Social Welfare’s Controversial Issues

The American social welfare system

The American social welfare system, which was first adopted in 1935 as part of the Franklin Roosevelt Social Security Act, is a scheme that relies on previous earnings and contributions to assist needy people from payrolls. Workers’ compensation, health benefits, disability insurance, survivors and old-age protection are now the most prevalent social security schemes in America. Despite the fact that social welfare policies have been lauded on numerous platforms for their contribution to alleviating poverty, especially among vulnerable communities, they have also sparked debate and resistance (Hunter & Donovan, 2000). The fundamental argument raised by those against social welfare is the fact that the beneficiaries of social welfare tend to be lazy and undetermined to work towards self-sufficiency, but rather rely on the sweat of others for survival. However, every form of social welfare has its own controversy as discussed below.

The flaws of the American social security system

The American social security system has on many times been criticized for being flawed. Since the social security is based on a “Pay as you go” structure which the current workers’ pay for the social welfare of retirees, its effectiveness is controversial. The overall workability and appropriateness of this system regarding equity, its impact on economic growth, and sustainability have been debated on many platforms. Logically, for this system to work; there must be a sustainable balance between workers and retirees; and if at some time the number of retirees exceeds that of employees, this model becomes impractical. Given the projections of 0.39 retirees per worker by 2040, policymakers are concerned about the viability of the social welfare program viability especially in the long term (Marx, 2004).

Public assistance programs

Public assistance programs are other forms of social welfare which are based on the selective delivery of intervention assistance to families that have been classified as needy. Other forms of selective social assistance to vulnerable families entail food stamps, temporal assistance to needy families, unemployment insurance, etc.

The focus on short-term solutions in American social welfare

The American Social Welfare has been faulted for being grossly flawed in that its fundamental goal is the treatment of symptoms rather than the actual problem or disease. The fact that we do not think beyond giving short-term assistance to a few unprivileged individuals by providing them with superficial assistance will not be of any significant impact. Most of the policies adopted by the American Social welfare programs, which entail the provision of food stamps, grants to the aged and temporary assistance to needy families, do little for the betterment of the lives of the disadvantaged families. Rather than offering only relief aid to the underprivileged, the relevant stakeholders ought to put in place viable long-term mechanisms to empower these families economically for future self-reliance. As they say, it is better to teach a man how to fish rather than providing him with the fish; hence economically empowering the vulnerable families would not only save the society a lot of funds in the future but also help them build the country for a more prosperous nation. Also, the fact that rather than providing social securities aimed at stabilizing the lives of the disadvantaged, current American social security policies are only aimed at providing public assistance has triggered controversy.

The impact on democracy

Social welfare programs have been viewed on many platforms as inhibiting rather than promoting democracy by many scholars. This controversial argument has led to doubt on the effectiveness and even the need for social welfare programs in general. Although democracies are structured to promote free enterprise, empirical studies conducted in the past have shown that rather than strengthening the spirit of democracy, social welfare only weakens it due to the diminishment of individual initiative. The fear that those who receive public welfare are likely to remain idle has triggered the fear of promoting dependence rather than independence. Currently, the US has approximately five million people who rely on the government or the public for their daily survival. There is a concern that the creation of social welfare programs can be attributed to this large number as many of them are not genuinely reliant and can be productive, but they decide to rely on the already available government support. However, if the beneficiaries of social welfare could be sensitized that the importance of social assistance is to propel them towards the attainment of their goals in life, such fears would be baseless.

Misuse of social welfare funds

Although some categories of Americans deserve assistance through social welfare regardless of whether it comes from the public’s payrolls, many Americans misuse this fund, and this has had adverse impacts on the American working class. In the future, the number of dependents of social welfare is anticipated to increase tremendously; hence it would make great sense if policymakers integrated policies which not only allow the most vulnerable in society to benefit from social welfare but also encourage the American working class to save enough money through different compulsory programs. This would eradicate unnecessary parasitism and laziness, especially among individuals who lack the motive to work or are unwilling, hence creating an efficient and sustainable society.

References

Dr. Marx, J. (2004).Current Issues and Programs in Social Welfare, The Social Welfare History Projects

Hunter, B., & Donovan, K. (2000). Social Exclusion. Social Capital, and Indigenous Australians: Measuring the Social Costs of Unemployment, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper, (204).