To what extent does social security encourage benefit dependency OR discuss the proposition that work is the best form of welfare - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages First, social security is a form of relief from poverty. In the event where a person losses his or her job, the state shall come to its rescue by providing replacement income. The second reason why a government would provide social security is that it is a means of social protection. Not only will the social security system provides protection against poverty, it gives a person some peace of mind that he or she will not suffer from deprivation in the event where he or she gets sick or losses his or here job. The third reason why social security is provided is that it is a means of redistributing income back to the people. People who have less or have inadequate income can benefit from this system.
The very concept of social security stems from the idea of mutual cooperation between the government and its citizens. As part of the commitment of the government to protect its people, the social security system in but a transitory thing where people gets assistance while they get back into their feet after they fall into “bad luck”. Although the concept of social security is a noble idea that is supposed to help people instead of making them dependent on the system, there instances in the past as well as in our present society that would lead us to believe otherwise. Government records on social security would tell us that there are a growing number of people in the United Kingdom who are becoming government dependents. To prove this point, let us look into the activities in the areas of employment and social security from 1997 to January 2006.
Between 1997 and 2001, the unemployment rate of the country fell from 7.2% to 4.9%.1 However, in the next five years that followed this progress, there is no significant change or improvement in the unemployment rate of the country. Where there is no increase or decrease in statistics, we can safely conclude that there have no significant improvements during these years in terms of employment. Considering ...Download file to see next pagesRead More