Government Welfare During The Great Depression

The America in the 1930s was drastically different from the luxurious 1920s. The stock market had crashed to an all time low, unemployment was the highest the country had ever seen, and all American citizens were affected by it in some way or another. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal was effective in addressing the issues of The Great Depression in the sense that it provided immediate relief to US citizens by lowering unemployment, increasing trust in the banks, getting Americans out of debt, and preventing future economic crisis from taking place through reform. Despite these efforts The New Deal failed to end the depression. In order for America to get out of this economic

A Government trying to save its people does anything that is in its power to make it happen. The U.S. Government in that time just like any other government would do, tried to improve the country’s conditions during the Great Depression; however, sometimes when people try to do something quick in a critical situation, most of the time people choose the wrong or least convenient option thinking that it would help, but it actually does not. Martin, K. explains that once the Depression was getting even worse, the government had to take responsibility for that situation, and promised protection of its citizens. Then, the government decided that a solution according to the “Tariff Act of 1930” (2017), would be to raise the taxes on imported goods,

Imagine a world where ones social status won’t determine the outcome of their educational enrichment, a child’s health care prosperities, or even career opportunities. Through years of capitalist modification, society has determined levels of social stratification. What if there was a way to decrease the judgement of welfare participants, decrease welfare payments and increase our economic stand point without removing benefits from needy families?

Welfare officially started after the Great Depression in the 1930s. On top of guaranteed cash payments to the poor, monthly benefits were given out to single mothers and children regardless of their ability to work, assets on hand, or personal circumstances. There was also no time limit on the welfare program. Once accepted, people could stay on welfare for their entire lives. In the 1990s, public opinion had turned strongly against the old welfare system. The welfare system included no incentive for recipients to seek employment. More people enrolled in welfare because they wanted the support, rather than needed it. The system was viewed as rewarding, and it made poverty rates and welfare enrollments rise. It was in 1996 that the government realized they needed to make a change.’

I chose this because (FERA) helped people in The Great Depression.(FERA) was created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933 to 1934 FERA was established as a result of the Federal Emergency Relief Act and was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Under Hoover, the agency gave loans to the states to operate relief programs.

America spends an annual amount of 131.9 billion dollars on welfare alone (Department of Commerce). So many facts about welfare are overwhelming, such that over 12,800,000 Americans are on the welfare system. The entire social welfare system is in desperate need of a complete reform. In order for a proper reform to ensue, the people of America must combine efforts with the U.S. government to revitalize the current welfare system. This reform would involve answering two important questions. First, how has today’s welfare system strayed from its original state and secondly, how is the system abused by welfare holders in today’s economy?

Welfare started as a temporary response to the economic crash in the 1930s. Its primary goal was to provide cushioning to the families who lost the ability to be self-sufficient during the Great Depression. Yet, as America slowly rose back to becoming prosperous and wealthy, a significant chunk of America's population stayed below in the transitioning social system. The welfare system started to become counterproductive to the government so that, in the 1990s, Clinton hastily came up with legislation to end welfare, more famously known as the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. This road that Clinton led ended in a downfall as more people than ever before are now dependent on the federal government for food, housing, and income. Our current welfare reform may need another reform before welfare can truly end.

Thousands of people are signed up to receive welfare in America, this program is designed to aid poor and needy families. However, it has become some people’s way of earning an income. Several argue against and say that welfare is not destroying our country and creating a dependent people who have learned to abuse certain privileges that come with living in this nation.

Welfare abuse is a severe problem across the country. Each year, millions of Americans receive government benefits such as housing assistance, food stamps, telephone service, and other funds. Welfare is a kind of system that is being set by a government to help and assist families and individuals who are having a hard time providing for themselves such as food, clothing, education and health assistance. This program helped many families survive during The Great Depression and still helps families survive today. Welfare, which was once meant to help individuals re enter society, has been abused and manipulated. The abuse of the Welfare System has become a serious problem. Many dependent persons rely mainly on welfare for their sole source of

The Great Depression originated in the United States. This tragedy occurred due to a couple of factors, artificial prosperity was one, being created from World War I; the 1920’s when Europe was rebuilding on loans and goods from the United States, and German reparations paying for loans; and lastly the 1929 collapse of the stock market. Another contribution to the Great Depression was the inadequate infrastructure including the stock market, banks being unregulated, and unemployment benefits being non-existent. Overproduction also played a role in the creation of the Depression. The Great Depression did not only affect the United States but was felt worldwide by numerous countries with a variety of economies and governments. Government intervention was a reoccurring key theme in how the different places overcame the obstacles the Great Depression offered. The United States, the Soviet Union, Germany, Japan, and Latin America were all somehow impacted by the Great Depression. Each country had its

Welfare has been a safety net for many Americans, when the alternative for them is going without food and shelter. Over the years, the government has provided income for the unemployed, food assistance for the hungry, and health care for the poor. The federal government in the nineteenth century started to provide minimal benefits for the poor. During the twentieth century the United States federal government established a more substantial welfare system to help Americans when they most needed it. In 1996, welfare reform occurred under President Bill Clinton and it significantly changed the structure of welfare. Social Security has gone through significant change from FDR’s signing of the program into law to President George W. Bush’s

The Great Depression was a time of tragedy and despair. There are several factors, which have contributed to the health of the nation during the Great Depression. While there were setbacks, there were also improvements during this time. Disabling diseases were more common in low-income families. However, cures for diseases were also found. Studies have found that the life expectancy increased during and after the great depression.

According to the book, Welfare. Helping Hand or Trap, by Anne E. Weiss it shows many statistics of how welfare has cost the government an astronomical amount of money. In 1995 an excess amount of money, 17 million dollars was taken from the annual taxpayers. The money was collected and redistributed amongst the society in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Welfare Programs. Today, the U.S.A spends even more on welfare programs than in 1995. It was recorded last year; the U.S.A spent well over three hundred billion dollars just on welfare programs (Federman). The statistics show this number has increased over a hundred billion dollars just from the last ten years (Westfall). In just 2014, 109,631,000 million people were recorded to be living off of welfare (Weiss). Although the intention of the program is meant to have a positive effect, it seems to be doing the complete opposite for some. Unfortunately, the current government system does not have enough checks and balances to ensure those who receive aid are truly using it to help them begin to step out of their poverty trap. In truth, why should hard working taxpayers be coerced to take financial responsibility for those who take advantage of the current system and do not take responsibility for

The welfare system first came into action during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Unemployed citizens needed federal assistance to escape the reality of severe poverty. The welfare system supplies families with services such as: food stamps, medicaid, and housing among others. The welfare system has played a vital role in the US, in controlling the amount of poverty to a certain level. Sadly, the system has been abused and taken for granted by citizens across the country. The welfare system was previously controlled by the federal government until 1996; the federal government handed over the responsibility to the states in hope of reducing welfare abuse. However, this change has not prevented folks from scamming the system. The

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.