Essay on Welafre reform - 3319 Words

Welfare Reform vs. Employment: A Permanent Solution or a Temporary Band-Aid? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Welfare: handouts to the lazy, or a helping hand to those facing hard times? The debate continues, even in the face of sweeping welfare reform, which, for all of its sound and fury, has not helped or changed much. Whats wrong with welfare and how can we fix it? This is not a simple question, and there is no simple answer. However, one thing remains eminently clear. Welfare desperately needs to change. But where are we now? Directly correlated with welfare is work. Welfare reform would not be complete without work options and job training programs in place so that recipients may eventually get off of†¦show more content†¦It originally included several other programs, which have been incorporated into the others over time. The Social Security Act was meant to help Americans who had been hurt by the Great Depression get back on their feet during hard economic times. Even critics of the Act never imagined how far-reaching its programs would become. Criti cs did, however, say that the entire Act was a breeding ground for waste, fraud, and misuse. Roosevelt answered them by saying, quot;Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in the spirit of charity, then the constant omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.quot; Indeed, the Social Security Act was originally created in the spirit of charity. For quite some time, AFDC accomplished its mission-- to allow single mothers who had been widowed or deserted by their husbands to stay at home and raise their children. However, much has changed since 1935. No longer are single mothers pitied for their predicament. Instead they are blamed for getting pregnant too soon and for having babies that they knew they could not afford. No longer are women expected to stay home with their children. Instead they are urged to go to work in order to provide for their children and become better role models. Those women who claim that it is too hard to work and rais e children are often scorned by the many single professional