The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 was a landmark legislation that drastically altered how the U.S. government approached poverty. Passed during Bill Clinton's presidency, the reform aimed to decrease the dependency on state support by promoting self-reliance and employment among the populace. This initiative gave birth to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. However, despite the seemingly positive intentions, the Act arguably created a plethora of issues. In fact, many have criticized the reform for its unrealistic assumptions about the reality of poverty in America.
The term “welfare” generally has a negative connotation when being discussed because it represents lack of resources. Many people think that it’s recipients may be “milking the system” or “lazy” and don’t want to go out and earn their living however, welfare can and should be used as a positive asset to society. However, it tends to be used as a crutch for longer than appropriate but, after conducting in depth research it has become obvious that this is rarely the recipients defect. The government creates these programs that are designed to help those in need and they generally do for some amount of time. But when an individual strives to obtain a higher paying job, it doesn’t even have to be much of a pay increase, they are at risk of losing for example, their rent assistance.
It is obvious that only the kids want welfare but, why is that? Rose Mary states, “Once you go on welfare, it changes you. Even if you get off welfare, you never escape the stigma that you were a charity case” (188). This statement from her tells the reader her why to not accepting welfare. In this sense welfare is symbolizing negativity and disservice to the family.
Recommendations: Since, Welfare-to-Work was designed on a state level, each state have their way of allocating the funds and it can be different from state to state. Therefore, we identified some issues in Wisconsin, Maryland, and general. Problem 1: Not having any work requirements for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients to receive benefits. Politicians believe the federal program would set up recipients for long-term use with no incentive of getting them off the program
The Welfare Reform is a program that was set up to aid and provide public assistance (Opposing Viewpoints). This type of assistance aids families who are in need of funds due to no income or very little income. Over the next years, the Welfare Reform Act has been slightly changed. Some changes have been an improvement to the program, while other changes did not make an impact on the individuals who receive this form of assistance. Critics of the welfare program have insisted the programs hinders people who receive this form of support.
Today many women work, so welfare reformers adopt this value into welfare programs. Requiring welfare recipients to work for benefits gives people hope and opportunity, and gives them a chance to work. Everybody can do something and should be expected to do something, even if it is menial work, in order to get their pay, so that there’s a connection to the state sending them money to be able to do something to earn that money. The public wants welfare recipients, who are able to work, to take jobs, and the public wants welfare recipients who can’t find jobs to work at jobs that the state provides in welfare-to-work programs, and require everybody to do something for their pay. The biggest problem with requiring welfare recipients to work is there’s no new money for job placement, employment education, and job training.
Furthermore, an article written by Robert Rector, Katherine Bradley, and Rachel Sheffield for the Heritage Foundation, states that all means-tested from federal and state sources combined were $956 billion. This $956 billion in annual welfare spending is distributed among as many as 100 million people which average about $9,500 per beneficiary. I am in agreement with the article in Discover the Networks intitled; “The Welfare States’s cost to American Taxpayers” that says, “If converted entirely to cash, these benefits equal more than five times the amount of money needed to lift every poor person in the United States out of poverty” (2012). The Federal Income Tax returns filed in the United States is approximately 143 million.
Some of the positives of the welfare system are primarily straight forward such as helping the poor buy necessities for day to day living, provides food, medical care, help people get their lives on track to where they can provide for their families. Welfare is intended to be a temporary assistance not long-term. After reviewing some of these positives it’s easy to tell that the intent of these programs were good hearted and with the desire to help pull our citizens up and on their
Abusing the System Ronald Reagan states, “We should measure welfare’s success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added” (qtd. in BrainyQuotes). Welfare’s success today is not being measured by how many people are leaving welfare, but how many are needing assistance. The problem is that recipients of welfare are being added by the minute, and none of them are willing to leave the program because of the benefits it provides. The United States Constitution states the federal government should provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare, but the case is that many recipients are abusing the program (Couch np). Welfare abuse is increasing greatly.
The House of Lords, is still perceived as an undemocratic, unrepresentative house. The House has previously faced issues and recently delayed a financial measure. Showing it’s in a time in which reforms if made could be effective. There a number of possible reforms available, however these also come with a number of issues as well as positives.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, local and state governments as well as private charities were overwhelmed by needy families seeking food, clothing, and shelter. In 1935, welfare for poor children and other dependent persons became a federal government responsibility, which it remained for 60 years (Constitutional Rights Foundation). Over the years the federal government has begun to spend approximately $668 billion per year on 126 different welfare programs, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. Over 50 million people are using hard working people’s tax dollars for their own needs. There should not be millions of dollars wasted away on welfare abusers.
10 BIZARRE TRADITIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD From funny to glory, rituals from around the world could leave one shell-shocked. With innumerable races and ethnicities populating the face of the Earth, the rituals are in plenty and a list of the weird, wacky, unbelievable ones are compiled here. Take a look. 1.
Welfare Abuse “Today, we are ending welfare as we know it, but I hope this day will be remembered not for what it ended, but for what it began” (Welfare Reform). These words were spoken by President Clinton during the signing ceremony of his passed legislature that called for a drastic reform of the welfare system. After years of implementation, the current welfare system of the time, the AFDC, had been said to cause familial issues when it was meant to be providing aid to families in poverty. It had been accused of promoting fatherless children and providing the poor and out-of-work with reasons and motives to stay unemployed. Being funded by taxes, it does not make much sense to continue a program that hinders both those receiving it
I couldn’t resist any longer. The itch was unbearable. Pulling up my sleeves, I clawed at my forearms, leaving streaks of red where my nails trailed. I didn’t want anyone seeing me like this, but it was too late. “You’re bleeding!”
Today in American society, countless people feel that they are entitled to everything no matter what. People who abuse the welfare system is a perfect example of how people believe that they deserve everything without having to actually do any work, causing laziness and selfishness. These individuals misuse welfare that helps countless people by taking the money for individuals who can’t support themselves or can’t find a job, and use it as a way to get free money without working. Another problem is that some of the youth demands respect of others without earning it and expect a successful job right out
