Personal Responsibility Pros And Cons

For instance, in the source “Cons of Welfare” by Angus Koolbreeze argues, “Instead of continuing to seek a job, or perhaps taking steps toward entrepreneurship, the individual will look forward to receiving that unemployment benefit check every two weeks”. Tons of people do not work and just rely on the government to pay their rent, and food. Many of them just have kids and the more kids you have the more government money you get. Moreover, in the source, “List of Pros and Cons”, by Anonymous argues, “When people are allowed to receive money while they are out of work, it can create a feeling of dependence. Less motivated workers may grow used to getting a check for doing nothing and wish to prolong the process for as long as possible. The longer a person stays out of work, the more their skills will decline and deteriorate.” People become dependent on the system and they will not try to make themselves independent. They just rely on this check, because it's easy money. Therefore, welfare should be given for a limited amount of

In 1996, the United States came up with the welfare to work law, which is now known as the Welfare to Work program (Hill). The purpose of this program was to encourage Americans on welfare to go back to work and not just stay at home and do nothing (Hill). The main goal was to reduce welfare by increasing the income of people on welfare (Greenberg). The program required people to get in an education program, get some type of training, or try to find a job (Greenberg). These requirements were intended to eventually get welfare recipients to get a job and not depend on welfare (Greenberg). Like

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?

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 ended America’s largest cash assistance program, which was the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). It was replaced with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which emphasized work, personal responsibility, economic self-sufficiency and strong families. This was created in an effort to help minimized the use of welfare by low income mothers. As a result, these low income mothers could no longer receive cash aid until further notice,

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.

"The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, or the welfare reform law established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF is a block grant program designed to make dramatic reforms in the nation's welfare system."(http://www.acf.dhls.gov/HyperNews/get/opre2/wtwreg.html) This grant became effective as of July 1, 1997. This grant replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. It also replaced several other programs such as Emergency Assistance or EA program. The goal of TANF is to promote family responsibility and self- sufficiency. This program will provide this by placing welfare recipients into the workforce. Under the TANF program assistance is given to individuals for a limited time. When that time period has expired, it is the State's

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act also shifted the spotlight of welfare from family maintenance through government-supported financial assistance to family economic self-sufficiency through paid employment. This federal welfare reform policy known as TANF encourages employment and personal responsibility by mandating states to provide financial benefits to families on a temporary basis, having recipients participate in a work requirement while receiving aid, and providing incentives for recipients to transition off welfare. The programs name indicated its purpose and the social message to the recipient.

Welfare has been a controversial issue since the 1960s, and continues to be a controversial issue. During the late 1980s, citizens were calling for reform of the Welfare System. Due to citizen concern the Personal Responsibility, Welfare and Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) came into effect. On August 22, 1996, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation of 1996. The Welfare Reform Act drastically changed the nation’s welfare system. The Welfare Reform Act was

The welfare system was originally created to help people who were temporarily out of work or in need of assistance, but “total welfare spending has nearly doubled since 1996” (Donovan and Rector). Through the years, this program has evolved into a system that still offers assistance, but also does not encourage it recipients to find a way out. The welfare system is dishing out millions of dollars each year to recipients who are putting forth zero effort into supporting themselves and their families. Instead, they rely on tax-payer 's money. The weight of supporting these programs is on the shoulders of middle class workers. As a result American society is getting into deeper poverty. “Unless Congress acts, it will drive the nation into bankruptcy” (Donovan and Rector). The welfare system was at once a good idea to help others get off their feet, but it has changed dramatically over the years due to people abusing the system.

The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 was enacted in order to change the current welfare policy at the time. This welfare policy that existed was originally meant to provide financial assistance as well as decent healthcare coverage during times of economic hardship (Kaestner, 2004). This policy was implemented as a way to help hundreds of thousands of families overcome financial hurdles. However, the idea behind the reforming of welfare was to avoid the stereotypical individuals that lived off of welfare to continue doing so. Evidence existed that concluded that people who lived off of government welfare assistance were actually allowing this system to destroy their desire to work and sustain themselves (Rector & Marshall, 2013). Welfare was seen as a detrimental part of the government and it was viewed as feeding into a lazy and poorly disciplined class of individuals. Welfare's initial intention was to aid widows who had children to support, but in a matter of decades the entire welfare system converted from being a safety net for individuals in dire times of need, to a support system for able-bodied men who lacked motivation to find employment and sustain themselves and their families (Rector & Marshall, 2013). The Welfare Reform Act came as a way to remedy these problems. Stipulations were put on those applying to receive welfare benefits. Limits were enacted that would reduce the amount of time that people could receive the benefits in order to speed up their

America had seen very little welfare reform for almost 60 years prior to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996. This ended the previous welfare system, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and created the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. Instead of simple cash assistance, the TANF block grant requires specific work hours in order to receive money. Under this system, each state is responsible for its own implementation of welfare programs. Wisconsin’s system is called “Wisconsin

Many have said that the current welfare system encourages dependency. They say that the value of welfare benefits is more attractive to many long-term recipients than are entry level, minimum wage jobs. In several states, welfare programs pay recipients the equivalent of a $25,000 a year job. The value of the full benefits of the average welfare recipient exceeds the poverty level ( McCuen/Rector 29). Welfare benefits are tax-free so the dollar value is greater than that of a comparable worker. The following are some prime examples of the abuse that takes place within the welfare system.

Before Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) became what it is known as today, it was called Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). AFDC was a grant program created to allow states to fund cash welfare payments for needy children who struggle with parental support because of a father or mother’s absence, unemployment, incapacity, or death. It was established by the Social Security Act of 1935. When President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996, it replaced AFDC and its administration, the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program, and the Emergency Assistance (EA) program with TANF, a cash welfare block grant. The belief for this transition was that Americans should become

The time limit on welfare would not affect the already employed single mothers as much as it would the unemployed mothers. It was found that in certain cases single mothers who were unemployed were without a job not out of personal desire to continue on governmental assistance, they just could not find a reliable job that provided them with their necessary needs in relation to the responsibilities they had with their children. A solution to the single mothers on welfare factor would be that certain applicants under critical circumstances can file for an extension in welfare, if they meet set requirements.

In 1996, the federal government came to the conclusion that the welfare system should be placed in the hands of the state governments. With this in mind, the Temporary Aid to Needy Families was established. The TANF is more governed towards getting people back into the workforce by requiring recipients to engage in job searches, and participate in community service. The previous phase of welfare was more for providing people with capital in the hopes that he/she would use it to get back on his/her feet. The TANF is still known as welfare to the public (“Government Spends”). In the new welfare program,