West Virginia has a diverse history and strong record of struggle. From the original settlers to the current citizens, they have always found a way to survive and succeed (Wilson, 1990). The economic struggles of West Virginia have been due to the outsourcing of resources, income, capital, and information for the past 100 years (Cometti, 1966). This has led to reliance on the state and federal government to provide subsidies, and other welfare programs to help the citizens of the area feed, clothe, and shelter their selves (Erickson, 1986). Roughly, since the Kennedy administration’s increase of spending on food stamps and other assistance programs, and the correlated dwindling down of coal mining in the state, the adoption of citizens utilizing assistance programs has increased exponentially (Greenberg. 1969). Historically, democratic representatives display more favor in continuing or increasing these expenditures for assistance programs.
West Virginia’s voting for state and Congressional representatives have been overwhelmingly democratic since the 1960’s. For example, the late, great Robert C. Byrd was a democratic US Senator from 1959 to 2010. His efforts to bring pork barrel spending and ear marks to benefit his represented citizens was the understood methodology of his incumbency. The West Virginia House of Delegates is current 54 to 46, with Democrats being the majority party. Twenty-eight Democrats and six Republicans (WV Constitution) fulfill the 34 seats in the Senate. The federal representatives of the House and Senate are similar, with incumbent Democrats Jay Rockefeller, and Joe Manchin, as well as two Republican, and one Democratic representative in the House. For my local region of West Virginia, Shelley Moore Capi...
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West, C. Deadly Force and Public Reason1. http://wpsa.research.pdx.edu/papers/docs/Deadlyamswpsa.pdf (accessed November 25, 2013)
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West Virginia Constitution, West Virginia Legislature http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/WV_CON.cfm (accessed November 25, 2013)
West Virginia Well-Being". Gallup-Hathaway. http://www.well- beingindex.com/files/2013WBIrankings/WV_2012StateReport.pdf (accessed November 25, 2013)
Wilson , Charles Reagan and Ferris, William. Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Univ. of
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WV Cycling. Jan. 1, 2011 By working to improve the state's infrastructure, Congresswoman
Shelley Moore Capito is promoting safety and helping grow the economy. https://wvcycling.wordpress.com/tag/shelley-moore-capito/. Accessed November 24th, 2013
Virginia, being a large state proposes that representation should be based on the state’s population. This means that the more citizens that populate a state can send more delegates to represent in congress. This would put larger states at an advantage because larger states naturally have a larger population. Therefore by having a larger population, they can send more representatives and consequently have a “larger” voice in the legislature. Ultimately, the smaller states would not accept or agree to Virginia’s plan because they would be at a disadvantage since they have fewer citizens. Within its plan, they believe in a bicameral legislature where there are two separate chambers in congress where the people elect the lower house and the lower house would vote to elect the upper house. The members of each chamber are determined proportionally. In addition, there will be three branches of government legislatures such as legislatives, executive, and lastly
The prospect of the welfare state in America appears to be bleak and almost useless for many citizens who live below the poverty line. Katz’s description of the welfare state as a system that is “partly public, partly private, partly mixed; incomplete and still not universal; defeating its own objectives” whereas has demonstrates how it has become this way by outlining the history of the welfare state which is shown that it has been produced in layers. The recent outcomes that Katz writes about is the Clinton reform in 1996 where benefits are limited to a period of two years and no one is allowed to collect for more than five years in their lifetime unless they are exempted. A person may only receive an exemption on the grounds of hardship in which states are limited to granting a maximum of 20% of the recipient population. The logic behind this drastic measure was to ensure that recipients would not become dependent upon relief and would encourage them to seek out any form of employment as quickly as possible. State officials have laid claim to this innovation as a strategy that would “save millions of children from poverty.” However, state officials predict otherwise such as an increase in homelessness, a flooding of low-waged workers in the labour market, and decreased purchasing power which means less income from tax collections. The outcomes of this reform appear to be bleak for many Americans who reside below the poverty line. How does a wealthy country like America have such weak welfare system? Drawing upon Katz, I argue that the development of the semi-welfare state is a result of the state taking measures to ensure that the people do not perceive relief as a right and to avoid exploiting the shortfalls of capitalism ...
Sanford F. Schram, Joe Brian Soss, Richard Carl Fording. Race and the Politics of Welfare Reform. Michigan: the University of Michigan Press, 2003.
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 Virginia lawmakers attempted to control the behavior of Africans in the colony very strictly. For example, slaves carrying any weapon, even for defense, was illegal. If a slave was attacked by an animal or human, they would have no defense because the white Englishmen needed to make sure Africans didn’t have control over their outnumbered masters. Additionally, the lawmakers made freed Africans pay taxes, and yet not let them have citizenship from England. In order to control the freed Africans, they were not able to become citizens because that would have given power to the slaves. If no citizenship was established, no rights would be given to the Africans. Lawmakers controlled the Africans through unfair rules and laws.
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.
The myth of “Welfare Queens” is quickly debunked watching Odessa trying to support her four grandchildren on $400 a month and Cheri trying to raise a child and organize a welfare rights group while being unpaid. Odessa Williams, once on welfare in the 60’s, was only allotted $25 more a week for having to feed four other children. That little amount of money is clearly not enough to maintain a household and Odessa results to trash picking as a way to cut down on a shopping budget. On page 64, Zucchino depicts what the typical person receiving welfare benefits looks like—it certainly is not the image Ronald Reagan and the media feeds to the American people. In the state of Pennsylvania, only 32% of recipients were black while 57% were white. The passage describes those using the program AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent
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.
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
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy raised the current welfare payments and renamed the program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Kennedy allowed states to require work in order to receive welfare, but didn’t require it. Kennedy also laid out the new goal for welfare in America, it was to “end poverty, not just alleviate poverty” (Background: Time for a new Approach). Kennedy said welfare should be “a hand up, not a hand out." Welfare continued to change...
The state of Ohio has a population of about 11 million people. It is also considered to be one of the major states that are going to factor in the presidential race. This year happened to be the year when Ohio senator Mike DeWine's term ends. This of course meaning that there would have to be an election. This election for the one of the positions Ohio has in the United States senate. It would also mean that two men, one democrat and one republican, could be that senator. Their names are Mike DeWine and Ted Celeste.
So how should be responsible for enhancing the quality of life of our impoverished Americans? The basic liberal argument was that only the federal government is capable of eliminating poverty. Under Johnson's administration government agencies multiplied like rabbits, handout programs were included in almost every bill sent to Congress, and the American work ethic flushed counter-cloc...
Schwarz, J. E. (1990). WELFARE LIBERALISM, SOCIAL POLICY, AND POVERTY IN AMERICA. Policy Studies Review, 10(1), 127-139.
...ed that health problems and lack of affordable health care were barriers for many of the AFDC recipients to get off welfare. Clinton also wanted the states to play a wider role in the design of federal welfare programs. State and federal legislation now focused on personal responsibility, limiting stays on public assistance and imposing far more strict work requirements. These efforts to limit the federal role in services to the poor and to shift the responsibility to the states means that there are now fifty-one different welfare programs in the United States.