Welfare in America - Research Paper Example

Welfare in America Introduction: “The American War on Poverty failed because it was presented as a pro Negro enterprise; it was not seen as a Universalist problem of inequality, social justice, exclusion....How to include poor people, and especially poor colored people, in our societies, and at the same time to channel proportionately more resources in their favor without inducing shame or stigma, remains one of the great challenges for social policy in Britain and the USA.” (Brown et al 1999). The aftermath of the economic depression of the 1930s, was the inclusion of social and employment policies in the constitutional framework of industrialized countries around the world. Like most countries, the United States of America stayed abreast with capitalist development by promising the provision of increased employment opportunities and ensuring the provision of proper security and social justice among all disparate societies. In the years following the economic depression, the United States of America dealt with the posed problems meticulously and made tremendous changes in its constitutional framework in an effort to ensure the protection of senior citizens and poor population. The policy makers and legislators tried to extend the provisions equally among the White and Black American populations. An important step towards the development of an efficient social welfare system was the supplementation of social wages with private wages and the banishment of impoverished old age. (Brown et al 1999). Was Welfare system a failure? The typical problems of a welfare lagged nation such as the absence of a proper health care and housing system were remedied and for most, proper education was guaranteed. Moreover, the elderly American population was ensured protection from the fear of being isolated in the floundering sea of impoverished old age, by the introduction of Public Social Insurance system. The Public Social Insurance system ensured the provision of social security pensions and an efficient system of Medicare which has guaranteed welfare and decelerated the rate of poverty among the American senior citizens. (Brown et al 1999).Despite the strenuous efforts of authorities to prosper towards a welfare state, America’s War against poverty and the struggle towards the implementation of social rights remained unachieved. Some of the primary reasons for defective implementation of social rights and welfare system are; lack of commitment for the establishment of full employment, low expenditures reserved for the public and the over reliance on policies which are means-tested. Despite the fact that American government appreciates individual efforts and claimed to practice equality, the social protection system plunged most individuals into darkness while raised others to high standards of living. (Bornet 1960). By 1980s, the American welfare system reached the end of its developmental phase, but still more than 35 million Americans did not have access to any type of health insurance. Furthermore, an estimated 40 percent of the general public was not entitled to receive any State sanctioned cash transfers. The disparate treatment of individuals was obvious by the fact that approximately forty six percent of the State sanctioned benefits were received by individuals who were classified into the category of provision of top twenty percent of the distribution of income. Moreover, only the upper one third proportions of the families were provided with medical expenses and deduction on interests regarding mortgages. The paradoxical legacy and the perfect example of disparate racial treatments were mirrored by the unfair provisions extended to the African American population. (Trattner 1974). The Black American population had no right to vote and thus had no say in the drawing up of constitutional framework of the United States of America. The African American population was thrown into a floundering sea of fear and isolation due to the unequal distribution of social rights on the basis of racism. In the United States of America, the social security system is regarded as the State’s most generous system but its generosity was only enjoyed by the White American population because low benefits were extended to the African American society. Every median African American household individual had a considerably lower weekly wage as compared to the weekly wages of White median American household. On the other hand, the Black population was liable to pay a large amount of their already low income, as payroll taxes to the state. Moreover, the White populations due to many reasons were far more likely to benefit from the lucrative tax expenditures such as the deductions sanctioned on mortgage interests. The social policies implemented by the American government promoted racial inequality and forced the underprivileged African American population into deeper trenches of poverty. In the year 1986, individuals belonging to the white American population received more than 90 percent of the entire non means-tested payments and on the other hand, Black American population received only 8 percent of the non means tested payments. Moreover, white population enjoyed the provision of more than 63 percent of the means tested payments, while unfortunately the black population only received 32 percent of the means tested payments. (Brown et al 1999). Such racial disparities proved to be the major reasons for the failure of social welfare system. Furthermore, most of the black American population was deprived of the assistance provided by middle class social programs and such assistance was only extended for the development of white American population. Moreover, in the year 1980, 78 percent of the white population had access to health insurance policies compared with only 54 percent of the privileged African American population. This reflects that more than 40 percent of the African American society was deprived of health care facilities. According to most poverty analysts, racial differences were not the only reason for the status difference reflected by the social welfare system. Gender inequality was also a major reason for the basis of status difference and this is also one of the major reasons for the slow American progress towards a poverty free nation. (Bornet 1975). For much of the American history, women were deprived of assistance provided by the social insurance policies. Women were subjected to both benevolent and juvenile sexism and were also denied enrollment in universities and colleges. Moreover, women have not only suffered form educational exclusion but have also been deprived of occupational opportunities. Therefore, like African American population, women have also suffered tremendously at the hands of harsh policy makers and legislators. Moreover, women were stigmatized in a similar manner like African Americans and thus both suffered not only intellectually but also emotionally because they were forced into fear and isolation. The racial stratification of the policy makers and legislators has been ingrained since the earliest colonial days. Since its initial days, United States forefathers and constitutional framers were unsuccessful in transforming their racialized social policies into policies that would pave the way towards racial and gender equality. Through much of the American history, black populations were demoralized in more than one way; through the implementation of strict job restrictions, through the denied access to basic adult and child health care facilities and also through the devastating effects of educational inclusion. Moreover, the black population and minorities had to no say in the very constitution that governed them, because they had no right to vote. Despite the unfair treatment of the African American population throughout the history of America, ironically today the black population is blamed for the failure of social welfare system. During much of the American history, Federal government dealt with the plaguing issues of ethnic and racial disparities between the White and Black population, by drawing an invisible yet authoritative line between the two societies. In most cases, this invisible line proved to be the essence for the failure of American social welfare system. (Epstein 1997). War against Poverty in America: Since colonial time, America has engaged a war against the paradox of poverty. The question arises that what are the reasons of the continued failure of struggle against poverty in today’s industrialized, well developed United States of America? Why people are deprived of health care services, in the World’s most economically and medically advanced nation? Is the unfair treatment of African Americans including segregation of Black schools, racist policies, benevolent and juvenile sexism, to blame? What are the reasons for disparate living standards of rich and poor in the United States of America? These are the questions that legislators and policy makers need to ask themselves if they really want to eliminate racial and ethnic inequality that has been plaguing the American society since forever. The American paradox of poverty has been there throughout the history of the nation, however, the attention focused on the disparate living standards of rich and poor, is new. For most individuals the overhaul of the welfare system is the primary reason for the direction of attention towards the poor societies of America. (Funiciello1993). The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 abolished the traditional system of social welfare in an effort to pave the way for the prosperity of poor population. Some of the key provisions of Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation were; i. The establishment of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). As the name suggests, TANF was introduced for the assistance of poor families and replaced former assistance programs such as Aid to Families with Poor Children. ii. The eligibility criteria for receiving Supplemental Security Income were tightened. iii. Strong policies were drafted for the enforcement of strict collection of child support payments. iv. Foster care units and systems were provided with greater financial assistance and support. v. Establishment of block grant programs to help working parents provide better care or their children, and strengthened the American standards for food stamps and other related services. Moreover, in 1996, the liberal welfare system was abolished and in its place, frameworks and policies drafted by the conservative congressional Republicans were introduced. The American welfare politics started modifying its policies during the time of Regan and Bush. During the transformation of American welfare system, the African American population started receiving constitutional rights that they had been deprived of, for too long. On the other hand, the civil rights movement and landmark Supreme Court decisions such as the Brown vs. Board of Education Topeka were some of the primary reasons that switched the attention of legislators and policy makers towards minimizing the ethnic and racial disparities. The efforts of the American government have been slow in progressing towards the elimination of ethnic and racial disparities, nonetheless the development towards poverty free America has been significant. In accordance with a study conducted in the year 2000, 11.3 percent of the American population was officially listed as poor. The criteria used for the classification was based on the incomes guidelines provided by the US Office of Management and Budget. Moreover, approximately 4.4 percent of the American population was suffering from extreme poverty. This rate is considerably lower than rates revealed by surveys conducted during the 1970s. The rise in living standards can be analyzed from the fact that in 2000, the income distribution elevated to $ 14,232 from the previous figure of $ 12,625 in the year 1999. In the year 1996, when welfare reform bill was launched, most of the poverty analysts believed that the bill will force more than 1 million children into poverty and will also adversely affect single mothers. Furthermore, certain critics speculated that the strict time limits imposed by the welfare reform bill would have a devastating effect on minorities. Fortunately, none of these speculations have surfaced up till now. The welfare reform bill has proved to be a success and over the years since its implementation, poverty rates have decelerated among the minorities. The success of the federal welfare system is truly mirrored by the following quote: “After three decades of conservative intellectual, rhetorical, and political opposition to the liberal welfare system, the conservatives finally achieved their political goal of creating e new federal welfare system.”(O'Connor 2003). References: Epstein, William M. Welfare in America: How Social Science Fails the Poor. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997. Print. Brown, Michael K. Race, Money, and the American Welfare State. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999. Print. Bornet, Vaughn D. Welfare in America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1960. Print. Trattner, Walter I. From Poor Law to Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in America. New York: Free Press, 1974. Print. Riemer, Frances J. Working at the Margins: Moving Off Welfare in America. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. Print. Funiciello, Theresa. Tyranny of Kindness: Dismantling the Welfare System to End Poverty in America. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1993. Print. O'Connor, Brendon. A Political History of the American Welfare System: When Ideas Have Consequences. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. Print. Read More