The Effects Of Welfare On The United States - 1455 Words

When the United States of America first began, there were small villages with men and women of varying degrees of wealth. Like any society, there were people who had little money and poor living conditions while others were wealthy. In the colonies of the new world, the church and the neighbors of those in poverty helped provide food and clothing, while also finding ways to improve their daily lives. These acts of kindness were an enormous help to the poor but sadly became less effective to those individuals as the population of the colonies increased along with the number of those in poverty. Soon seeing the streets filled with the poor the government of this new country decided that an improved method of help should be put into effect:†¦show more content†¦The prodigious and most influential supporters of the current welfare system is the Democratic Party. Prior to 1930, much of the assistance to the poor came from local and state government, but was primarily provided by volunteers and the church. Once the great depression hit, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the â€Å"New Deal† policies that included new federal initiatives to help those in poverty. With millions of people unemployed during the 1930s economic depression, welfare assistance was beyond the financial resources of the states. the federal government mainly provided funds directly to recipients through programs developed such as medical care (Medicaid), supplemental Security Income (SSI), public housing and food stamps. During this time period, the government believed it was the only entity big enough to assist everyone in need. Their hope was that these programs would decrease poverty and eventually allow the recipients to rejoin the workforce to be productive citizens(Burton). However, experts began to worry that these programs had created a culture of dependency, which deterred people from withdrawing from the welfare system and seeking employment. Another harmful example is the number of children who were born outside marriage because of increased welfare checks given to those in a single parent homes. Another reason that many want to reform welfare is because of the twenty trillion dollars that the government spends every