Welfare
Welfare. Whether you collect it, or you pay for it (and for EVERY working American does one of the two), most citizens of our country are familiar with it. Yet as every second of the day passes, more and more of my money and yours is being allotted to this growing epidemic called welfare. The Personal
Responsibility Act, signed by the President, was a monumental change in welfare as we know, or used to know it. The welfare system is still in need or more strict and stringent policy reform, yet the Personal Responsibility Act was a prodigious step in the right direction.
In the past few years, the federal governments and state governments have tried to change and improve the welfare system. The Clinton Administration campaigned to "end welfare as we know it." The Administration's proposal limits
AFDC benefits to two years, during which employment services would be provided to recipients. Nearly 20 welfare reform bills have been introduced in the 103rd
Congress. Besides the above mentioned bill, three major proposals were offered by Republican members: The GOP Leadership Welfare bill, The Real Welfare Reform
Act, and The Welfare and Teenage Pregnancy Reduction Act. Now the Republicans have pulled together a strong and controversial bill on welfare reform. The
Personal Responsibility Act is an attempt to overhaul the welfare system by putting limits on eligibility and reducing dependency on government. This bill addresses the increasing problem of illegitimacy, requires welfare recipients to work, and caps welfare spending. Current programs will be consolidated, time limits will be placed on benefits and savings are to go to deficit reduction.
The bill's main thrust is to give states greater control over the benefits programs, work programs, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) payments and requirements.
Under the bill, the structure for AFDC payments will drastically change.
Mothers under the age of 18 may no longer receive AFDC payments for children born out of wedlock and mothers who are ages 18, 19, and 20 can be prohibited by the states from receiving AFDC payments and housing benefits. Mothers must also establish paternity to as a condition for receiving AFDC payments, except in cases of rape and incest and if the state determines t...
... middle of paper ...
...eserved for the states and respectfully to the people. The powers specifically enumerated to Congress are found in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution. The only facet of this Article that the most loose construction liberal mind MIGHT be able to construe as a reason for increasing welfare is that "The Congress shall have Power to....provide for the common
Defense and general Welfare of the United States." Providing for the general welfare of America means ensure that it's citizen's lives are protected, not spend hundreds of billions of dollars on the welfare system. Welfare is not a responsibility of the federal government. It is one of the states, or respectively, the people.. The American voters sent a clear message on that
November 8th of 1994. They want to see a positive change in government. Many of these same voters are pointing a finger at welfare as a perfect example of big government at work wasting taxpayer money. Congress was able to push through to legislation that greatly enhances the fight against the welfare trap.
Yet it is not the end of the war. There are still several more battles to go until we may sign a peace treaty.
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.
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.
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 should help people in their time of need until they get back on their
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
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.
The poor are everywhere it seems. They are on the street corner, in the local 7 Eleven, and in the plaza. Sometimes I get sick of them and even angry with them when they pester me for money. I ask myself, "Is the best way to deal with poor, to give them money from my pocket?" It's obvious that other people have given them money from their pockets at different times. If no one had ever given them money, then these people wouldn't be standing here asking for money. The fact is, many poor people ask for money because they know they can get money that way. For most of the last 70 years our government has indirectly given the poor money from our pockets, through taxes and welfare. Not surprisingly, people have continued to ask for money. For most of those 70 years welfare fed the mentality that the best way to get money was to ask. I believe welfare as it was first started, failed miserably and created millions of dependents in poverty instead of independents above poverty. The welfare reform of 1996, I believe has helped the poor escape from the trap of poverty and is a more beneficial way of dealing with the poor.
Welfare was meant for good, to help individuals and families who are less fortunate than most get back on their feet so they may have a prosperous future. Our society has strayed away from these principles. Welfare has turned into a necessity for most. It is used as an easy way out and allows people to lose the initiative to work because they know the government will take care of them. If we continue to let this go on, the minority will be taking care of the majority and our great country, which was built on the principle of hard work, will economically fall. It is up to the American people if welfare destroys our country.
Although politicians believe they are doing the right thing by not giving into demands on the opposite party what they 're really doing is creating a larger divide between the two parties which in return allows nothing to get done (Berg, 2007). So all the problems in the welfare system are not being fixed because there are no new laws being put into effect to help change any of the problems. The Republicans believe the less welfare will be more affective then implementing more services like the Democrats want to (Berg, 2007). Since the ideological divide is so great between the two political parties there is no middle ground for the discussion because of this divide. This is the biggest
The welfare system is a carnage to the U.S.. Welfare is a waste of money, ObamaCare is destroying small businesses, and ObamaCare penalizes hard workers. Many people are oblivious of the things done by welfare systems.
The role of the welfare system within our society has always been controversial. This can be because of the numerous negative connotations that address who benefits from the welfare system. These negative connotations address that only the poor and unprivileged members of society can are benefiting from welfare programs. However, many scholars argue that in fact almost everyone in society benefits from the welfare system. This is the case of Mimi Abramovits (2001) who argues in the article “Everyone Is Still on Welfare: The Role of Redistribution in Social Policy” that almost everyone in society is on welfare. Abramovits (2001) uses Richard M. Titmuss's three-tiered social welfare system framework to discuss how everyone benefits from the welfare system. The three-tiered welfare systems are social welfare system, fiscal welfare system and occupational welfare. According to Abramovits (2001) all three welfare systems provide individuals with similar services. These services include “minimum income; replace income lost as a result of retirement, joblessness, disability, and the absence of a breadwinner; and underwrite the costs of health care,
Welfare is government program in which individuals who cannot support their families, either from lack of employment or lack of good employment, can receive money from the government as aid. The first programs originate from the 1930s as the New Deal when the United States clawed its way out of the Great Depression (Auerbach). The program has its draw backs though. "Welfare is hated by those who administer it, mistrusted by those who pay for it and held in contempt by those who receive it" (Goldmark, 1). The United States is currently divided between people who feel that we should continue to keep the welfare budget as it is and those who feel the welfare budget is too large and needs to be cut down.
Welfare in America is a social issue spiraling out of control. This issue is a national epidemic, with no solution seen in the near future. Unfortunately abuse of the system has become a norm in our society. Governmental officials acknowledge the issue, but lack the effort to make major ramifications. Taxpaying citizens now reap the heavy burden of incompetent political officials and major abuse of the system.