Welfare, a Broken System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Welfare, a Broken System - Essay Example This essay discusses that the policy of most states, given their new discretionary powers, is and will continue to be to ‘persuade’ women off welfare roles and to work outside of the home, many times well outside the home, with no regard as to their families’ needs. Because of federal budgetary constraints, the safety net of welfare benefits and programs such as Medicare that assist impoverished children is expected to diminish. The welfare system as it stands today is lacking in resources and innovative methods by which to alleviate child poverty despite the extensive welfare restructuring in the U.S. and its continued expansion. It would be a gross understatement to declare that the U.S. welfare system does not compare to European countries. Most countries in Europe have opposing views to those in the U.S. regarding the virtues of a comprehensive welfare system. The U.S. version of welfare largely subsists in the temporary benefits provided to a fraction of the most impoverished of families. Other monetary benefits to families are practically nonexistent. By contrast, in Sweden and Germany for example, benefits are made available to all citizens regardless of earnings. It is a cruel irony. The U.S. is the most powerful economic society in the history of the world yet is not willing to ease the miseries of those in desperate poverty residing within its own borders. European countries that have had their economies decimated by two world wars over the last hundred years yet still take care of their own.