The Welfare-to-Work Program - Assignment Example

Information The implementation of the Welfare-to-Work Program has become a huge concern for many American Taxpayers. These individuals realize that the funds for the Welfare-to-Work Program are inefficiently and ineffectively being administered. Most of the individuals receiving assistance are abusing this program, and poverty levels have continued to increase as oppose to decreasing. This proposal analyzes and demonstrates the reasons for why taxpayers are proposing an initiative for the federal government to reallocate these funds by privatizing the Welfare-to-Work Program. This method will allow the taxpayers to decide how and under what circumstances these funds will be allocated to qualified individuals. The assisted individuals will be responsible for explaining why they qualify for assistance and how they will benefit from this program. This proposal focuses on a cost efficient and effective way for privatizing the welfare program, which will dramatically change this nation and the attitudes of taxpayers. This proposal is very significant for the federal government’s consideration because it carefully identifies a way to monitor the allocation of these federal funds. If the funds are used inappropriately and no transition has been made from poverty, the individual will cease from receiving assistance. Hypothesis American Taxpayers are fed up with the allocation of federal funds for the Welfare-to Work Program. They believe that these taxed funds are inappropriately used. As a result, taxpayers demand a list of the federal fund allocation for the Welfare-to-Work Program because they are deeply concerned with the allocation of these funds, believing that this program is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Introduction The welfare system began when the colonies implemented the British Poor Laws. These laws were designed for individuals who were unable to work because of age, poor physical health, and unemployment. These individuals were funded money from the government. During the 1800s, the government feverishly attempted to reform the welfare system. The federal government has attempted to find ways to transition people on assistance from welfare to employment. The government hired caseworkers to train individuals on morals and work ethics. Before the Great Depression, the United States Congress provided assistance for programs for poverty stricken individuals. One particular program was the Civil War Pension Program, passed in 1862 to provide assistance to Civil War Veterans and their families. After the Great Depression, many families became poverty stricken and needed assistance. According to reports, it was estimated that one-fourth of the labor force were unemployed during the worst half of the Great Depression. Due to individuals’ financial problems, the federal government assisted to help during this time, creating the beginning of welfare assistance. The federal government, under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Presidency, created the Social Security Act in 1935. Under this act, which was amended in 1939, several programs were established, such as Unemployment Compensation and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). To assist with these programs, government agencies were created, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Education. However, in 1996, the federal government, under Bill Clinton’s Presidency, attempted to reform welfare by creating the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The act allows the federal government to provide lump sum assistance to individual states to assist with the poor. The states were required to follow a set of guidelines to ensure that individuals were given aid, thus encouraging these individuals to shift from welfare-to-work. Methods & Materials The federal government should implement a clear and concise plan where the taxpayers decide how the Welfare-to-Work funds are dispensed. The way to begin this implementation is to provide taxpayers with a list of affected areas and the statistics in these areas. The individuals will follow strict guidelines and report their improvements. If the improvements increase, these areas will continue to receive funding until the need cease. This type of program would be considered the Taxpayers Choice Program. Results The results of implementing the Taxpayers Choice Program to monitor the allocation of federal funds for Welfare-to-Work have proven to be too expensive for the federal government. Results Discussion According to the Congressional Research, they have spent $5.4 trillion dollars since 1960 on federal means-tested poverty programs. However, the poverty levels are higher now than in the 1960s. The federal government currently spends an estimated cost of $400 billion, approximately two-thirds of federal dollars towards programs to transition individuals out of poverty. Under federal public assistance, the individuals funded assistance are not required to explain how they plan on changing their lives or show an effort to change their poverty status. However, if the Welfare-to-Work Program is privatized, the individuals are not allowed to receive assistance unless they show an effort to change or describe why they need government assistance. When a federal assistance program is privatized, the funds are allocated efficiently and effectively to the qualified individual. The problem with the Welfare-to-Work Program is that most of the money is not distributed to true poverty stricken individuals. Because federal funds go through a political process, powerful, special interest groups usually receive their funds before more needed groups. The federally funded welfare funds are not faced with market competition, allowing money for this program to be spent ineffectively and inefficiently. The connection between the topic and the problem is the inappropriate use of dispensing federal funds, which has contributed to the high costs of implementing means-tested poverty programs. Results Conclusion The solution to this problem is to privatize the welfare funds effectively and efficiently. Privatizing this program will allow the money that is collected to efficiently and effectively be distributed in the hands of qualified individuals who are actually poverty stricken and who want to make a successful transition from welfare-to-work. However, the federal government disagrees in creating a solution for privatizing welfare funds because of the costs to transition from public to private funding. In addition, privatizing the welfare funds makes it harder for individuals to receive assistance. Most individuals who are receiving money are not at extreme poverty levels and have no intention of changing their status. Therefore, the welfare fund recipients would most likely prefer the federal government’s allocation of funds because they are not required to explain how they will change their lives from being in poverty or why they qualify for assistance. I refute these two objectives because the federal government spends more money to publically dispense funds for welfare. The funds are inappropriately spent, which causes taxpayers to believe that it is a waste of money to fund this program. Tax dollars are being wasted instead of used in ways to transition more people from poverty. After analyzing this study, I realize that the real problem is poverty not welfare. Poverty stricken individuals have no motivation to transition themselves from welfare to employment, even though they are granted federal assistance to provide with this transition. These individuals have become comfortable with their situations, and as long as they are receiving federal funds, most of them do not see a real need to change. Creating the Taxpayers Choice Program to regulate the Welfare-to-Work Program would not only change the poverty levels but elevate the society as a whole, allowing the unemployment rate for Americans to decrease. Therefore, the federal government should strategize in implementing ways to efficiently and effectively dispense money for this program. I realize that the overall expenditure for this program is expensive, but the federal government should be dispensing money on a program that is meeting its’ purpose. The welfare recipients should be required to follow strict guidelines for receiving these funds. As an employee, I am required to follow strict federal guidelines and drug testing to receive a paycheck. Should welfare recipients freely receive funds without restrictions or federal requirements? According to a policy brief publication at the University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy for the National Poverty Center, there is an estimated prevalence of substance abuse among the welfare population. The figures are demonstrated below. Conclusion The information in the previous sections demonstrates how deeply the Welfare-to-Work Program needs revision. The American Taxpayers are ready for a change and are concerned about this program’s fund allocation. The federal government realizes that the poverty levels in the United States are increasing and will continue to rise unless there is a policy reform. The government provided programs such as Medicaid, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). To reverse this affect, the government decided to implement the Welfare-to-Work Program. The overall purpose of this system was to remove individuals from solely depending on welfare to placing them in jobs. However, the federal government has developed a bad plan in allocating welfare funds to individuals. This system has failed because many individuals have become dependant on the welfare system and have not developed a means to transitioning themselves from welfare-to-work. Because this program is publically funded, these individuals are not regulated to explain how they will transition from poverty to work or how this program currently benefits them. The federal government is partly to blame for this problem. Because there is no competition from other markets, the money for this program is wasted. The Welfare-to-Work Program should be carefully monitored to ensure that individuals are actually transitioning from poverty. Many individuals who are truly poverty stricken do not receive these federal funds. The funds are quickly granted to powerful, special interest groups. However, the real change unfolds when one person takes the initiative to want to transition from welfare-to-work. However, American Taxpayers will not see this change unless the federal government steps in and regulates strict guidelines for the disbursement of these federal funds by creating the Taxpayers Choice Program. Works Cited Jayakody, Rukmalie, et al. “Substance Abuse and Welfare Reform.” NATIONAL POVERTY CENTER. Apr. 2004. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN GERALD R. FORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY. 29 Nov. 2008. . Popple, Phillip R. and Leslie Leighniger. Social Work, Social Welfare, and American Society. Needham: Allyn & Bacon, 2007. Winston, Pamela, et al. “Privatization of Welfare Services: A Review of the Literature.” MATHEMATICA Policy Research, Inc. May 2002. 29 Nov. 2008. . “The History of Welfare.” Welfare Information. 27 Nov. 2008. . “Making Welfare to Work Really Work.” American Psychological Association. Copyright 2008 American Psychological Association. APA ONLINE. 27 Nov. 2008. . “Welfare.” NATIONAL CENTER FOR POLICY ANALYSIS Idea House. Copyright 2001 NCPA. 28 Nov. 2008. . Read More