Welfare Unplugged Pros And Cons

Composition 1
19 November 2013 Welfare Unplugged
Welfare is nothing new to the citizens of this country. It is a concept that arose over a century ago. Welfare was made famous by Bill Clinton, in 1996, and it has brought up much controversy. Arguments suggest the welfare system is highly abused by its members while others believe it is the answer to the nation’s poverty. Although the welfare system is state regulated, many people believe it is taken advantage of by underserving people. Often, people with nasty habits, sale their food stamp cards for extra cash, cigarettes, and drugs. Most of the time, these people have children that have to go without because their parent puts their government assistance towards unhealthy addictions.
In 1996 President Clinton promised to “end welfare as we know it.” Clinton’s 1996 Welfare Reform Act replaced the federal program of Aid to Dependent Children, later known as the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). After 1970, liberals, moderates, and even welfare recipients began to join conservatives in denouncing welfare in general, and AFDC in particular. The discussions tended to accuse AFDC of breaking up the family, fostering a rise in illegitimacy, and stimulating dependency, although the evidence of this was sometimes ambiguous (Grabner). By the 1990s programs like AFDC has proved to be vulnerable, and during the 1994 elections President Clinton was forced to give up the program to get re-elected. The program only shows another flaw in the system, and Clinton tried to mend it. As a result, Congress passed the Welfare Reform Act in 1996. The law ended AFDC which in turn limited single mothers their independence that the program had given them before, and it required work for temporary relief. During the course of the Clinton presidency the national poverty rate dropped tremendously by a quarter, and welfare caseloads plummeted by 60 percent. Welfare was now controlled by the states rather the federal
The definition makes welfare sound easy, but there are many loop holes in the system that many people take advantage of. With over 40 million Americans receiving food stamps and 50 percent of households relying on government assistance, the system is doomed to fail if there is not a change. Hard working Americans will not be able to much longer provide what many receiving assistance have grown accustomed to. Throughout the course of American history welfare has been “reformed” many times to only cause problems later in the future. The idea of welfare was formed with great intentions, but it has spiraled out of control. Many people take advantage of the tax dollars that people work hard for. Some Americans spend their government check on drugs. They simply sale their food stamp card for extra cash to buy unnecessary things. The author of “Welfare Programs Should Include Mandatory Drug Testing” shares a personal experience and states, ‘Growing up, my mother was a recipient who abused the welfare system. I remember having no heat or electricity and being so hungry it was painful. My siblings and I would fist fight over food. She would trade her food stamp card for various things like cash, cigarettes and an occasional joint. She just wouldn 't help herself, and we were the kids that no one