Lyndon B Johnson's Definition Of Social Welfare Programs

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The US presidents and the Major legislations passed during their Regime Frankline D. Rooselvet introduced the New Deal in the 1930s to shelter the Americans from the negative impact of the great depression. It is during his administration that the Social Security Act was enacted in 1935. Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the Great Society programs in the 1960s and this saw 4 million increases of recipient beneficiaries. The major influx of recipient was due to the enactment of Medicaid in 1965. Richard M. Nixon administration facilitated enactment of Family Assistance Plan in 1969. However, this program was terminated by the Congress in 1972 because it expanded public assistance. Ronald Reagan aimed at reducing the welfare programs whereby in 1988, …show more content…

Within social policy lies social welfare. The social policy is the administrative code or enacted laws that govern the good of people. It is structured in five pillars with social welfare being the fifth pillar, which is concerned with distribution of resources. Many people have defined social welfare differently. However, in the midst of these differences the aspect of social interventions meant to maintain or accentuate the social functioning of the human race has featured in nearly all the definitions of social welfare. Social welfare is firmly founded on concepts, principles and values that feature distribution of resources and guarantee its continuity since inception. In the US, this ideology dates back in the colonial days and controversies of whether it is a government’s responsibility to cater for the needs of the poor or not has been an element of major controversies. Consequently, much legislation has passed to transform social welfare from being a privilege to a …show more content…

Resources are very scarce and social welfare steps in to ensure equity in distribution is achieved. With the resources being limited, the needs of the society are unlimited and hence determination of what to be met and what is not to be met requires the ideology of social welfare. Social welfare is characterized by programs which serve the interests of the community in a fairer manner. These programs are developed from the assessment of the needs of the community, where a way to satisfy those needs is designed. Conceptually, it is a procedural process that begins with identification of the problem in the society and analysis of the possible factors causing the problem. This level also identifies the responsible agents for the problem and then possible measures to be deployed to solve the problem are outlined. Values and cultural norms surrounding the problem are critically analyzed to understand the dynamics involved. Consensus is also a key concept that crop up in the dynamics of social welfare. Everything has to be vetted and agreed