The assignment is for me to take your comments for my paper and write 2 paragraghs on what feedback I receive for my paper. My final draft for this paper is due in a week. So with that i will take your comments and revise my paper to provide an even better one for my final. Thank you for your time.
There comes a time when families and single parents get into a bind and need a little extra help. In those hard times that's when most people turn to welfare as their savior. Welfare can offer many benefits for families and single parents in need. Welfare comes in many different forms. An uneducated individual concerning the subject of welfare would most likely believe that welfare just means free money from the state but it is much more than that. Welfare does offer money to families but it also has other means of help as well. Some examples of help welfare has to offer those in need include child care assistance for families who work but can't afford to put their children in day care. Another is they offer medical care for the families as well as food stamps to feed their children. Welfare also provides help with paying electrical bills. As you can see welfare can have its advantage's in many different ways but, there are a few arguments on welfare such as its benefits, its downfalls and the length one can participates in the program.
Welfare Information's web site explains that food stamps are part of a very important program which allows for those households with very limited means to be able to use those means on other necessities. The last thing a parent wants to feel is the heart ache of knowing they can't afford to feed their children. No parent wants to tell their hungry child they can't eat
because they had to pay rent or the electricity instead of buying food. Food stamps can have a huge impact on a person's ability to feed their children when they can't do it on their own. There are few stipulations when it comes to using food stamps. Food stamps are limited to mainly food with few exceptions of other household needs. This ensures that the recipients are not abusing food stamps and using them for anything other than what they are in place for.
To qualify for the state assisted programs there have been many rules put into place for the recipients to follow without being disqualified or lose their benefits. One of the stipulations put into place is that the head of the household must sign a commitment to cooperation in order to insure that they will comply with and continue all regulations and requirements while receiving aid. (Welfare Information) A few of the regulations that are required to receive welfare are put into place for the families own benefit. One regulation is that the person receiving welfare must have a job or actively be searching for a job. With that the beneficiary's income must not exceed the limits put in place by each individual state. If they exceed the income qualifications the family will not be granted the assistance. This is put into place to insure that the money that is given goes to the families who truly need the help. The problem with this stipulation is that it can discourage the head of household in finding a well-paying job in order to not lose their benefits. This then results in that family relying much more then is needed on welfare.
The child support program is also offered to families and single parents. This program provides child care for the dependents of families in order for parents to work and to not worry so much about having to pay the obscenely amount it costs to put your child in day care. This is an excellent program for it allows the parents the opportunity to work and work towards providing for their families on their own. Depending on each situation the cost of day care can be paid up to 100% by the state. Without this assistance parents will not work for the simple fact is they can't afford to put their children in day care. With the same positive note a families utilities such as water, gas, or electric can also be paid up to 100% on one of the other programs afford as well. Welfare also provides medical insurance through Medicare and Medicaid. We all know how important it is to have medical care for your children. Without it children don't receive the proper medical care they deserve most likely because the parents don't want the extra expense of having to pay the enormous doctor's bills nor having to deal with bill collectors when they are unable to pay their bills. The services provided are basic doctor's visits, emergency room visits, and routine health appointments along with providing prescriptions and eye and dental care. All of these programs have been provided to families and put in place in order to help those who truly do need help.
When Welfare is used for the wrong reasons it can affect the recipient in a negative way so that they don't learn to support themselves. In the generation where our grandparents grew up and even our grate grandparents grew up they were taught to always work for what they wanted and needed. They learned to provide for themselves and their families, to never quit and to work the not so glamorous jobs in order to do just that. The generation in our present day has changed tremendously. The work ethic that was once instilled into our grandparents has lost its meaning throughout the years. John Semmens statement said it all when he claimed that "The problem is the welfare state. Once government takes on paternal responsibility for everyone it is an open invitation to freeloaders--both at home and abroad." When certain people are given welfare assistance they become accustom to its generosity and their state of mind changes from working hard to get what they needed to becoming lazy and dependent on the states for what they need.
As of October 15 2012 the total number of Americans on welfare is 4,300,000 and the amount of Americans on food stamps is 46,700,000. (Statistic Brain) You can see how many more Americans receive food stamps other than cash assistance. As mentioned before the recipient of welfare has to follow rules in order to receive the benefits such as holding down a job. The controversy with this rule is "while some welfare mothers will thrive under the new welfare-to-work regime and will succeed in creating a stable home for their children, the majority will drift in and out of low-paid work for the rest of their lives, futilely seeking the grail of a permanent, "living-wage" job. (Heather Mac Donald) Some individuals may not strive for the next level in their careers because they may not feel the need for it knowing that welfare will always be there to give them that little extra that they don't have to work for. The new reform on welfare has put lifelong recipients of welfare to an end.
Fraud is a great concern when it comes to collecting the benefits from welfare programs; therefore a maximum of five years is allotted to families receiving welfare. It is up to the individual state to provide their own guide lines as to how long each person should be allowed to remain on welfare. According to mdrc 40 states currently have time limits that can result in the termination of families' welfare benefits; 17 of those states have limits of fewer than 60 months. However, nearly half the national welfare caseload is in states that either have no time limit (2 states) or a time limit that reduces or modifies benefits when the limit is reached. With allowing modification to the families it inhibits the families for they know that as long as they follow the rules and stipulations of receiving welfare the time limit is not set in stone and that they can take advantage of the benefits when they are not necessarily needed.
Fraud with welfare doesn't necessarily just have to do with tricking the system to receive benefits not needed, fraud is committed with the use of its benefits. One huge issue with the miss use of food stamps has become a problem in its own. Some families and single parents who receive food stamps have been known to sell their food stamps for cash. Food stamp administrators have been trying to overcome this scandal for years that is why they have changed the way you receive food stamps. Many years ago food stamps came in a type of paper form kind of like checks. That made it easy for them to be sold for cash with no trace of evidence. In the new century of things food stamps are now in the form of a credit card. This insures that only the consumer is authorized the use of spending food stamps on food. The problem with this is that nothing is full proof. People have found ways around this by taking the person shopping with them paying for it with the food stamp card then receiving the cash from the other person. In some cases the food stamp holder will offer discounted rates to those who give them cash for food. With so many different opportunities welfare can offer families it's hard to imagine what they possibly need the cash for from selling their food stamps.
Fox News released an article showing just how much money has been spent in the year 2011 on welfare. The amount is astonishing. Welfare topped $1 trillion last year throughout all the many different programs in welfare. The amount of money state and federal governments spend on social security, Medicare and non-war defense was nowhere near this amount. The government understands that the past few years have been hard on families who have lost their jobs due to the recession. The goal though for those who end up having to take part in welfare is for it to be of short use and to encourage those individuals to search for new jobs to support their families and to not collect welfare benefits longer than needed. Republicans have, for example, accused the Obama administration of trying to loosen welfare requirements, though the administration claims it is just trying to give states the kind of flexibility they have sought. (Fox News) With more flexibility on welfare requirements leaves openings for more and more people to commit fraud. There have been some rules though that have been initiated to help with the commitment of fraud.
Some states have come to the conclusion that drugs could be one reason as to why people abuse the welfare systems and commit fraud. Few states have made it mandatory for a person to take a drug test in order to receive welfare. The motive behind the mandated drug test is to ensure that its recipients are well deserved of receiving welfare and that the money provided is being put to good use and not the purchasing of illegal substances. Americans want to know that their tax money isn't going to support another's unreeling bad habits. They want to know that their money is being put forth to good use even if it means supporting another's family. The Foundation for Government accountability found that since mandating drug tests, approvals for September 2011 (for cash assistance applicants for eligible adults subject to the drug testing requirement) were 62 percent lower than September 2010 and 48 percent lower than in June 2011, the month before the drug testing requirement took effect. This fact alone tells you just how many people were receiving welfare and most likely using it in a negative way. In Dave Martins article in USA Today he expresses that "states obviously have an interest in ensuring that taxpayer funds are spent wisely, as well as in discouraging drug use. And it's clear that some recipients of federal assistance abuse drugs. A 2002 federal study put the number at 9.6% - compared with 6.8% in the general population." Even without knowing all the factors that were in place when this study was presented it still proves that almost 3% more were found using illegal substances who are on welfare then people who are not.
There is a thin and unclear line as to how exactly it is determined if a person is qualified for welfare. How is it that a single mother of one in the Armed Forces doesn't qualify for food stamps or wick but if she were to be married with a spouse that works can qualify? Doesn't sound right does it? If the father works and is able to provide a pay check to the household how is it that that mother would even need the assistance then. In most cases it wouldn't be likely that she would need the extra help. She would also qualify if she were to have another child making it a total of two mouths to feed two bodies to provide warm clothes for in the winter. There is no compelling way of showing how any of those would make sense. Any single mother would not want to try and make her struggles harder for her by having another child when she can barely feed the one she has just for her to receive any type of help she can get from the state or federal government.
There are many different issues when it comes to welfare. Issues as such as how it should be used and who should receive its benefits. Concerns on how much money should be used for welfare programs and how exactly should states disburse the money given to them for these types of programs, rules as to strip drug users of their benefits and to not allow an individual to collect welfare for longer than what the state has determined enough time for a person to get back on their feet. No matter what rules are put in place or what stipulations are given individuals can and will always find a way to screw the system of welfare.
I like the essay, great information, dont forget to cite your information that your putting out there, even if you are paraphrasing something, if it sounds "statistical" or something that you already didnt know yourself be sure to quote it.
I would recomend also changing all of your "it's, don't, does'nt, has'nt etc.. to it is, do not, does not, has not.. " a little tip for when you start writing in grad classes. They will get you on those!!
Your definetly a little all over the board when it comes to your facts and organization- Stick with one fact- quote it, then explain it all together. Then go to your next paragraph and do the same, pro's and cons can be in one paragraph especially so it is easier for the reader to not bounce around with all of the information. Great research and statistics I enjoyed reading the essay overall..
When I was reading this, there was a specific spot where you were talking about one of the welfares programs however it was the end of the sentence and it did not explain much about it, was just curious as to what program that was, as the reader anyway!
As I said, overall great essay and great work put into it.. I was wondering about the people that tend to abuse our systems and sale their food stamps and how they were trying to fix that situation, I did not know that, that is the reason they changed to the credit cards instead of the paper checks. Great INFO!!!
"When certain people are given welfare assistance they become accustom to its generosity and their state of mind changes from working hard to get what they needed to becoming lazy and dependent on the states for what they need. " I would change this ...becoming lazy and dependent on their state for what they need.. instead of the states, as every state is different.
Also the essay almost at the end sounds more argumentative/ pursasive opposed to strictly reasearch.. however I know you and many others feel the same way!
