Date sent:        Wed, 10 Apr 1996 23:40:14 -0400
Subject:          Here's a 4 page report on the U.S. Welfare system (maybe useful to someone)

Welfare

 Welfare is a government program that provides money, medical care, 

food, housing, and other things that people need in order to survive.  People 

who can receive help from these welfare programs are children, elders, 

disabled, and others who cannot support their families on their current 

income.  Another name for welfare is public assistance.

 There are many organizations that supply this public assistance.  Such 

as Salvation Army and other groups.  Public assistance benefits help many 

people who live below the poverty line, an income level is established for 

families.  If your income is below this you would be eligible to receive this 

help.

Welfare in the United States

 Federal and state governments in the Unites States serve the poor 

people through about 60 public assistance programs.  Most people receive 

help through one of the four major programs.  These programs are Medicaid, 

Aid to families with dependant Children, Social Security, or Supplemental 

Security, or the food stamps program.  I will discuss the four programs 

individually.

 Medicaid provides free medical care to the poor people.  Funds vary 

from state to state.  In some situations, people who may be able to pay daily 

needs, but can't afford large medical bills may also be able to receive 

Medicaid.  Some services paid for are bills such as doctor's visits and nursing 

home care.  Most Medicaid funding comes from the federal government.  

The rest is supplied by the state.  Each state runs their own Medicaid 

program.

 A.F.D.C. provides cash benefits to dependent children and the parents 

or the guardians taking care of them.  Most families that qualify for A.F.D.C. 

have just one parent in the home.  About 80 percent of these families are 

headed by a woman.  A.F.D.C. also pays benefits to two-parent families if 

both parents are unemployed.  Most A.F.D.C. funding comes from the 

federal government.  The states provide the rest of the money and administer 

the program.  The sizes of families' payment vary from state to state.  

 Next is Social Security Income.  This provides financial Aid to people 

in need who are at least 65 years old, blind, or disabled.  The federal 

government finances and administers social security income programs in 

most states, though some states supply the federal payment and are able to 

run their own programs.

 Finally, the Food Stamp Program helps low-income households buy 

more and better food than they could otherwise afford.  Each participating 

household receives a certain number of coupons called food stamps.  The 

stamps are issued by the federal government.  The number of stamps a 

household receives varies with the family's size, income, and expenses.  

Cooperating grocery stores accept the stamps like money for food purchases 

only.

 There are other programs such as energy assistance and public 

housing.  Energy assistance, which is federally financed but administered by 

the states, helps people pay fuel bills.  Public housing provides low cost 

rental apartments in government owned buildings.

 State and local governments fund and administer their own general 

assistance programs.  These programs provide financial aid for needy people 

who do not qualify for other types of welfare.  People waiting to receive 

assistance from other programs also may get temporary emergency aid from 

general assistance.

 Back in the early days, welfare resembled the English system.  Social 

governments were responsible for helping the poor.  But the colonies and 

later the states, sometimes helped the local government provide aid.  The first 

federal welfare program, began after the Revolutionary War, they provided 

pensions to war veterans.  During the Civil War these pensions were 

expanded to cover soldiers' widows and orphans.  In the early 1900's, 

primary responsibility for providing welfare benefits shifted from local to 

state governments.  During these years, states enacted programs to aid 

dependent children and the elderly.  

 The criticisms of welfare ranges over a number of social and economic 

issues.  Some people criticize welfare programs for not providing high 

enough benefits to eliminate poverty.  Spending on welfare would have to 

increase greatly to eliminate poverty, and many people believe the cost is 

already too high.

 Many critics of the welfare system charge that providing a steady 

income to needy people encourages idleness.  Actually, most welfare benefits 

go to elderly, blind, and disabled people and mothers with young children.  

But welfare does discourage some recipients from working harder by 

reducing benefits if their income increases.

 Many people also criticize the welfare system for being too complex 

and costly to administer.  Each program has its own eligibility requirements 

and ways of calculating benefits, and these rules vary from state to state.  

Public officials collect detailed information about applicants to determine 

their eligibility for benefits.  This process is time-consuming and costly.

 Some people cheat the system by not reporting all the income they 

earn.  But suppliers of services to welfare recipients account for most of the 

fraud in welfare.  Some physicians, pharmacists, and others have been 

overpaid because they have made up false bills.

 In my opinion I believe you need welfare because people do need help.  

But I would lower its percent because it won't hurt that much.  Most 

importantly we have to do a better job at finding all the people who cheat the 

program and make them work to repay it.































Bibliography

1.  World Almanac and Book of Facts 1995

      Published by: Funk & Wagnalls Corporation


2.  World Almanac 1989

      Published by: Washington Times Corporation
