Eugenie Medley
American Government.
The social welfare policy in the US has always been & might always be a controversial issue. The current “low-income poverty threshold thus represents the income needed to maintain a specific standard of living as of 1963, with the purchasing-power value increased year by year to reflect the general increase in prices” (Bardes 473). The official poverty level is based on pre-tax income which includes cash but not in – kind subsides such as food stamps and housing vouchers (Brades 473). Therefore we do not have an accurate picture of poverty in the US. It is this type of information that causes critics to disagree with the current welfare system and thus decreasing the number of positive votes towards increases and any other positive changes that are considered. Food stamps make up the greater part of our welfare program, but this program also covers Temporary Assistance to Needy Family (TANF), social security and even disability. A person has to prove eligibility for all of theses programs. The problem arises when there is no yearly follow up to ensure continued qualification. Thus the truly needy do not get what is due. (There are some elders in our systems that are getting $10.00 per month in food stamps.) Thus like all system there are winners and there are losers. Each state is allocated a certain amount of money each fiscal year for their welfare program. Thereafter it is the states responsibility to increase the amount of each individual check. Unfortunately monetary increases that benefits the needy has never been a priority in this government.
The rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer continues in the US due to the fact that the people who makes the decision for the majority have never even been classified as “ middle class” thus it is difficult for them to understand the difficulty that these people have even with job hunting. If one has no address or a POB it is difficult to get a job thus they are...