Running Head: Case Study 3
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Case Study 3: Welfare to Work
UNLV
PUA 440
Case Study 3
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Define the Issue
Public welfare, while available prior to the 1930s, had very little government involvement. “States were not involved at all until the 1920s and then in only a very minor way”
(Stephens and Wikstrom, 161). Even after the New Deal programs of the 1930s, most welfare was passed through directly to the local governments, rather than have the state decide what funds went where. The issue with federal funds for welfare started with the Aid to Families with
Dependent Children, or the AFDC. The AFDC had issues with “the fact that federal entitlement was synonymous with lifelong dependency and lack of responsibility on the part of the
recipients.
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“Some who had been successful found themselves unemployed with no benefits
(Stephens and Wikstrom 164). Another issue was the fact that while some people were able to maintain their lifestyle up to that point, the minimum wage which was at that time, $5.15 per hour had not been increased between 1997 and 2005. This did not help the low-income families as during this period “…consumer prices have increased between 19 and 20 percent, meaning purchasing power of the dollar received by minimum wage workers has declines significantly”
(164). One final issue that helped to turn the success of the Work to Welfare program was the fact that increases in regressive tax and sales tax, as well as state and federal government fees
“fell heavily on those at the bottom of the income scale.”
Conclusion
Due to the economic setbacks of the early 2000s, local revenue was down which led to many states decreasing many of the “supplemental work programs” that supported TANF and the Work to Welfare program up until that time.There were many states that had used all of their surpluses they were able to save in the 1990s which also led to more cutbacks in the federal grants-in-aid to state, local and other federal domestic programs. Because of the cutbacks,
Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting by in America is a critically acclaimed investigative biography of a reporter going undercover to see how individuals manage to live on minimum wage across America. More specifically, Barbara was curious about how were “the roughly four million women about to be booted into the labor market by welfare reform going to make it on $6 or $7 an hour” (1)? Ehrenreich developed a plan and some rules for her undercover research for finding jobs, housing, and living expenses. The research for this book covered a span of three states, Florida, Maine, and Minnesota, between spring of 1998 and summer of 2000.
The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 was a landmark legislation that drastically altered how the U.S. government approached poverty. Passed during Bill Clinton's presidency, the reform aimed to decrease the dependency on state support by promoting self-reliance and employment among the populace. This initiative gave birth to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. However, despite the seemingly positive intentions, the Act arguably created a plethora of issues. In fact, many have criticized the reform for its unrealistic assumptions about the reality of poverty in America.
In the 1930’s a group of government programs and policies were established under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, they were created with the intention to help the American people during The Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time were many banks failed, many businesses and factories went bankrupt, and millions of Americans are out of work, homeless, and hungry. Most New Deal programs gave American citizens economic relief, chances for employment and helped for the general good. The New Deal’s intention was to help Americans during these troubling times filled with economic uncertainty, and in that aspect, it was a success. After the New Deal was implemented, unemployment rates were gradually lowered.
The TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, did have its initial intended impact. TANK was implemented as a new program under President Clinton to lower the dependency of families on welfare which is one of the sole reasons the government made the decision to switch from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to TANF. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priority [CBPP], “The national TANF caseload has declined by over 60 percent over the last 18 years, even as poverty and deep poverty (i.e., income below half the poverty line) have worsened” (2015). TANF received results that the federal government was looking forward to at the time. There are four goals that TANF is required to meet to contribute to the better life for families and children that fall below the poverty line: “(1) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; (2) end the dependence of needy parents on
Even after a state sales tax was implemented Coloradans voted in a pension plan for retired Coloradans (aged sixty and over) that ate up much of the revenue. Despite the benefits from the New Deal programs state and local legislators, “claimed to scorn“ the money that was helping Colorado get back on its feet. Eventually rain would return to the drought ridden southeastern portion of the state and World War II would help bring Colorado, and the rest of the United States, out of the great depression. , However, “In their attitudes, Coloradans joined other westerners who replaced Roosevelt supporters with Republicans or conservative Democrats. Between the Missouri River and the California coast, the New Deal was often lambasted as an alien program actuated by an alien philosophy.
The 1996 Welfare Reform Act abolished Federal Cash Assistance and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs, all of which many believed locked people in the perpetual cycle of state- assisted poverty. There were three research findings on the “efficacy of the 1996 reform, all gave a summary of the most influential studies conducted by US researchers. Nearly all reached the same conclusions: First, Welfare Reform under the Clinton administration did result in a significant shift into new employment by the long-term welfare recipients. Secondly, the overall strong growth conditions were linked to the U.S. during the late 1900s. Third, the growth in income and employment experienced by the American poor welfare to work transition
The Great Depression was a financial and industrial recession that began in 1929. Two long-term causes of the Depression were the overproduction of crops by farmers, which exhausted the land and spurred a huge decrease in crops’ value, and a large number of people buying on margin in the stock market, forcing banks to lose more money than they could afford. President Herbert Hoover, elected in 1928, believed in rugged individualism, which meant there would be no government handouts, voluntary cooperation, where people help themselves and the government only mediates, and that the economy has cycles and therefore the Depression should not be considered dangerous. These beliefs prolonged the Depression because Hoover did not give aid to citizens nor did he attempt to change the economy. When President Franklin
Recommendations: Since, Welfare-to-Work was designed on a state level, each state have their way of allocating the funds and it can be different from state to state. Therefore, we identified some issues in Wisconsin, Maryland, and general. Problem 1: Not having any work requirements for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients to receive benefits. Politicians believe the federal program would set up recipients for long-term use with no incentive of getting them off the program
With the influence of European systems, America created several different programs to help out the unemployed, injured workers, elderly, and minority populations. The state old age pension was the most active form of welfare before Social Security Act began. Over 30 states formed old age pension programs to help out the elderly, but they were inadequate and ineffective. Only about 3 percent of elderly were receiving benefits of .65 cents a day.
This policy provided unemployment insurance, old age insurance and direct aid to the unemployed. This paper will answer the question; what is the long term Impact of The Social Security act of 1935? And will discuss the implication of the U.S. federal government assuming responsibility for public welfare in the
In fact, 18% of the benefits would go to households with an annual income less than $20,000. Benefits of an incrementation disproportionately avail those working households at the bottom of the scale. Albeit households in the bottom 20% receive only 5% of national income. Benefits of the antecedent minimum wage increase peregrinated to these workers. A majority
For many Americans, the minimum wage is not a living wage, and yet they are expected to live on it. When minimum wage was first introduced, it was a living wage. As time has gone on, inflation has caused prices to raise and yet minimum wage hasn’t gone up. People in the past could work blue-collar jobs and pay their way through college and buy a house right after they graduate. This assignment was to budget for a family that is living on minimum wage and it was challenging.
Because of the nature of the depression, the people’s personal responsibility were little to blame. As Roosevelt put it, when private facilities cannot provide jobs for the public, it is the government’s role to provide relief. This marked a three term cycle between aiding the working class, and emerging social programs, that inherently strengthened the powers of the federal government. Altogether, this changed the people's interaction with government from being fairly limited before the twentieth century, to federal government control over monetary policies and workforce standards, which enacted long lasting changes in the upcoming form of government (Biles 3).
What other events combined with the economic crash to make the Depression so harsh? Urban centers had turned into uninhabited areas. Grim shantytowns, bitterly dubbed "Hoovervilles," were made from crates and cartons. Meanwhile, a drought withered crops and made the Great Plains into badlands.
Before these programs the federal government took little responsibility for the wellbeing