor outweighs the negatives. Being the most powerful country in the world means that we should be able to take care of all of our citizens. The wealthiest nation should make sure that children are not hungry and that the elderly are cared for. Without these programs in place, that would not happen, and no one wants the poor to suffer.
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
Many people want the old system for welfare changed and the new system enforced. Welfare has been pushed to the limit, forcing hard working people to pay more taxes, and leaving the government no choice but to make tougher laws to decrease the number of citizens on welfare. At one time a good plan for underprivileged Americans, welfare was constantly misused, forcing the new reforms and much debate.
The welfare of the people in America is put in the hands of the public administrators and political leaders of the United States. These public administrators and political leaders are voted into office to promote new bills and come up with solutions that will be in the best interest of the public’s welfare. When the subject of welfare is debated the first thought that comes to mind is giving underprivileged and disadvantaged people money to help them get out of a financial predicament and/or temporary unemployment. The welfare of the middle and upper class is not as common because the fact that people collect financial support from their employment. There are several biased assumptions about the welfare program in America that leave the subject open for discussion. Such as food stamps, and how low-income Americans are given our taxpaying money to provide food for their households. I’m against the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and what toll it’s putting on the taxpayers of America.
...legally. And since each family receives about 11,500 dollars annually, that means that about nine to thirteen billion dollars are being collected in taxes in order to be given in the form of government assistance (D’Souza 1). That’s nine billion dollars being taken from people’s incomes for people that legally do not need to be receiving any type of assistance. This is unnecessary and tax payers would appreciate keeping their money instead of it going to those so greedy with money. Welfare in the United States is used to get people financially from below the poverty line so that they can find jobs and then without the assistance can be able to provide for their family in an appropriate mean of the standard of living. Welfare is not supposed to be used for a person who is ineligible for it because they are making way more than the amount allowed in order to qualify.
Trying to help the economy back on their feet, Welfare was a great idea that America has attempted to recreate to help the poor find their way back into being self-sufficient. However, the same problem still exist today. The loose screws and bolts is hindering the purpose of what this program was designed for, with corrupt people today it is almost impossible to weed out honesty and the dishonest people. Welfare was a great solution in helping the economy get back on their feet, but with the weight of some people taken advantage of the program, really makes it harder on the economy. Although it is not the most efficient way that this idea could have been created, it is still a part of American life. Never less benefits are however available for who are truly in need of our
Welfare is one government aid program that is designed to help those living in poverty. It is essentially financial aid for those living in poverty. While this is not the only government aid program that exists to help those in need, it is a very large program. It was first put in place in the 1930s during the gre...
Welfare is a federally funded program that provides health care, food stamps, child care assistance, unemployment, cash aid, and housing that is under the umbrella of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Per Welfare Information, eligibility is determined by net income, family size, and any crisis situation such as: pregnancy, homelessness, and unemployment. TANF also requires the recipient to obtain employment within two years of receiving help (2014). A majority of the monies that support Welfare come from taxes paid by the working class and donations from private companie...
Welfare can be received for a short period or long period of time. Although there are many people who abuse the luxury of getting welfare, there are also many people who use it to their advantage and use it to help them get back on their feet, using it until they find another job and make their own money again. To receive welfare you cannot make more than about $1000 monthly. There are approximately 110,489,000 people on some sort of welfare. Annually the government spends around $131,900,000,000 on welfare, and that is not even including food stamps or unemployment (“Statistic Brain”). The government welfare system is there to help, as evidenced in the Missouri state constitution: “all constitutional government is intended to promote the general welfare of the people; that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness… all persons are created equal and are entitled to equal rights and opportunity under the law; that to give security to these things is the principal office of government, and that when government does not confer this security, it fails in its chief design.” Which in other words, is stating that when the government system doesn’t help you, it fails in its main purpose, to ensure people are treated equally and given the opportunities to have lives that are worth living (“US
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.
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.