Social Welfare in the United States
Social Welfare in the United StatesIntroduction (History of Welfare):
The United States is the richest country in the world. Our democratic system of government and free market economy has the potential to provide all citizens an equal opportunity to live a decent and productive life. Despite all the resources, millions of Americans still live in poverty (LeVert, 1995).
The welfare system in the United States is very complicated. There are many goals that the government is attempting to reach regarding our current welfare system. The subject of welfare often triggers heated emotional debate. Our country has a long history of compassion and generosity. The American way of life consists of community spirit, family, ties, volunteer work, and charity work. There are many different types of welfare in the United States and many different sources of help for Americans.
In all societies since the beginning of civilization, well-bodied adults have worked to support themselves as well as to provide for young, elderly, and disabled family members and, non-family members. The modern United States welfare system dates to the Great Depression of the 1930s. During the worst parts of the Depression, about one-fourth of the labor force was without work. More than two-thirds of all households would have been considered poor by today’s standards. With a majority of the well-bodied adult population experiencing severe financial distress directly, Americans could not view poverty simply as a personal failure.
Reforming the American welfare family, the disadvantaged social groups that receive public welfare benefits, is an important aspect of social welfare. Aid to Families With Dependent Children, was initially designed as part of Roosevelt’s and Congress’ Social Security Act of 1935 (Glazer, 1988). This act and its 1939 amendments established a number of social welfare programs; each designed to provide support for different segments of the population. These programs included Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance (OASI) for retired people and their families (disability insurance was added to it in 1954, forming OASDI); Unemployment Compensation for those who lost work temporarily; Aid to Dependent Children (ADC), later known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); and grants to states to provide medical care. In 1946 the government created the Social Security Administration (SSA) to oversee the provisions of the act.
A string of federal agencies has managed social security programs since the act’s origin. The Federal Security Agency was established in 1939; the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953; and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 1980, when the SSA became a separate organization. The government created the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 1965. It replaced the former Housing and Home Finance Agency, and provides public housing support for low-income families. The U.S. Department of Labor—created in 1913, predating the Social Security Act—and its Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, manages workers’ benefits programs....
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