Question

1. What does the term "welfare state" refer to? When did the welfare state fist emerge in the U.S.? What two basic logics/rationales are used to justify/rationalize the welfare state? Describe and explain how Social Security (SS) works, i.e., how it is funded and who its many beneficiaries are (be specific). Explain why SS is an "insurance" program not a "savings" program (be specific). Describe the basic details of one other welfare state program, i.e., not SS. Explain the difference between means-tested and non-means tested in the context of the welfare state. Explain the difference between monetary and in-kind benefits. Finally, explain why there remains such intense political debate in the U.S. over the welfare state.

Answer 1

* The welfare state is a form of government in which the state protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of the citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for citizens unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life.

* By 1935, a national welfare system had been established for the first time in American history.

Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt focused mainly on creating jobs for the masses of unemployed workers, he also backed the idea of federal aid for poor children and other dependent persons.

* Basic logics/rationales are used to justify/rationalize the welfare state are :-

1) What kind of tasks the state should undertake and the appropriate balancing of benefits and costs.

2) Economic equality and equal distribution of resources are the tools used to justify welfare state.

*Social Security works by pooling mandatory contributions from workers into a large pot and then paying out benefits to those who are eligible for them. When you work, you pay into the system by having a portion of your earnings taxed and earmarked for Social Security.

That money goes into two Social Security trust funds, called Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance.

* Social Security is not a savings plan. What you pay into the system does not go into an account for your retirement. Workers in each generation finance Social Security payments for their retired elders and other beneficiaries. Down the road, their benefits will be paid for in turn by younger workers.

* Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

SNAP is more commonly known as food stamps. The food voucher system helped more than 34 million people buy food in 2019 (North Carolina did not report data in time to be included in this figure).15 The average individual received $129.97 a month. The total federal cost for SNAP was $58.3 billion.

* A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help.

Non-Means tested. a program that is not based on income or means of the recipient. For example, social security is a non means based program because it is given to anyone, regardless of their income, once they hit age for it and made the minimum contribution defined by the law.

* Cash transfers are exactly what they sound like. The recipients receive cash or a pre-loaded credit card which they can use to purchase the goods and services they need. In-kind benefits work differently in that people receive a specific good or service, such as food or health care.

*Certain American libertarians criticize the welfare state because welfare programs do not work to reduce poverty, improve education, or improve health or retirement. Moreover, they believe welfare programs reduce freedom by reducing the opportunity of individuals to manage their own lives.

Some welfare-state arrangements, and their financing, have also created new problems, including benefit dependency and other incentive effects.