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Welfare reform policies
Welfare reform policies
Social security act public policy
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In response to the great depression, President Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act of 1935 as part of his New Deal. The act allowed for the Department of Health and Human Services to introduce the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. Under the AFDC, welfare benefits were more of an entitlement targeted towards impoverished widows, allowing them to stay at home and raise their children. However as the number of women in the work place increased, the entitlements being handed out were criticized for encouraging a dependency on federal assistance by single mothers.
Critics, such as the author Charles Murray claimed that the AFDC created a system which contributed to the problem because while it did assist the unemployed economically, It discouraged the people receiving benefits from attempting to obtain employment. As the cost of the welfare program rose, so did the general animosity from the American taxpayers. The federal government noticed the increasing dissent within the states, and begun to allow the experimentation of attaching restrictions to their welfare programs.
Following his inauguration in 1992, Bill Clinton fulfilled his promise to “end welfare as we know it” by signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act into law. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was praised for replacing AFDC with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). TANF functioned to end the entitlement status of welfare benefits which encouraged the formation of two parent families.
On September 28th, 1996, the bill was brought to the house where it was sent to the committee on Ways and Means (thomas.loc.gov). In October of the same year, the Senate made ...
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...shown in the years after the reform was passed were due to the booming economy and we have to look at the impacts of the reforms now during bad times in the economy to see if the reform actually did what it set out to accomplish. (heritage.org)
Works Cited
Welfare reform act
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r104:4:./temp/~r104MLF97o
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/abbrev/prwora96.htm
http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-02.html
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
http://www.welfareinfo.org/
http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/tanf/index.html
http://ebooks.abc-clio.com/reader.aspx?isbn=9780585000435&id=WELFAE-h2-10
http://www.heritage.org/research/testimony/the-impact-of-welfare-reform
http://hudson-consulting.org/Documents/PRWORA%20through%20the%20Lens%20of%20Brewer.pdf
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.
There have been numerous debates within the last decade over what needs to be done about welfare and what is the best welfare reform plan. In the mid-1990s the TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Act was proposed under the Clinton administration. This plan was not received well since it had put a five year lifetime limit on receiving welfare and did not supply the necessary accommodations to help people in poverty follow this guideline. Under the impression that people could easily have found a job and worked their way out of poverty in five years, the plan was passed in 1996 and people in poverty were immediately forced to start looking for jobs. When the TANF Act was up for renewal earlier this year, the Bush administration carefully looked at what the TANF Act had done for the poverty stricken. Bush realized that, in his opinion, the plan had been successful and should stay in effect with some minor tweaking. Bush proposed a similar plan which kept the five year welfare restriction in place but did raise the budgeted amount of money to be placed towards childcare and food stamps. Both the TANF Act and Bush's revised bill have caused a huge controversy between liberal and conservative activists. The liberals feel that it is cruel to put people in a situation where they can no longer receive help from the government since so many people can not simply go out and get a job and work their way out of poverty. They feel if finding a job was that easy, most people would have already worked their way out of poverty. The conservatives feel that the plans, such as the TANF Act, are a surefire way to lower poverty levels and unemployment rates as well as decrease the amount o...
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.
Having set the stage, the welfare reformers began the attack on the welfare state by targeting AFDC, the most vulnerable and least popular welfare program. Drawing on social science theories that blamed poverty on the values and behavior of the poor, the reformers put forward the belief that social problems stemmed from a “culture of poverty” that promoted “defective” values and “deviant” behavior.
Since the Welfare reform law was introduced in 1996 it has impacted American society greatly. The new welfare policy, named the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), replaced the Aid to Family and Dependent Children (AFDC) program; they have five known differences that only affect the ones who need the assistance. Critics argue that the TANF has negatively impacted the society while some argue that it has not. Linda Burnham, author of “Welfare Reform, Family Hardship & Woman of Color,” asserts that “welfare reform has increased the hardship faced by many women leaving welfare for work and their movement into low-wage jobs, exposes them to higher level of housing insecurities, homelessness, food insecurity, and hunger.” She also argues that women of color “are especially vulnerable to the negative impact of welfare reform” (38).
The Social Security Act was passed by President FDR as one of his programs to fight the Great Depression. The Social Security Act was enacted August 14, 1935 (Social Security Act). The current problem is the fear of what will become of Social Security as the baby boomers generation begins to retire. As millions of baby boomers approach retirement, the program's annual cash surplus will shrink and then disappear. Then, Social Security will not be able to pay full benefits from its payroll and other tax revenues (Social Security Reform Center – Problem). This is causing the U.S. government to think about reform and changes for the ...
As of 1996, state and local governments were asked to assist many people in gaining their independence after the reform was enacted. (“Welfare Reform”) It is vital to the economy of the United States citizens to have the ability to support themselves as well as their families with no help from the government. Protecting all children and strengthening families were important parts of the reform measure. (“Welfare Reform”) The Welfare Reform Agenda of 2003 was built on the bases of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. The goals of 2003 were to assist families in achieving financial independence from the government. (“Welfare Reform”) The 2003 agenda imposed a lifetime of 5 years of welfare benefits. (“Revisiting Reform”) The agenda also required able bodied adults must go to work within two years of receiving help from the government. (“Revisiting Reform”) Welfare reform can be described as a governments attempt to alter the welfare policy of the
The issues surrounding welfare and welfare reform are controversial, political, and difficult to resolve. The debate continues today as to who deserves benefits and who does not. In 1933, President Roosevelt created Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) as part of the New Deal. This early form of welfare was available to those who could demonstrate a need and the ability to maintain minimal assets of their own. It specifically targeted aid to single women with children. It was a controversial and highly debated subject. Even now, many years later, Congress continues to debate and reform welfare programs. It still brings with it the same intensity, controversy, and conflicting opinion it did years ago.
...enefits. The definition of disabilities also changed. (Morales, Sheafor, 2000) This forced many people who had previously been eligible for aid, off of the welfare roles.
I have concluded that there are five major problems within our American government assistance system. One, the welfare system is too generous. There is evidence of this within the article because it states that government assistance spending has more than doubled since 2008. It also states that in poor countries people only have the choice to work or starve. They choose to work long hours and we choose to not work and receive benefits. There is definitely a problem with our assistance system if a single mother could receive more money in benefits than a secretary who works. Two, the welfare system becomes a crutch and acts as a government safety net. It creates idleness and comfort with people who rather receive a generous amount of benefits than work. Three, one-third of people claim disability are actually able to work. Four, states have significantly differen...
Assistance was provided to lower class citizens through New Deal programs. Aid was given to farmers and poor citizens through acts and agencies such as the Rural Electric Act, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Taylor Grazing Act (“New” 9; Young 159). This government support helped alleviate the poverty resulting from the Great Depression. Over time, these programs assisted in forming a middle class, lowering the poverty rate and allowing a better quality of living for American citizens. In addition to providing assistance to the lower class, the New Deal formed government entitlement programs. Service organizations, such as Social Security and Financial Aid, were created (Brinkley 597). These types of programs influenced Americas relationship with the government, by forming a stronger federal power willing to help the lower class, many of which are still intact today. Branching off these original entitlement programs, there are many government agencies and programs that aim to aid and support the lower class. Food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, Disability, unemployment compensation, and benefits provided for Veterans are all governmentally funded organizations that assist the lower class population (“Budget” 2). The New Deal influenced the relationship between citizens and the American government today by
From 1990 to the present, government welfare such as income assistance and food stamps have aided the unemployed, the ill, and the broken families of America, but government assistance greatly affects the myth that hard work is the only pathway to success, and welfare provides many negative, as well as positive impacts to society. In the United States, many different welfare systems offer a wide range of benefits including money and food stamps to a variety of people. Plagued with economic issues and a shrinking middle class, the poorest Americans keep getting poorer, and the door seems to be shutting more and more on the opportunity to rise above their impoverished roots. Welfare aims to provide aid to those poor Americans who need an extra boost to keep up and help them in achieving the sought after “American Dream.” According to the US Committee of the Budget: House of Representatives, “There are at least 92 federal programs designed to help lower-income Americans. For instance, there are dozens of education and job-training programs, 17 different food-aid programs, and over 20 housing programs. The federal government spent $799 billion on these programs in fiscal year 2012”. Welfare also greatly affects a large number of the United States’ population, and as Robert Rector states in the article “Spiraling State of Welfare Spending,” “Roughly 100 million people- one-third of the United States population- received at least one means-tested welfare program each month (Feulner). Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provides cash assistance for families with children in need. TANF was created after the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which was instituted in 1996 under President Bill Clinton. PRWORA aimed ...
The FDR administration responded well to the challenge of the Great Depression. The Depression was on a scale that had never been seen before, and required an unorthodox response. The administration responded with the New Deal, which had some very successful programs, such as the works programs, and other programs which failed miserably, such as the AAA. The New Deal also made the federal government much more involved with the lives of individual Americans, rather than people as a whole, which it had been. This is mostly the result of the works programs and social security where the government pays attention to the economic needs of specific workers and elderly people. As a result, the precedent of the welfare state was set and has remained to modern day.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program was developed to help needy families become self-sufficient.¹ The TANF program was created by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996.² TANF was created by The Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) out of the preexisting Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which itself was created by Congress in 1935 as part of the Social Security Act.² There were some notable differences between the PRWORA and the TANF when it was created, the most noted differences were that the TANF allowed states to use TANF dollars to support child care, for job search support, social services,etc. and there were no requirements on how much could be spent on cash aid directly.² Also, the entitlement aspect of the PRWORA ended and states were not required to serve all eligible families/individuals.²
The history of welfare goes all the way back to the roman empire when the first emperor gave citizens food that could not afford it. Then, social welfare was enlarged in china the song dynasty government supported many programs that made retirement homes, clinics and the welfare system for the poor. In 1601 the first welfare systems in europe that provided food for the poor. This system then moved its way into bigger countries such as germany and great britain. This expanded to the United States in the time of the Great Depression when president Roosevelt introduced the New Deal that focused on public spending projects instead of cash payments. The Social security act was amended in 1939.