Poverty and Welfare

By Callie Eastis

History At first, the U.S. used British Poor Laws that made a

distinction between people who couldn’t work because of age or physical health and those who were unemployed.

In the 1800’s, the government tried coming up with ways to help the poor find work so they would no longer need government assistance.

In 1862, the Civil War Pension Program was passed to help Civil War Veterans and their family. During the Great Depression, ¼of the labor force was unemployed. Because of the drastic financial loss and unemployment, the government stepped in to help. The welfare we know began here…

President Roosevelt created the Social Security Act in 1935. Through it’s programs, aid was provided to different segments of the population. Aid to Dependent Children was also enacted by Congress in 1935. This program focused on widows, orphans, divorced or desertedmothers, and their kids. President Clinton was elected in 1992 under the promisethat he would “end welfare as we know it”. Two years later aRepublican Congress was elected that was determined tochange the existing system.

Legislative Actions Members of Congress may introduce a bill

that interests them or that has been proposed by the executive branch or by their constituents or special interest groups.

The bill must pass through both the House and Senate before the president reviews it.

The president directly influences some of the legislation.

An average of 4% of the legislation passed deals with welfare.

Executive Actions Can move issues onto the legislative agenda by working with

members of Congress. If the president’s party holds a majority in Congress, the

president has an advantage in agenda setting. The president can veto bills he does not agree with. Article II Section 2 of the Constitution states the president,

with the advice and consent of the Senate, can appoint officials that will carry out the laws to run federal agencies.

The executive branch can propose a bill to the legislative branch.

The president or a state governor engages directly in policy making by issuing executive orders.

Executive agencies can issue administrative laws.

Judicial Actions Federal courts can determine whether acts of the

legislature or the executive branch of government are constitutional.

Appellate courts can set their own agenda, unlike district courts.

Supreme Court can grant or deny a petition for certiorari. Courts may apply the common law to develop public policy

when a state legislature chooses to avoid controversial issues.

The judicial branch has the final say in interpreting the Constitution. In order to overturn the judicial interpretation, a legislative body has to go through a lengthy process of amending the constitution.

The Bureaucracy Welfare is handled primarily by several federal agencies. The most prominent agency is the Department of Health and Human Services. These agencies are responsible for translating requests fromCongress and the President into workable programs.Welfare checks, food stamps, and other forms ofgovernment assistance flow through the bureaucracyas a result of input from the executive and legislativebranches.

Interest Groups They can influence policy by lobbying government. They

contact members of Congress and the executive branch to disseminate information about the positive or adverse effects of proposed legislation

Through engaging in election activities, interest groups can help get people who support their issues elected. They give money to candidates, endorse candidates or issues, and conduct grassroots activities.

They educate the public and government officials. AARP – A Medicare supplement plan that offers greater

benefit stability than Medicare itself. Their lobbying efforts helped Congress to pass the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act.

Bill is proposed

by Congressintroduced March

1965

Introduced in HouseIntroduced in

Senate

Senate debates

passed

Referred to Senate committee

Ways and Means Committee

Referred to Senate committeeHealth Education, Labor, and Pension

House debates

passed

Goes to presidentJohnson signed in 1965

House and Senate approve compromise

Social Security Act of 1965

Wilbur Cohen pushed the Medicare bill, Johnson gave it high priority

based off his Great Society program. Bill was introduced into Congress.}

Wanted to create a new version of the bill. Three forms of the bill

emerged. When brought back to the Ways and Means committee they suggested combining two of the

forms and the committee took on the task of drafting the bill.

{In March, a draft was presented to Congress. The bill underwent over 500 amendments before being passed by majority in both House and Senate.

The legislation made two amendments: Medicare and Medicaid.

Impact By 1994, Aid to Dependent Children helped 14.2

million recipients. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families required

people on welfare to find jobs within 2 years or lose their benefits. Their incomes remained low, the average person in TANF

was making about $686 a month. Because of the Welfare Reform Act, between 1996

and 2002 the number of welfare recipients declined from 12.2 million to 5 million.

33% of adults on welfare were working by the end of 2005.

Current Status 36.5 million Americans (in

2006) still lived below the

poverty line. Nearly 11% of American

households suffer from “food

insecurity” Food Stamps, Medicaid, Social Security, and many other

programs are still available.

Change and Improvement Eliminate Dependency Trap

Welfare programs reward people for being poor and it diminishes the incentive to work.

Only real solution is to phase out most welfare benefits Redefining What’s Expected from America’s Poor

They must get a job and unwed teenage mothers must live with a responsible adult.

Used to guide people to responsible, self-reliant lives Devising a Jobs Strategy

There is a shortage of jobs with livable wages and benefits. As long as many Americans don’t have a good education

and the number of good-paying jobs is far smaller than the number of job seekers, millions of Americans will be impoverished.

Works Cited http://www.welfareinfo.org/history/ http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/welfare.shtml http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonview.asp?

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http://www.fordschool.umich.edu/research/pdf/Isrconference.pdf

http://www.social-security-lawyers.net/NewsArticleDetail2339.htm

http://www.learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_14/dia_14_topic.html

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_edwards_ga_12/33/8518/2180655.cw/index.html

http://www.publicagenda.org/citizen/issueguides/poverty-and-welfare