Poverty and Welfare

Kelechi Iwuaba, Ben Wright, Weston Upchurch

• Entitlement programs• Government aid to poor

History of Welfare

• Colonies and British Poor Laws• Unable to work received help• Able but unemployed given public service employment

• 1880s and 1890s • Less dependent on gov’t • Caseworkers trained unemployed in morals and work ethic

• FDR and Great Depression• 1935 Social Security Act

• Created numerous welfare programs− Unemployment compensation and AFDC still around

• Agencies were created to oversee the welfare programs• Clinton

• Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act • Each state receives fixed amount of money to run own welfare program• Must find work within two years or lose benefits• Maximum of 5 years

Policymaking Actions

• Legislative- make laws• Many committees• Ex.

• Finance Committee• Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee• Ways and Means Committee

• Executive- carry out • Bureaucracy/ governmental workers

• Judicial- interpret laws• Sort out problems

Chart

Non-Governmental Groups

• Special Interest Groups • Influence elected officials through

lobbying for a specific policy• Examples:

•Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN)

•Bread for the World

Cartoon

Impact on American Public

• Welfare is the largest burden on the government

• Taxes are increased to help fund • The poor get government assistance• Entitlement Programs- “social

insurance”

Modern Welfare

• Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act • Basically reformed Welfare to a certain degree• Goal was to end long-term dependence on welfare

programs• Shifted some of federal government’s roles to states

and cut benefits• Recent Health Care Bill

• Increases the amount of money spent on Medicare and Medicaid

• Expands the area that the money is spent on most people will be able to qualify for its benefits

Analysis • Kelechi

• Welfare should be made more job oriented• Money should not be given for doing

nothing except if injured and unable to work not unemployed.

• Weston• Tax payers should not pay for those who do not do

anything to help the country

• Ben• Welfare should be completely done away

with• Not needed

Work Cited

• http://www.welfareinfo.org/history/• http://www.votesmart.org/issue_group.php?type=category&category=67&go2.x=9&go2.y=15• http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/social_welfare.asp• http://acct.tamu.edu/smith/ethics/taxes.htm• http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0861156.html• http://www.dnet.congress.org/congressorg/directory/committees.tt?show=all• Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Textbook (Edwards)