Jocelyn Mrha(FGCU) Welfare

What is welfare? Welfare is a set of connected programs including job training, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), WIC checks,  Social Security, and Medicare.  It is aimed towards assisting lower class and poorer citizens.  Welfare was instituted in the 1930’s, and has grown exponentially since then.   In 2006, welfare cost approximately 354.5 billion dollars, which is 2.7% of total GDP.

Some people claim that the welfare system is being abused. The myth that welfare goes to black, unwed teenage mothers that stay on for years at a timeis false.  In 2007, a study was done that proved that the majority of people on welfare are non-black adults that stay on for only about 2 years before going off of it.    Also, many older people are on Medicare and Medicaid.

When the Bush administration was in office, they tried reforming welfare. Their main objective was to give the welfare recipients more hours at work, and better jobs.  They increased it from 30 to 40 hours per week, and increased the number of welfare recipients that held jobs from 60% to 70%.

Personally, I think that welfare should be a little more restrictive. People applying should have to undergo routine drug testing, so that they will not use the money on drugs. Also, the government should keep a closer eye on how the recipients are spending the money.

This entry was posted on 4. November 2009 at 00:48 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.