The Welfare System & American Society

America's welfare system was created to help poor Americans in need of financial assistance. Over the years, people's intentions, advantages of receiving welfare, and the redefining of "poor" have assisted in corrupting this system. The Heritage Foundation provided statistics to illustrate the lifestyle of present day "poor" Americans. From this report, I learned that "if [the amount of] work in each family increased...nearly 75 percent of poor children would be lifted out of official poverty" and "if poor mothers married the fathers of their children, almost three-quarters would immediately be lifted out of poverty." By increasing weekly work hours and becoming a two-parent family this would result in the ineligibility to receive welfare & a family having to make ends meet on their own (thus acting to "reward idleness and penalize marriage").


In order to improve the distribution of aid, a welfare-specific work program should be created; that is, states should designate certain jobs to those receiving welfare and allocate welfare based on the amount of hours a person works while taking into consideration his or her personal circumstances. This idea is very similar to FDR's work relief program for the unemployed. There also remains the possibility of a socialist Welfare State: the government "provides for the total well-being of its citizens" like housing, clothing, food, health care etc. In addition to helping those in need, I believe it is imperative to encourage poverty stricken children to seek a life of higher living standards by pursuing better careers and lifestyles. Tax dollars would be better spent in programs that teach specific vocational skills and that educate America's future generations on how to make positive financial decisions.