Government Reflection

Federal Government has the ability to create positive change in many social welfare systems. The support of the government ultimately determines the success of a social welfare program. They play an important role in the decisions of how funds are allocated and the importance of these various vulnerable populations. The federal government is used as a tool, to help implement and support social welfare programs. However, from my own opinion, it is sometimes lacking in the proper support needed in many aspects. This is caused by a plethora of reasons, not to say that the government is completely unsupportive. Yet, there may be a gap in the perception of these social issues. The government puts in place laws, regulations, system structures, and so on. Therefore, because the government are the implementers of how our country is ran, it is their responsibility to be a main facets in the support of the gaps that inevitably occur. Nonetheless, it can be difficult to understand the needs of these population’s and the reality of their hardships. Most in a position of power, such as the federal government, have not experienced the severity of the many situations, that results in individuals needing assistance from these social welfare programs. Moreover, it is essential that there is outreach to these populations. All the same, getting a more realistic view of the life in these contexts. For instance, the time cap of being on assistance throughout one’s

The welfare system has been controversial throughout U.S. history. It is constantly under attack and is often the chosen topic of political debates. In 2015, 35.4% of Americans were on welfare (Boyd). Welfare is a government ran program, where the government gives benefits to people who cannot afford to take care of themselves or their family (“Brief”). The benefits that the government gives to the people are money and the necessities they need to live a normal life (“Welfare” 825). The welfare system is an interesting topic and has many layers. Although it is necessary, at the same time it is frustrating for many politicians and U.S. citizens. Numerous people abuse the welfare system everyday. People have found many ways to take

I went into Government class thinking I knew a lot about government. I quickly figured out there was a lot I had to learn. I am very glad I was required to take this class because without taking it, how would I know how everything works or know how I am affected by the government? My beliefs didn’t change nor did the political party I identify myself with but I have a much better understanding about what goes on in our Country. I learned much more than I thought I would learn, from the ways someone can become president, to how a bill becomes a law, to who were considered to be the best presidents.

Wilson Q. James. American Government, Brief Version. 11th ed. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2009, 2012, 2014.

The social welfare system in the United States can be a controversial topic especially now with the new presidential elect. For this paper I was assigned to look into two different peoples perceptions and attitudes on the social welfare system. I looked into how they perceived the system and whom they believed benefits from this system. Throughout this paper the identities of the two people I interviewed will not be revealed. I will simply refer to them in pronouns. My goal during this interview was not to educate my two interviewees so some of the information contained in this paper may not be accurate. Throughout this paper the two interviewees opinions will be stated and their opinions will then be compared and discussed. Although the whole population of the United States is experiencing the same welfare system each individual perceives and has different beliefs about the system.

Poverty is present in today’s U.S. social system. For example, as Lesser states in the Clearinghouse Review, “Forty-six million Americans live in poverty” (1). Lesser then goes on to say how forty-six million Americans living in poverty correlates to almost one in every three single-parent families is poor (1). This is a daunting fact as it applies to today’s economic context with “rising unemployment rates and mortgage crises driving more individuals and families to seek the support of a cash-strapped social welfare structure” (Grijalva 1). With this in mind, many legislators are discussing the topic of poverty in the political realm. In order to tally the score of representatives the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law conducted its sixth annual Poverty Scorecard. “The 2012 Poverty Scorecard grades the voting record of every U.S. senator and representative on the most important poverty-related votes in 2012” (Lesser 1). The 2012 votes covered a range of topics such as budget and tax, food and nutrition, health care, housing, and many more (1). The results of the 2012 Poverty

This lack of “support systems” is why the poor ultimately fail to advance. Throughout the last decade the federal government has issued billions of dollars into work supports, but due to unorganized tactics they have failed at eliminating poverty, “law makers have poured billions of dollars into ‘work supports’ such as child-care subsidies and employment tax credits. Yet no one in Washington seemed to think about assembling these services in a coherent package that would be accessible and convenient to struggling workers” (The American Prospect). The answer, according to Sharon Parrott, director of welfare reform and income support division at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “says it [policy] would have three components: convenient one stop service centers; streamlined application forms; and generous income ceilings so that a working parent doesn’t lose eligibility for, say, health insurance the minute he or she climbs above the poverty

Race, gender, and social class has several implications in the United States and how it shapes policy and perceptions of those who live in poverty. Current welfare systems are not perfect, and capitalistic policies do not work as intended to solve income inequalities. Given this, we will discuss social inequalities and capitalism, the welfare system, and propose two policies that solves welfare, and social and income inequalities.

It is important to discuss the history of the emergence of this social problem. I will discuss the essence of poverty as a social problem and how that has affected how welfare is distributed among single mothers. Some factors that contributed to this social problem are the economy and he increasing amount of people who lived in poverty. The government felt that it was necessary to be proactive about the growing issue of poverty. The government was also taking a look at how money was being spent and how that contributed to the nation’s debt. As a result some policies were put into place to address those issues. Many programs were on a trial and error period to determine the success rate of that program. If the social program had expenses that seemed to add to the deficit then those programs were either revamped or eliminated. It is important to examine how Welfare has changed from the Colonial period to present.

The course began in the year 1789, a significant year of transition for the United States. A decade or so prior, the United States was embroiled in a conflict over the inability of a foreign power to govern an overseas territories without proper representation in the foreign power’s government. This conflict, The American Revolution, may be the first significant radical movement in the history of the United States. However, the American Revolution led to unprecedented reforms in North American society. The Civil War, another significant example of a radical movement in the United States, began as a conflict over the issue of states rights. However, it quickly escalated into an issue of the legality and morality of slavery and

Social policy is a terminology applied to areas within the governmental scenery, which refers to guidelines, principles, activities and legislation that affect the living circumstances conductive to human welfare (Berk 2013). In other words, government sponsored programs like Obama Care and Head Start are social policies enacted to better the living conditions of American citizens. Though social policies are essential and beneficial to the wellbeing of people’s natural laws—moral, ethical, and legal norms by which human conduct is governed in American society—sometimes these policies unknowingly encompass stereotypes and generalities. Specifically speaking, the social policy of Head Start, which aims to promote school readiness in low-income children and equalize or lessen the playing field between themselves and their wealthier counterparts (Office of Head Start). Unfortunately, in my observations over this semester, the social policy of Head Start has fallen to platitudes (Office of Head Start). Not only does Head Start not have resources like desks, blackboards, and sometimes paper, Start program over generalizes the education of children. This generality of children living in poverty has instigated a lack of empathy in the program (Aber 1992). Put differently, no attention is paid to a person’s individuality or temperament.

In 1935, Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act which, among other things, provided for the financial, medical, and material needs of the poor (Komisar 125,128). Since then, there have many additions and reforms to the bill, none of which has served to quell the controversy surrounding the effectiveness of the welfare system in the United States. The main concerns of the distribution of welfare dollars and resources can be answered by the questions ?Who gets assistance?? and ?How much do they receive??. The U.S. welfare system is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, which attempts to answer these questions through a system of minimum incomes, government-calculated poverty levels, number of children, health problems, and many other criteria. This complicated system leads to one of the critiques of the welfare system?that it is too large and inefficient. President Lyndon Johnson declared a ?War on Poverty? in 1964 designed to alleviate the burden of the poor and established the Food Stamp program the next year (Patterson 139). In 1996, a major welfare reform bill was passed that placed time limits on welfare assistance, required able participants to actively seek employment, and implemented additional services for the needy (Patterson 217).

United States Government Welfare began in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt thought of this system as an aid for low-income families whose men were off to war, or injured while at war. The welfare system proved to be beneficial early on by giving families temporary aid, just enough to help them accommodate their family’s needs. Fast forward almost 90 years, and it has become apparent that this one once helpful system, has become flawed. Welfare itself and the ideologies it stands on, contains decent fundamentals; furthermore, this system of aid needs only to be reformed to better meet the needs of today’s society.

A major social problem in America today is its inequality of the distribution of income. "Income inequality refers to the gap between the rich and the poor. The United States has the most unequal income distribution in the industrialized world, and it is growing at a faster rate than any other industrialized country" (Eitzen & Leedham, pg. 37). The main reason as to why income is distributed so unequally is because of the gap between social classes.

In today’s modern society, the United States faces many public policy issues, whether those issues include social welfare, immigration or even environmental issues. Congress receives numerous issues on public polices every day, but they cannot handle and solve every issues that comes across their daily agenda, nor can they satisfy every person in this country. Congress prioritizes on those issues that are more important and relevant to find a probable solution too. A growing issue we see that in today’s society are issues in the social welfare system. Social Welfare has so many issues within some of those issues include the food stamps, and even in the healthcare system. The matters in social welfare requires every individuals help to resolve, not just congress. The second major public policy issue we face in American today are within the Public Assistance Programs. Those programs include the SNAP, SSI, and even the TANF program.