Archive for 16. February 2009

(D.J.) Dylan Lintelman (FGCU): Poverty and Welfare in America

16. February 2009 by student.

     Poverty in the United States is an ongoing epidemic that has plagued society for centuries.  Especially in a capitalistic society, such as the one present in our country, it is impossible to avoid poverty.  Along with poverty, another major issue is developed which was originally intended to help the poor, and that issue I called welfare.  The wealth will always be greater in an elite few and the remaining wealth will be spread among the population.  In the US we have a middle working class, an elite class, and a class that is labeled as the poor.  There are many causes of poverty in today’ society and many reasons why people may be forced to rely on welfare to help them survive.                  

      Cutbacks in health, education and other vital social services around the world have resulted from structural adjustment policies prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as conditions for loans and repayment. In addition, developing nation governments are required to open their economies to compete with each other and with more powerful and established industrialized nations. To attract investment, poor countries enter a spiraling race to the bottom to see who can provide lower standards, reduced wages and cheaper resources. This has increased poverty and inequality for most people. It also forms a backbone to what we today call globalization. As a result, it maintains the historic unequal rules of trade.Welfare is a major effect of poverty, especially in the United States.  Welfare is any form of government aid that is given to the poor who don’t work or as a supplement to the working poor who have jobs but do not have enough economic or social resources in order to raise their family and support themselves. 


      After the Great Society legislation of the 1960s, for the first time a person who was not elderly or disabled could receive a living from the American government. This could be comprised of general welfare payments, health care through Medicaid, food stamps, special payments for pregnant women and young mothers, and federal and state housing benefits.  In 1968, 4.1% of families were headed by a woman on welfare; by 1980, this increased to 10%.  In the 1970s, California was the U.S. state with the most generous welfare system.  Virtually all food stamp costs are paid by the federal government.                        

        As a group, America’s poor are far from being chronically undernourished. The average consumption of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms. Poor children actually consume more meat than do higher-income children and have average protein intakes 100 percent above recommended levels. Most poor children today are, in fact, supernourished and grow up to be, on average, one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier that the GIs who stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II.  If these Americans are able to feed themselves then the question of whether or not they really need the welfare comes into play.                      

          Browning reports that the federal government maintains 85 means tested programs targeted to the poor and low income families. In 2005, total Federal, state and local spending on these programs was $620 billion. This was 25% more than was spent that year on national defense.  The largest of these programs is Medicaid, which pays for essential health care for those who lack sufficient funds. The program pays for doctor’s bills, hospitals, and long-term care in nursing homes. Federal and state spending on this program alone this year is an estimated $330 billion. For food stamps and other food and nutrition assistance, the Federal government is spending $60 billion this year. For housing assistance programs, the Feds are currently spending another $40 billion. Federal spending on income security programs such as the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, now renamed Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, will total $130 billion this year.  Government spending overall this year for the 85 federal means tested welfare programs will total about $735 billion. That compares to the national defense budget for this year of just over $600 billion. We are still spending almost 25% more on welfare than national defense.  Moreover, this does not even include the major programs for seniors, Social Security and Medicare. Total spending for Social Security this year will be $615 billion. Another $400 billion will be spent on Medicare, for a total spent for senior citizens of over $1 trillion.  That leaves our total welfare state costing us about $1.7 trillion, almost 3 times national defense. Those are the funds spent for the poor, the sick, and the old. Our total Federal budget is about $2.9 trillion.                       

       Welfare and poverty go hand in hand and both are extremely prevalent in our society today and probably for generations to come.  Statistics on welfare show that it is decreasing, but these figures may be misleading because the individual states have their own welfare systems that are independent to that of the federal government.  This issue is one that sparks extreme emotion between people who need welfare and those who think that they should not have to pay for other people’s mistakes.  The question is not really if welfare should be in place but who should receive it and what methods should determine who should receive it.

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