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Bryan Goodland
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When the federal government revamped the welfare system in 1996,
many thought this was going to lead to disaster. However, recent statistics
are showing that the much-needed reformation has worked.
The New York Times stated that out of the $25.4 billion spent on
the program in 2002, $11.2 billion of that was spent on cash assistance
and $14.2 billion on non-cash benefits. The focus of the welfare system
or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, as it is now called, is
to spend money on things like child-care, workforce training, and
emergency assistance rather than on monthly cash payments.
The change that occurred with the 1996 law was the requirement that
most of the adults who received aid would need to begin working within
two years of the receipt of their first check. The law also gave states
autonomy in running their programs and provided them with lump- sums
of money in order to carry out the process. The laws didn’t
take the welfare system away, but altered the way in which it would
operate. Basically, the system changed from being one in which people
were encouraged to stay in the grasp of poverty to one that will hopefully
enable people to rejoin the workforce and sustain themselves.
The entire philosophy behind this program has changed. Everyone heard
about the people who manipulated the system to their own benefit.
While the new program is, of course, not without faults, it has made
some major strides forward. The program is now focused on supplying
needy families with support, rather than just free government handouts.
By refocusing on non-cash benefits, the system now allows people to
return to or look for work while still being able to support their
families. Paying for expenses like child-care, job training, mental
health care, and drug abuse treatment allows those who are motivated
to seek employment an opportunity to do so, without being mired in
an ever-increasing mound of debt.
The new figures look hopeful and provide the necessary data which
seem to show that the system works. Of course, this is a government
program and because of its size, can be unwieldy. Giving greater authority
to the states will help to manage the system, but it also makes overseeing
the funds much more difficult. The potential for dishonest people
to take advantage of the system is still there. In this day and age,
the stories of mismanaged funds are never farther away than the front
page of any newspaper, so the government will have to watch this new
program carefully.
The basic ideas behind welfare are good ones and are at the heart
of what America is and should continue to strive to be; a nation that
doesn’t overlook its poorest few and a nation that struggles
to ensure that everyone gets a piece of the American pie. Only time
will truly tell if this system is actually working or if these figures
are just a fluke and really only look good on paper. The welfare program
used to be a system that kept the poor entrenched in poverty and offered
very little as far as a solution to the problem.
The system was the typical government band-aid that hid the scar
rather than helping the wound to heal. This new program offers people
a real chance to achieve financial stability and to leave the welfare
system far behind. Hopefully, in their pursuit of financial independence,
they just may get a glimpse of the American dream. In the end, that
makes the changes worth their weight in gold.
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