Why Welfare Should Be Reformed
Welfare abuse in the U.S. is more common than the average person thinks. Welfare is defined as, “governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need” (The Definition). Economic welfare generally refers to financial support. The main purpose of an economic welfare system is to assist citizens who are not able to support themselves or their families due to unemployment, underemployment, hardship, unskilled labor capacity, disability, or other similar reasons. Economic welfare is an incredible effort in many aspects. That being said, every day, welfare is being misused.
The American welfare system consists of over 80 means tested programs. The programs provide cash, food, medical care, housing, and other social services to low income people. Total spending on these programs was over 1 trillion dollars in 2015 (Marshall, 2015).
There have been countless attempts at stopping the abuse of welfare. In 1996 Congress enacted welfare reform legislation. The welfare reform only dramatically impacted one of the 80 means
…show more content…
For example, mothers continue having children out of wedlock to increase the amount of money and benefits they received from welfare programs. Marriage is one of the two most important factors contributing to personal happiness. Marriage is also a very strong factor in promoting the upward mobility of children (Rector, 2006). Marriage is the greatest protector against child poverty. Children born to a married mother and father are about 80 percent less likely to be poor compared to children in single-parent homes. Yet more than 40 percent of children are born outside of marriage in the United States annually (Unmarried, 2016). Replacing husbands and fathers with a welfare check has degraded personal well-being for all involved. Three quarters of means tested aid is issued to one parent