In the United States, the welfare system arose during the Great Depression, in the 1930s. In the 1960s, the Great Society legislation was passed, such that for the first time, people that were neither elderly nor disabled could receive benefits from the US government. These living benefits could involve general and special payments for certain circumstances (e.g. young mothers and pregnant women), food stamps, Medicaid health care and housing benefits. I would also go out on a limb and say that Welfare Assistance reduces the crime rate. If the person’s needs are being met (food, clothing, shelter), there is no need to shoplift.
However, this is where the reform comes in. The way our welfare programs are currently run is a huge and irresponsible …show more content…
If assistance is used as a temporary measure during a family crisis, this is unlikely to happen. However, when payments continue for several years, a person's skills and understanding of proper workplace behavior are likely to deteriorate. In addition, children who see their parents receiving public assistance instead of working at a traditional job grow up with a distorted sense of what their options for the future will be and thus run the risk of requiring assistance when they start their own …show more content…
Supporters of welfare reform and the passage of PRWORA (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996), INCLUDE REF stating the need to control welfare fraud and welfare dependency, amongst other behaviors exhibited by welfare recipients, such as sexual promiscuity and having children out of wedlock. When a couple marries, the added income is often just enough to disqualify them from receiving child care assistance, Medicaid, or other resources that are hard to obtain while working at a low wage job. If they remain unmarried, however, their incomes are not added together to determine eligibility for assistance. We have to break this cycle. (250
However, this is where the reform comes in. The way our welfare programs are currently run is a huge and irresponsible …show more content…
If assistance is used as a temporary measure during a family crisis, this is unlikely to happen. However, when payments continue for several years, a person's skills and understanding of proper workplace behavior are likely to deteriorate. In addition, children who see their parents receiving public assistance instead of working at a traditional job grow up with a distorted sense of what their options for the future will be and thus run the risk of requiring assistance when they start their own …show more content…
Supporters of welfare reform and the passage of PRWORA (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996), INCLUDE REF stating the need to control welfare fraud and welfare dependency, amongst other behaviors exhibited by welfare recipients, such as sexual promiscuity and having children out of wedlock. When a couple marries, the added income is often just enough to disqualify them from receiving child care assistance, Medicaid, or other resources that are hard to obtain while working at a low wage job. If they remain unmarried, however, their incomes are not added together to determine eligibility for assistance. We have to break this cycle. (250