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Welfare, it is on just about everyones' mind, whether it is Medicare or the A. F. D. C. Some believe there is too much and others think there is too little. As the years go by, the need for welfare reform increases.
President Clinton had pledged in his 1992 campaign to "end welfare as we know it." Only time will tell by what extremes welfare will change. As technology continues to increase and jobs continue to go overseas, the United States must decide what direction the welfare system should take. As they exist today, welfare systems are an evolution of the thoughts laid out in the 19 th and 20 th centuries. Before the Industrial Revolution, the responsibility of helping the poor was mainly given to the churches or local communities. As machines took the place of workers, governments were looked upon to help the unemployed. In 1883, Otto Von Bismarck, the German Chancellor, setup the first form of Modern Welfare when he enacted a sickness and maternity law.
He followed up this law with a work injury law and an old-age assistance law in 1884 and 1889 respectively. Today European countries such as Germany, Norway, and Sweden have highly sophisticated Welfare systems (Bender, 13). Welfare did not reach the United States, however, until shortly after the Great Depression with Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal. " The New Deal brought on new economic and social welfare legislation. This is the first time that the United States Government used federal and public funds to finance the welfare needs of the people. Today, the most expensive welfare program is Aid to Families with Dependent Children (A.
F. D. C. ). The A. F. D.
C. was created after the passing of the Social Security Act of 1935. Throughout the last 60 years, the welfare system has faced many changes, including the 1988 Family Support Act, which requires most welfare recipients to enter a job-training program (Lacayo, 3). The other federally funded welfare programs include Medicaid, Food Stamps and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Each of these programs contribute to the high cost paid by the federal government to keep the welfare state running.
Medicaid, for example, provides health care to low income families with dependent children, the disabled and the poor elderly. In 1994 alone, 34 million people received some 140 billion dollars in Medicaid benefits. Food stamps that are used by low income families, buys food items and work just like money. In 1994, 27 million people used food stamps costing the federal government 24 billion dollars.
An example of how food stamps are distributed is given by the Congressional Digest, "A four-person household with countable income below the federal poverty guidelines and Bibliography: time
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Research essay sample on Low Income Families Families With Dependent Children
