The US Social welfare programs are specifically designed to assist the poor and other socio-economically depressed groups in the nation to lead normal lives through offering them subsidies (Kettler, 2017) In most cases; the recipients should prove beyond any reasonable doubt that their average income is below the target for them to be enrolled. According to Roskin et al. (2015), the federal poverty level as of 2018 is $25,000 per annum (Kettler, 2017). Six major US welfare programs are available for the targeted groups in the community; these are TANF, Medicaid, Food Stamps, SSI, EITC and Housing assistance. They were designed and availed by the federal government which passes them to the states for further funding and dispensation to the community.
Social welfare programs in the US enable the poor socioeconomic groups in the country to lead more comfortable lives (Roskin et al., 2014). They allow them to access subsidized food, housing, utilities and other basic needs. The national social security and Medicare avail about 700 billion annually to run these programs (Kettler, 2017). Many communities in the poor neighborhoods around the country mainly depend on them for a significant percentage of their basic expenses such as utility bills (Roskin et al., 2014). The significance of the programs in the community can be experienced in the neighborhoods where almost everyone seems to be dependent on them.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"US Social Welfare Programs".
Social welfare programs in the United States of America have been criticizing as laziness promoting factors in the targeted neighborhoods (Sherraden, & Gilbert, 2016). Most of the beneficiaries have poor jobs or spend their days indoors or depend on one member of the family to support them. Secondly, the programs have been criticized as a source of social inequality in the community (Sherraden, & Gilbert, 2016). People working hard and earning slightly higher than the stipulated amount yet there are not in the program, hence giving the lazier and poorer families spend better lives than them. Many argue that the eligibility studies are not ample; therefore, the programs cause a great deal of inequality in the community.
- Kettler, A. (2017). Isolating Social Welfare: Recent Works on Neoliberalism, Human Rights, and Public Policy. Human Rights Review, 18(4), 485-490.
- Roskin, M. G. Cord, R. L., Medeiros, J. A., & Jones, W. S. (2014). Political science: An introduction (13th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Sherraden, M., & Gilbert, N. (2016). Assets and the Poor: New American Welfare Policy. Routledge.
