FREE ESSAY ON WELFARE PROGRAM

WELFARE PROGRAM

Welfare is a government program that provides money, medical care, food, housing, and
other things that people need in order to survive. People who can receive help from these
welfare programs are children, elders, disabled, and others who cannot support their
families on their current income. Another name for welfare is public assistance. There
are many organizations that supply this public assistance. Such as Salvation Army and
other groups. Public assistance benefits help many people who live below the poverty
line, an income level is established for families. If your income is below this you would
be eligible to receive this help. Welfare in the United States Federal and state
governments in the Unites States serve the poor people through about 60 public assistance
programs. Most people receive help through one of the four major programs. These programs
are Medicaid, Aid to families with dependant Children, Social Security, or Supplemental
Security, or the food stamps program. I will discuss the four programs individually.
Medicaid provides free medical care to the poor people. Funds vary from state to state.
In some situations, people who may be able to pay daily needs, but can't afford large
medical bills may also be able to receive Medicaid. Some services paid for are bills such
as doctor's visits and nursing home care. Most Medicaid funding comes from the federal
government. The rest is supplied by the state. Each state runs their own Medicaid
program. A.F.D.C. provides cash benefits to dependent children and the parents or the
guardians taking care of them. Most families that qualify for A.F.D.C. have just one
parent in the home. About 80 percent of these families are headed by a woman. A.F.D.C.
also pays benefits to two-parent families if both parents are unemployed. Most A.F.D.C.
funding comes from the federal government. The states provide the rest of the money and
administer the program. The sizes of families' payment vary from state to state. Next is
Social Security Income. This provides financial Aid to people in need who are at least 65
years old, blind, or disabled. The federal government finances and administers social
security income programs in most states, though some states supply the federal payment
and are able to run their own programs. Finally, the Food Stamp Program helps low-income
households buy more and better food than they could otherwise afford. Each participating
household receives a certain number of coupons called food stamps. The stamps are issued
by the federal government. The number of stamps a household receives varies with the
family's size, income, and expenses. Cooperating grocery stores accept the stamps like
money for food purchases only. There are other programs such as energy assistance and
public housing. Energy assistance, which is federally financed but administered by the
states, helps people pay fuel bills. Public housing provides low cost rental apartments
in government owned buildings. State and local governments fund and administer their own
general assistance programs. These programs provide financial aid for needy people who do
not qualify for other types of welfare. People waiting to receive assistance from other
programs also may get temporary emergency aid from general assistance. Back in the early
days, welfare resembled the English system. Social governments were responsible for
helping the poor. But the colonies and later the states, sometimes helped the local
government provide aid. The first federal welfare program, began after the Revolutionary
War, they provided pensions to war veterans. During the Civil War these pensions were
expanded to cover soldiers' widows and orphans. In the early 1900's, primary
responsibility for providing welfare benefits shifted from local to state governments.
During these years, states enacted programs to aid dependent children and the elderly.
The criticisms of welfare ranges over a number of social and economic issues. Some people
criticize welfare programs for not providing high enough benefits to eliminate poverty.
Spending on welfare would have to increase greatly to eliminate poverty, and many people
believe the cost is already too high. Many critics of the welfare system charge that
providing a steady income to needy people encourages idleness. Actually, most welfare
benefits go to elderly, blind, and disabled people and mothers with young children. But
welfare does discourage some recipients from working harder by reducing benefits if their
income increases. Many people also criticize the welfare system for being too complex and
costly to administer. Each program has its own eligibility requirements and ways of
calculating benefits, and these rules vary from state to state. Public officials collect
detailed information about applicants to determine their eligibility for benefits. This
process is time-consuming and costly. Some people cheat the system by not reporting all
the income they earn. But suppliers of services to welfare recipients account for most of
the fraud in welfare. Some physicians, pharmacists, and others have been overpaid because
they have made up false bills. In my opinion I believe you need welfare because people do
need help. But I would lower its percent because it won't hurt that much. Most
importantly we have to do a better job at finding all the people who cheat the program
and make them work to repay it.