Welfare and Unemployment

1318 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The benefits and drawbacks of government welfare

Welfare and unemployment benefits have been highly debated topics. According to statisticbrain.com (as of 9.10.2013), 12,800,000 Americans are on welfare, 46,700,000 Americans are on food stamps, and 5,600,000 are on unemployment insurance. In total, 4.1% of the U.S population is on welfare, accumulating a total of $131.9 billion total government spending on just welfare alone, that’s not including food stamps or unemployment. Welfare helps a lot of people and I’m all for helping the ones that actually need help. It’s the groups that abuse welfare that ruin the system and something needs to be done to cut off those groups of people from receiving our tax payers’ hard earned money. What this system needs is something that will separate those who can’t work from those who won’t work to make a living. Unemployment benefits are a privilege not a right. It’s a privilege because hard working tax payers give up part of their income to make sure their neighbor who can’t take care of themselves or their family has something to live off of. It is not supposed to be for those who don’t want to work or abuse it and go about buying nonessential, luxury, products and accessories (iPhone’s, TV’s, cable, expensive jewelry, etc.) What this program needs is drug testing and for those who able to work that are on unemployment benefits and want to keep receiving a check, should be given jobs(community service) to make up for the checks that they are receiving. In some regions, programs exist that provide job training to help welfare recipients become employable, and that should be mandatory. I’ve overheard the abuse on welfare, and even had someone trying to convince me to abuse it as well in my future. Apparently to keep unemployment b... ... middle of paper ... ... to make people more aware of the frauds that is taking place, so we can help those who actually are in need and not just lazy and abusing the system. Nobody likes to be cheated, so if they are aware of what they should look out for, and where they can report fraud and/or abuse, they are more likely to do it. I believe that the United States welfare system needs great improving to help fix some of the economic issues that are seen today. Works Cited Work/ Information Cited 1. "Welfare Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013 2. "Welfare Reform: What Needs to Be Done." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. 3. "Welfare Fraud." Cato Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. 4. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-12-06/welfare-million-dollar-house/51681826/1

Show More
Related

  • The Pros and Cons of Welfare Reform

    2400 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Pros of Welfare Reform

    364 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Should Welfare Recipients Be Drug Tested?

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Welfare Reform

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Problem: How to get People off of Welfare

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    The unsustainable growth of welfare is becoming a big issue in the United States. The government is spending money it does not have to support people it cannot afford. Welfare only adds more debt to our country. Welfare could be a wonderful aid if people used it with justice, but welfare only creates lazy dependent people. Welfare should only be a resource someone can turn to when you are out of all your options, and are in desperate need of help. In this day and age it has turned into a way of life for some people. Too many Americans would rather turn to government assistance than to get back on their feet themselves. Welfare is being taken advantage of.

    Read More

  • Analyzing and Reforming Modern Welfare Systems

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ronald Reagan once said, “We should measure welfare’s success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.” Welfare began as a relief program in the 1930’s to assist those suffering from The Great Depression. In modern times, this system’s abuse rises every year. Social welfare spending causes people to abuse their free money; our government needs to revise the length of time for the benefits and who can receive this money.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Welfare

    1565 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The History of Welfare in America

    2743 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The New Deal And The Great Society Essay

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Government Welfare Benefits

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Preface to 'What Are Some Alternatives and Improvements to the Welfare System?'." Welfare. Ed. Margaret Haerens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Welfare

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    When you hear the words “welfare” what comes to mind? To me, the word welfare has always had a very negative connotation. However, after looking further into the concept behind it all, welfare isn’t always such a bad thing. In general, welfare provides financial stability for those who are otherwise unable to do so. Welfare can be very beneficial to a multitude of people with many different ways to make life easier. Welfare in the United States refers to a federal welfare program that has been put into place to benefit unemployed people or just your average lower class person. The most common forms of welfare are Medicaid and food stamps. Believe it or not, a welfare program is not a new idea. Welfare has started long before we were born. In the early days of welfare, the British put into place something called “poor laws”. These laws distinguished who was able to work and provide for themselves and who wasn’t due to physical condition or even how old they were. This was very similar to what President Franklin D. Roosevelt did during the times known as the great depression. The Social Security Act was amended in 1939, which gave lower income people more money throughout the depression. Unemployment Compensation and Aid to Dependent Children are two welfare programs that are still out there today. Welfare programs can benefit you in areas such as health, housing, tax relief and just more money in your pocket. Welfare is not only an American idea. In the Islāmic culture the word zakat means charity. Zakat is actually one of the five pillars of faith. This money has been collected by the government since the 7th century. The taxes, however, still have the same benefit to us. The taxes were collected and used to provide income to ...

    Read More

  • Issues With The Welfare System

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The welfare system in the United States has had many problems arise in recent years and there has been nothing done to try and fix these issues. Welfare is supposed to be a financial boost for people who are struggling to survive by themselves. However, there are many people trying to take advantage of the system and use the money provided by the government for certain items that are not necessary to live. The other major problem is with the inefficient government that is so divided ideologically that nothing has been done to repair the system because both parties believe that their ideas are more effective than the others. In order to resolve the ongoing dispute of the welfare system, changes to the process of screening recipients and how the government conducts changes to the system have to be made.

    Read More

  • Welfare In How To Land The Job You Want

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Our current unemployment situation matches the Oxford dictionary definition, financial support is given to those who are unemployed or those in need. People nowadays who receive welfare think it is an entitlement, and not welfare, because the people who receive welfare think they have earned it by simply getting government money” (Einhorn).Recipients do not acknowledge the fact that welfare is not intended for those who are too lazy to get a job; it is only meant for people who simply cannot or just happened to get laid off for a few months. “The five requirements of collecting unemployment are as follows: being able to work, involuntary jobless, available to work, and currently looking for work” (Einhorn). The program, which was created around the 1930’s, was only meant to provide income for week to week necessities as the matter of food, clothing, and shelter (Einhorn). One of the drawbacks of this is that the longer the government supplies this, the longer it will take an individual to accept a job. A Denmark Economic Council study established that a person waited until the special benefits lapsed before accepting a job (Einhorn). The lengthy aid of income allows those who are inactive to pick what they like instead of the first opening that becomes available. That is unfair, because majority of people in need of a job, take

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Government Assistance

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the combination of better work ethic, enforced spending restrictions, and constant supervision, people on welfare could have a true second chance in life, without our current form of government assistance coddling them from achieving their potential. Some people just need a push in the right direction before they can soar through the air. If we start to pride people with work ethic, more will duplicate this action striving for praise as well. If we educate the future generation on the actual reasons for welfare, they might listen and create a difference. We need to make a difference, to save ourselves, to save our country, and to save the world from becoming a completely dependent society. Save our country, improve welfare.

    Read More

More about Welfare and Unemployment

Open Document