Essay Example on Social Welfare Policy: Addressing Poverty and Inequality

Introduction

Social welfare policy involves the policies that govern the social welfare of the individuals in the country. The policies cover a range of social services, including health, social insurance, social rights, and social regulation for the economic action in the country (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx). There have been many cases of people being depressed and committing suicides due to lack of food, caused by unemployment, lack of health services, which are very high to cover the costs, and also being homeless. The country developed the welfare policy to cover the people who are in need, those who have lost their jobs.

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The emergence of welfare states and policies was to curb the serious problems that urban areas faced, the problems with the societies of the industrial market, and especially to curb the rising insecurities form the reforms of market capitalism (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx). The policy also covered those people who had less income pa capita so that they can be able to provide for their families and reduce poverty levels. (Garland 3). The programs, therefore, provide some insurance aid to those who earned in order to get themselves basic needs, including food and shelter. Therefore the welfare policies were enacted to help curb poverty

Policy Development and Enactment

The welfare policy was enacted in the early 20th century when the American government decides that the only way to reduce the poverty level and make sure that they feed the community. During the political war across nations fighting for independence, there was much destruction that happened in most countries (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx)... The most affected communities were displaced from their homes, they went for days without food, and in any case, they get it through donations from NGOs. When the countries developed and incorporated political laws in the government, it was majorly inclusive of religion and sharing among the citizens. The embracement of this sharing and religion attributes by the societies, therefore, led to the onset of horticulture. During this time, the private sectors about privately-owned food also emerged.

The poverty levels had risen in the USA by the time the war ended. The need to reduce poverty levels became intense. The churches and charity organizations paid attention to the welfare of the citizens and the fact that they coexist together, which gave rise to interdependence—the early social gathering where the church and in charity meetings. The churches were used as the platform to conduct charity events; this marked the beginning if feeding the poor. The fight for social welfare continued in the country, with the church being the frontier mediator of the century that provides food for the poor (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx)... The transformation from this religious charity to state charity started way back in Britain by the enactment if Elizabeth's poor Laws (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx)... It is the transformation from the volunteer program of the church to the state institutions which define the laws as social welfare laws. The law was enacted because the country anted to control the religious systems and bring about a secular social basis (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx), thus giving new views if the poor in the society. In contrast, the laws got a poor receipt from the public due to the mindset of the capitalist because the country's economy was depending on the poor so that they can keep their income as low as possible an earn themselves profits.

The USA states adopted the poor laws of Britain. However, there was still a big difference and challenge on how the laws were to be implemented to meet the social needs of the citizens. The roles in helping the poor people in the social sector became the responsibility if the state became the responsibility of the local people and the community and the family itself. Religion has made a great impact on the onset of social policies in the USA (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx)... The papal leaders were given authority to collect tax and offerings from the locals in order to help feed the poor in the community.

A few years later, the states across the U.S. adopted the English Law of Settlement and removal, which wanted the states to provide food, clothes, firewood, and household items to the poor people in the community. Despite the efforts made by the states, they were many rejections from the leaders on British law. The rejections led to the emergence of a new approach, which enabled the less fortunate society to get employed while still getting paid from the state. The approach targeted the children who thought to be smart and would never follow the rout of their parents. The approaches, therefore, had a great influence on charity organizations. It was based on the scientific approach to making people leave those who are not able to support themselves or add anything important to the society and focus on themselves. The people, therefore, made people think that social welfare would always end weakening mankind by preventing hardworking people from getting rich. Therefore, this mindset became a threat to the fight for social freedom. To the American at a time, the church became the solace for social freedom and has helped feed the community.

The fight for social welfare continued to involve series discussions, including the social-economic activities based on free-market liberalism and social protection. (Garland 3). The idea of market capitalism threatened social and moral protection. The phenomena led to a shift of the national liberalism, which marked the laid off all the social protection privileges of the less fortunate.

The market capitalism has seen the successes of the economy in the states and has added laws on the labor of children and women. By this time, a few Americans were in middle social class levels. They were working in small forms and earning a few wages, and the other large population was sinking in poverty. The situations made it hard for the state to manage the poverty levels while maintaining the social welfare of the people. To curb the problem, the government was therefore encouraged to adopt the idea of creating their service systems. These efforts made the government start needing to have social welfare policy. The states started to develop funding techniques that were supposed to address the challenges facing social services at the national level.

The political leaders in America, together with the government, have always considered the opinion of the public on social welfare. They put stress on the fewer population aspects of social welfare, which included social assistance for the less fortunate people. There were a series of attacks aimed at the public welfare programs, which led to the transformation of the public belief that the poor worthy (Wells, 2012, p. xx), unworthy people, and all those individuals who abused the welfare program. When the government decides to have the welfare policy, most Americans were against it because there was uncertainty about recipients. In the 90s most of the people who welcomed the welfare ides were enrolled in public programs for about two years.

In the year 1996, President Bill Clinton enacted a Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx). The bill was aimed to change the welfare to shape the cash and food welfare programs to help reduce the expenditure of welfare. The welfare was aimed to make sure that most Americans are enrolled in workplaces as fast as they can. Later on, the policy of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was established under the Social Security Act of 1935 (Osmond & Stein, 1977, p. xx). There have been many reforms since the inception of social welfare in the USA.

Steps for policy enactment

Social policies undergo several steps before the government enacts it. First, the government or political leaders come up with a proposal of the policy, which is later passed for discussion or debate. The proposals, if accepted, will be oases da s bill in the rule of law and must be voted by the senate in order to be enacted as true. The state publishes the notice of the proposed policy for public opinion, whereby the public is given an opportunity to write their comments about the new proposed policy. The notice has a period for public participation, after which the proposed bill is debated and views for and against it stated, then later voted are casted. If the bill is therefore passed, the legal department will start to draft the regulation and rules that helps to enforce the laws. In any case, the new rule is challenged on legal grounds, the parties involved will be required to request a hearing in the court of law to either challenge or overrule or enact the law. The all process is supported by the NGOs and all other public organizations that defending the social welfare of the citizens.

Roles of the social welfare policy

The inception of the welfare policy has undergone many changes in America. The more the social needs of the citizens evolve, the more the government enacts new policies or amend the existing policies to suit the social needs of the individual citizen. It has made it easy for the citizens to get access social service including heats insurance where the individual with medical insurance are given services in the hospitals even when they do not have funds; also social welfare policies have made it easy for Americans to get pension or retirement benefits after they retire or lose their jobs (Wells, 2012, p. xx). Individuals are given a monthly stipend to help them buy basic needs, including food and pay rent.

Challenges of the social welfare policies

Despite the efforts that the government is making to adjust the policies to meet the need of the public, there have been shortcomings with the implementation of the policies. The policies continued to threaten individuals more as victims than beneficiaries. The individuals always felt that the leaders involved in implementing these programs were not treating them as beneficiary hence getting a low response from the citizens. For example, the workfare benefits, there have been several cases whereby the families have had their welfare benefits reduced or stopped because of some dramatic events in the offices. As per the law of federal justice, the families can have their benefits partially reduced if they did not meet the minimum requirement for the program.

Despite the federal law, some states prefer to impose strict rules and penalties for those who do not meet the requirements, thus rendering the family in a state of poverty. An example of these laws includes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which governs the provision of food benefits to the families while prohibiting the use of the funds for other state functions. In the case of welfare benefits stated by PRWORA, the various nation did not comply with rules to expand the welfare to be flexible enough to help in times of urgent need. There are situations where the individuals are in a fixed situation and cannot qualify for the benefits if the sates could adjust to fit this, then it could of benefit. The individual is, therefore, left with the option of looking for other ways to get aid. In this regard, the effort of President Clinton of "make work pay" has been rendered irrelevant because it did not relay help the citizens get work and paid.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social policies have helped the citizen in every country to live almost a free social life. The continued change and reforms in social welfare policies will help accumulate then needs of the citizens. Also, with the new reforms, there will be challenges that will come with it, and the government official, together with public participation.