American Welfare System Essay

The American Welfare System

Many people have different opinions on the way our government is run. Welfare programs are something not a lot of people agree with. Some see it as a helping hand and others see it as a handout to people who are too lazy to get a job. There are over 80 programs that help out millions of families everyday. During the Great depression the government was overwhelmed with needy families that were facing hard times. The people thought it was the government’s fault for the economies downfall, and that they should help them. In 1935 welfare came to help these people in need. General Welfare is about helping the whole nation as one. The concern of the government is the health, peace, morality, and safety of its citizens.

It is like a paycheck, and you can spend it on whatever you need. These programs are mainly for the elderly who pay in throughout their working lives, and are now receiving some after retirement. Although some people might receive social security, medicare, or medicaid without paying into the system. These are usually people in poverty or disabled who need it. This is where the system can become unfair and have problems. Other programs like WIC give out cards that you can only buy certain things with. You have to get the exact brand and the exact size in order to get it from the government. This allows people to only get things that children might need, and not use it for other things to take advantage of it. Some people think everyone who receives a welfare check uses it to buy drugs, because they are bad people who can’t get jobs. This may be true for a few people within the thousands of people in the system, but most are trying to work and make ends meet but fall short and need extra help. “Your tax dollars are not going to buy a steak dinner and a pack of cigarettes for the mom with 5 kids with 3 different dads”(Kuehnlein). There are only certain things you can get with the governments