Welfare programs aim to provide support for citizens in need, including social security, financial aid, and welfare arrangements. Corporate welfare refers to government support for businesses. A welfare state is when government programs are deemed excessive. Welfare provisions provide a basic level of income to those who are unemployed, disabled, or elderly. National health systems and free education are forms of welfare. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families is a specialized form of welfare in the United States.
There are many different types of welfare, but each of them generally involves a government trying to provide support for its citizens. This can be done through welfare arrangements, social security or financial aid. When government is seen as directly supporting businesses, rather than allowing the free market to cause some businesses to fail, it is pejoratively described as corporate welfare. And when a government allows its programs to grow to a point critics deem excessive, they may choose to describe government as a welfare state.
In reality, any program where the government provides money or services to needy citizens is a welfare program. As such, many programs that critics do not critique might, in fact, fall into this category, and in such cases the term should be understood primarily as meaning programs that exceed a certain basic level. At the same time, proponents of greater well-being would point to theoretical programs simply addressing more basic needs, and thus on a similar footing to existing social support systems.
A welfare provision, which is what many people mean when they talk about welfare, is a program that aims to provide a basic level of income to people who may be unemployed, disabled or elderly. The idea is that without government intervention to help these groups, they would otherwise not survive, and therefore the government has a moral obligation to support them. Proponents also point out that keeping people at a certain minimum level enables them to work and thus ultimately helps society at large financially.
People who have been made redundant, for example, may be eligible for social assistance while looking for other work. This can come in the form of direct financial assistance, or in the form of a voucher, such as food stamps, which can be exchanged for needed goods. Those who have a disability that prevents them from working may be eligible for the same type of programs, although they do not face the obligation to look for a new job.
Many nations have a national health system, which acts as a massive form of welfare, allowing all socioeconomic groups to access medical care should they need it. There are some health care systems in the United States to support those most at risk, especially children, but there is no universal health care system. One universal form that exists in the United States, and has existed for a long time, is free education for all citizens through high school completion. The government covers the entire cost, even if transportation and food are needed, and this is one of the least controversial forms of welfare currently in the United States.
In the United States, welfare can also be used in a more specialized context, to refer specifically to what was historically known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and is now known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Since 1997 this system has been run by the states, which use the money given to them by the federal government as they see fit. This welfare system is limited to a maximum of 60 months during the life of the beneficiary and requires that while receiving assistance the beneficiary is actively seeking new employment.
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