Social programs in the United States - Wikipedia Social programs in the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search The Social Security Administration, created in 1935, was the first major federal welfare agency and continues to be the most prominent.[1] This article is part of series on the Economy of the United States Economic History Agricultural History Banking history Petroleum history Industrial Revolution in the United States History of the United States dollar Lumber history Tariff History United States dollar History by State Sectors Primary sector Agriculture Energy Petroleum Electricity Mining Fishing Forestry Water and Sanitation Secondary Sector Automotive Iron and Steel Pulp and Paper Tertiary sector Social programs Transportation Tourism Education Gambling Healthcare Insurance Financial services Central Bank Banking Largest Banks Stock exchanges Largest Companies Companies listed on the NYSE Economy by State California Texas New York Florida more... State statistics State Budgets State Credit Ratings State unemployment rate Union Membership Economy by City New York City Los Angeles Chicago Houston Labor Labor Law Child labor Minimum wage Right-to-work law Employment Unemployment(Causes) United States portal v t e Social programs in the United States are programs designed to ensure that the basic needs of the American population are met. Federal and state social programs include cash assistance, health insurance, food assistance, housing subsidies, energy and utilities subsidies, and education and childcare assistance. Similar benefits are sometimes provided by the private sector either through policy mandates or on a voluntary basis. Employer-sponsored health insurance is an example of this. American social programs vary in eligibility with some, such as public education, available to all while others, such as housing subsidies, are available only to a subsegment of the population. Programs are provided by various organizations on a federal, state, local, and private level. They help to provide basic needs such as food, shelter, education, and healthcare to residents of the U.S. through primary and secondary education, subsidies of higher education, unemployment and disability insurance, subsidies for eligible low-wage workers, subsidies for housing, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, pensions, and health insurance programs. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program are prominent social programs. Research shows that U.S. government programs that focus on improving the health and educational outcomes of low-income children are the most effective, with benefits substantial enough that the government may even recoup its investment over time due to increased tax revenue from adults who were beneficiaries as children.[2][3] Veto points in the U.S. structure of government make social programs in the United States resilient to fundamental change.[4][5] Contents 1 Congressional funding 2 History 2.1 Federal welfare programs 2.2 War on Poverty and Great Society programs (1960s) 2.3 Welfare reform (1990s) 2.4 Timeline 3 Types 3.1 Means-tested 3.2 Social Security 3.3 General welfare 3.4 Healthcare spending 3.5 Education spending 3.6 Food assistance 3.7 Public housing 4 Impact 4.1 Social Impact 5 Analysis 5.1 Household characteristics 5.2 Drug testing for applicants 5.3 Demographics of TANF recipients 5.4 Costs 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading Congressional funding[edit] Not including Social Security and Medicare, Congress allocated almost $717 billion in federal funds in 2010 plus $210 billion was allocated in state funds ($927 billion total) for means tested welfare programs in the United States, of which half was for medical care and roughly 40% for cash, food and housing assistance. Some of these programs include funding for public schools, job training, SSI benefits and medicaid.[6] As of 2011[update], the public social spending-to-GDP ratio in the United States was below the OECD average.[7] Roughly half of this welfare assistance, or $462 billion went to families with children, most of which are led by single parents.[8] Total Social Security and Medicare expenditures in 2013 were $1.3 trillion, 8.4% of the $16.3 trillion GNP (2013) and 37% of the total Federal expenditure budget of $3.684 trillion.[9][10] In addition to government expenditures, private welfare spending, i.e. social insurance programs provided to workers by employers,[11] in the United States is estimated to be about 10% of the U.S. GDP or another $1.6 trillion, according to 2013 OECD estimates.[12] In 2001, Jacob Hacker estimated that public and private social welfare expenditures constituted 21% and 13–14% of the United States' GDP respectively. In these estimates of private social welfare expenditures, Hacker included mandatory private provisions (less than 1% of GDP), subsidized and/or regulated private provisions (9–10% of GDP), and purely private provisions (3–4% of GDP).[13] History[edit] Public Health nursing made available through child welfare services, 1935. The first large-scale social policy program in the United States was assistance to Union Civil War veterans and their families.[14] The program provided pensions and disability assistance.[14] From 1890 to the early 1920s, the U.S. provided what Theda Skocpol characterized as "maternalist policies", as it provided pensions for widowed mothers.[14] Historically, the United States has spent less on social welfare than European countries, but only in terms of gross public social welfare spending. The United States tended to tax lower-income people at lower rates, and relied substantially on private social welfare programs: "after taking into account taxation, public mandates, and private spending, the United States in the late twentieth century spent a higher share on combined private and net public social welfare relative to GDP than did most advanced economies.".[15] Spending varied between different states in the United States.[15] Federal welfare programs[edit] This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Social programs in the United States" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Colonial legislatures and later State governments adopted legislation patterned after the English "poor" laws.[16] Aid to veterans, often free grants of land, and pensions for widows and handicapped veterans, have been offered in all U.S. wars. Following World War I, provisions were made for a full-scale system of hospital and medical care benefits for veterans. By 1929, workers' compensation laws were in effect in all but four states.[17] These state laws made industry and businesses responsible for the costs of compensating workers or their survivors when the worker was injured or killed in connection with his or her job. Retirement programs for mainly State and local government paid teachers, police officers, and fire fighters—date back to the 19th century. All these social programs were far from universal and varied considerably from one state to another. Prior to the Great Depression the United States had social programs that mostly centered around individual efforts, family efforts, church charities, business workers compensation, life insurance and sick leave programs along with some state tax supported social programs. The misery and poverty of the great depression threatened to overwhelm all these programs. The severe Depression of the 1930s made Federal action necessary,[18] as neither the states and the local communities, businesses and industries, nor private charities had the financial resources to cope with the growing need among the American people.[19] Beginning in 1932, the Federal Government first made loans, then grants, to states to pay for direct relief and work relief. After that, special Federal emergency relief like the Civilian Conservation Corps and other public works programs were started.[20] In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration proposed to Congress federal social relief programs and a federally sponsored retirement program. Congress followed by the passage of the 37 page Social Security Act, signed into law August 14, 1935 and "effective" by 1939—just as World War II began. This program was expanded several times over the years. Economic historians led by Price Fishback have examined the impact of New Deal spending on improving health conditions in the 114 largest cities, 1929–1937. They estimated that every additional $153,000 in relief spending (in 1935 dollars, or $2.3 million in 2019 dollars) was associated with a reduction of one infant death, one suicide, and 2.4 deaths from infectious disease.[21][22] War on Poverty and Great Society programs (1960s)[edit] Further information: War on Poverty and Great Society Virtually all food stamp costs are paid by the federal government.[23] In 2008, 28.7 percent of the households headed by single women were considered poor.[24] Welfare reform (1990s)[edit] Before the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, welfare assistance was "once considered an open-ended right," but welfare reform converted it "into a finite program built to provide short-term cash assistance and steer people quickly into jobs."[25] Prior to reform, states were given "limitless"[25] money by the federal government, increasing per family on welfare, under the 60-year-old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program.[26] This gave states no incentive to direct welfare funds to the neediest recipients or to encourage individuals to go off welfare benefits (the state lost federal money when someone left the system).[27] Nationwide, one child in seven received AFDC funds,[26] which mostly went to single mothers.[23] In 1996, under the Bill Clinton administration, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which gave more control of the welfare system to the states, with basic requirements the states need to meet with regards to welfare services. Some states still offer basic assistance, such as health care, food assistance, child care assistance, unemployment, a few offering cash aid, and one or two offering housing assistance, depending on the state and the circumstance. After reforms, which President Clinton said would "end welfare as we know it,"[23] amounts from the federal government were given out in a flat rate per state based on population.[27] Each state must meet certain criteria to ensure recipients are being encouraged to work themselves out of welfare. The new program is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).[26] It encourages states to require some sort of employment search in exchange for providing funds to individuals, and imposes a five-year lifetime limit on cash assistance.[23][26][28] The bill restricts welfare from most legal immigrants and increased financial assistance for child care.[28] The federal government also maintains a contingency $2 billion TANF fund (TANF CF) to assist states that may have rising unemployment.[26] The new TANF program expired on September 30, 2010, on schedule with states drawing down the entire original emergency fund of $5 billion and the contingency fund of $2 billion allocated by ARRA. Reauthorization of TANF was not accomplished in 2011, but TANF block grants were extended as part of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (see Temporary Aid for Needy Families for details). President Bill Clinton signing welfare reform legislation. Following these changes, millions of people left the welfare rolls (a 60% drop overall),[28] employment rose, and the child poverty rate was reduced.[23] A 2007 Congressional Budget Office study found that incomes in affected families rose by 35%.[28] The reforms were "widely applauded"[29] after "bitter protest."[23] The Times called the reform "one of the few undisputed triumphs of American government in the past 20 years."[30] However, more recent studies have found that the reforms increased deep poverty by 130–150%.[31][32] Critics of the reforms sometimes point out that the massive decrease of people on the welfare rolls during the 1990s wasn't due to a rise in actual gainful employment in this population, but rather, was due almost exclusively to their offloading into workfare, giving them a different classification than classic welfare recipient. The late 1990s were also considered an unusually strong economic time, and critics voiced their concern about what would happen in an economic downturn.[23] National Review editorialized that the Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 will reverse the welfare-to-work provisions that Bill Clinton signed in the 1990s, and will again base federal grants to states on the number of people signed up for welfare rather than at a flat rate.[27] One of the experts who worked on the 1996 bill said that the provisions would lead to the largest one-year increase in welfare spending in American history.[30] The House bill provides $4 billion to pay 80% of states' welfare caseloads.[26] Although each state received $16.5 billion annually from the federal government as welfare rolls dropped, they spent the rest of the block grant on other types of assistance rather than saving it for worse economic times.[25] Spending on largest Welfare Programs Federal Spending 2003–2013*[33] Federal Programs Spending 2003* Spending 2013* Medicaid and CHIP Grants to States $201,389 $266,565 Food Stamps (SNAP) 61,717 82,603 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) 40,027 55,123 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 38,315 50,544 Housing assistance 37,205 49,739 Child Nutrition Program 13,558 20,842 Support Payments to States, TANF 28,980 20,842 Feeding Programs (WIC & CSFP) 5,695 6,671 Low Income Home Energy Assistance 2,542 3,704 Notes: * Spending in millions of dollars Timeline[edit] The following is a short timeline of welfare in the United States:[34] 1880s–1890s: Attempts were made to move poor people from work yards to poor houses if they were in search of relief funds. 1893–1894: Attempts were made at the first unemployment payments, but were unsuccessful due to the 1893–1894 recession. 1932: The Great Depression had gotten worse and the first attempts to fund relief failed. The "Emergency Relief Act", which gave local governments $300 million, was passed into law. 1933: In March 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed Congress to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps. 1935: The Social Security Act was passed on June 17, 1935. The bill included direct relief (cash, food stamps, etc.) and changes for unemployment insurance. 1940: Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) was established. 1964: Johnson's War on Poverty is underway, and the Economic Opportunity Act was passed. Commonly known as "the Great Society" 1996: Passed under Clinton, the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996" becomes law. 2013: Affordable Care Act goes into effect with large increases in Medicaid and subsidized medical insurance premiums go into effect. Types[edit] Means-tested[edit] 79 Means Tested Programs in U.S. (2011)[35] Programs Federal Spending* State Spending* Total Spending* TOTAL cost in (billions) (2011) $717 $210 $927 Social Security OASDI (2013) $785 Medicare(2013) $574 TOTAL all programs (billions) $2,286 CASH ASSISTANCE (millions) SSI/Old Age Assistance 56,462 4,673 61,135 Earned Income Tax Credit (refundable portion) 55,652 55,652 Refundable Child Credit 22,691 22,691 Make Work Pay Tax Credit (Refundable Portion) 13,905 13,905 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, old AFDC) 6,883 6,877 13,760 Foster Care Title IVE 4,456 3,921 8,377 Adoption Assistance Title IVE 2,362 1,316 3,678 General Assistance Cash 2,625 2,625 Refugee Assistance 168 168 General Assistance to Indians 115 115 Assets for Independence 24 24 CASH TOTAL 162,718 19,412 182,130 MEDICAL Medicaid 274,964 157,600 432,564 SCHIP State Supplemental Health Insurance Program 8,629 3,797 12,426 Medical General Assistance 6,966 6,966 Consolidated Health Center/Community Health Centers 1,481 1,481 Maternal & Child Health 656 492 1,148 Medical Assistance to Refugees 168 168 Healthy Start 104 104 MEDICAL TOTAL 289,817 168,855 458,672 FOOD Food Stamps, SNAP 77,637 6,987 84,624 School Lunch Program 10,321 10,321 WIC Women, Infant and Children Food Program 6,787 6,787 School Breakfast 3,076 3,076 Child Care Food Program 2,732 2,732 Nutrition Program for the Elderly, Nutrition Service Incentives 820 139 959 Summer Program 376 376 Commodity Supplemental Food Program 196 196 TEFAP Temporary Emergency Food Program 247 247 Needy Families 60 60 Farmers' Market Nutrition Program 23 23 Special Milk Program 13 13 FOOD TOTAL 102,288 7,127 109,415 HOUSING Section 8 Housing (HUD) 28,435 28,435 Public Housing (HUD) 8,973 8,973 Low Income Housing Tax Credit for Developers 6,150 6,150 Home Investment Partnership Program (HUD) 2,853 2,853 Homeless Assistance Grants (HUD) 2,280 2,280 State Housing Expenditures (from SWE) 2,085 2,085 Rural Housing Insurance Fund (Agriculture) 1,689 1,689 Rural Housing Service (Agriculture) 1,085 1,085 Housing for the Elderly (HUD) 934 934 Native American Housing Block Grants (HUD) 854 854 Other Assisted Housing Programs (HUD) 496 496 Housing for Persons with Disabilities (HUD) 309 309 HOUSING TOTAL 54,058 2,085 56,143 ENERGY AND UTILITIES LIHEAP Low Income Home Energy Assistance 4,419 4,419 Universal Service Fund Subsidized Low Income Phone Service 1,750 1,750 Weatherization 234 234 ENERGY AND UTILITIES TOTAL 6,403 6,403 EDUCATION Pell Grants 41,458 41,458 Title One Grants to Local Education Authorities 14,472 14,472 21st Century Learning Centers 1,157 1,157 Special Programs for Disadvantaged (TRIO) 883 883 Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants 740 740 Adult Basic Education Grants 607 607 Migrant Education 444 444 Gear-Up 303 303 LEAP Formerly State Student Incentive Grant Program (SSIG) 1 1 Education for Homeless Children and Youth 65 65 Even Start 4 4 Aid for Graduate and Professional Study for Disadvantaged and Minorities 41 41 EDUCATION TOTAL 60,175 60,175 TRAINING TANF Work Activities and Training 2,505 832 3,337 Job Corps 1,659 1,659 WIA Youth Opportunity Grants Formerly Summer Youth Employment 946 946 Senior Community Service Employment 705 78 783 WIA Adult Employment and Training Formerly JTPA IIA Training for Disadvantaged Adults & Youth 766 766 Food Stamp Employment and Training Program 393 166 559 Foster Grandparents 104 10 114 YouthBuild 110 110 Migrant Training 85 85 Native American Training 52 52 TRAINING TOTAL 7,325 1,086 8,411 SERVICES TANF Block Grant Services 5,385 4,838 10,223 Title XX Social Services Block Grant 1,787 1,787 Community Service Block Grant 678 678 Social Services for Refugees Asylees and Humanitarian Cases 417 417 Safe and Stable Families 553 553 Title III Aging Americans Act 369 369 Legal Services Block Grant 406 406 Family Planning 298 298 Emergency Food and Shelter Program 48 48 Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Grants 50 50 Independent Living (Chafee Foster Care Independence Program) 140 28 168 Independent Living Training Vouchers 45 45 Maternal, Infants and Children Home Visitation 36 36 SERVICES TOTAL 10,411 4,866 15,278 CHILD CARE AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT Headstart 7,559 1,890 9,449 Childcare and Child Development Block Grant 2,984 2,176 5,160 Childcare Entitlement to the States 3,100 3,100 TANF Block Grant Child Care 2,319 2,644 4,962 CHILD CARE & CHILD DEVELOPMENT TOTAL 15,962 6,710 22,671 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Community Development Block Grant and Related Development Funds 7,445 7,445 Economic Development Administration (Dept. of Commerce) 423 423 Appalachian Regional Development 68 68 Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities Renewal 1 1 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TOTAL 7,937 7,937 TOTAL in millions (2011) $717,093 $210,140 $927,234 Social Security OASDI (2013) $785,700 Medicare (2013) $574,200 TOTAL in millions $2,287,133 * Spending in millions of dollars 2.3 Trillion Dollar Total of Social Security, Medicare and Means Tested Welfare is low since latest 2013 means tested data not available but 2013, the "real" TOTAL will be higher. Social Security[edit] Main article: Social Security (United States) The Social Security program mainly refers to the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, and possibly to the unemployment insurance program. Retirement Insurance Benefits (RIB), also known as Old-age Insurance Benefits, are a form of social insurance payments made by the U.S. Social Security Administration paid based upon the attainment of old age (62 or older). Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD or SSDI) is a federal insurance program that provides income supplements to people who are restricted in their ability to be employed because of a notable disability. Unemployment insurance, also known as unemployment compensation, provides for money (from the United States and from the individual states) collected from employers, to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. The unemployment benefits are run by each state with different state-defined criteria for duration, percent of income paid, etc. Nearly all systems require the recipient to document their search for employment in order to continue receiving benefits. Extensions of time for receiving benefits are sometimes offered for extensive work unemployment. These extra benefits usually take the form of loans from the federal government that each state has to repay. General welfare[edit] Main articles: Supplemental Security Income and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides stipends to low-income people who are either aged (65 or older), blind, or disabled. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provides cash assistance to indigent American families with dependent children. Healthcare spending[edit] Main articles: Health care in the United States, Medicare (United States), and Medicaid Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by the private sector. Health insurance in the United States is now primarily provided by the government in the public sector, with 60–65% of healthcare provision and spending coming from programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration. Having some form of comprehensive health insurance is statutorily compulsory for most people lawfully residing within the US.[36] Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other special criteria like the End Stage Renal Disease Program (ESRD). Medicare in the United States somewhat resembles a single-payer health care system but is not.[why?] Before Medicare, only 51% of people aged 65 and older had health care coverage, and nearly 30% lived below the federal poverty level. Medicaid is a health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states.[37] People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, including low-income adults, their children, and people with certain disabilities. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people with limited income in the United States. The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children.[38] The program was designed to cover uninsured children in families with incomes that are modest but too high to qualify for Medicaid. The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Services Block Grant (or ADMS Block Grant) is a federal assistance block grant given by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Drug addiction, particularly the use of heroin, is an increasing cause of physical and mental disabilities. Treatment with methadone clinics can be supported by Medicaid and state healthcare programs. The Trump administration has decided to cut $9 million in Affordable Care Act subsidies by 2018.[39] This action was taken by use of Executive Order 13813, on October 12, 2017.[40] The initial goal had been for Republicans in Congress to use their majority to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, but they proved unable to do so;[41] therefore, the Trump administration itself took measures to weaken the program.[42] The healthcare changes are expected to be noticeable by the year 2019.[39] Education spending[edit] Main article: Education in the United States University of California, Berkeley is one of the oldest public universities in the U.S. Per capita spending on tertiary education is among the highest in the world[citation needed]. Public education is managed by individual states, municipalities and regional school districts. As in all developed countries, primary and secondary education is free, universal and mandatory. Parents do have the option of home-schooling their children, though some states, such as California (until a 2008 legal ruling overturned this requirement[43]), require parents to obtain teaching credentials before doing so. Experimental programs give lower-income parents the option of using government issued vouchers to send their kids to private rather than public schools in some states/regions. As of 2007, more than 80% of all primary and secondary students were enrolled in public schools, including 75% of those from households with incomes in the top 5%. Public schools commonly offer after-school programs and the government subsidizes private after school programs, such as the Boys & Girls Club. While pre-school education is subsidized as well, through programs such as Head Start, many Americans still find themselves unable to take advantage of them. Some education critics have therefore proposed creating a comprehensive transfer system to make pre-school education universal, pointing out that the financial returns alone would compensate for the cost. Tertiary education is not free, but is subsidized by individual states and the federal government. Some of the costs at public institutions is carried by the state. The government also provides grants, scholarships and subsidized loans to most students. Those who do not qualify for any type of aid, can obtain a government guaranteed loan and tuition can often be deducted from the federal income tax. Despite subsidized attendance cost at public institutions and tax deductions, however, tuition costs have risen at three times the rate of median household income since 1982.[44] In fear that many future Americans might be excluded from tertiary education, progressive Democrats have proposed increasing financial aid and subsidizing an increased share of attendance costs. Some Democratic politicians and political groups have also proposed to make public tertiary education free of charge, i.e. subsidizing 100% of attendance cost.[citation needed] Food assistance[edit] Main articles: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children In the U.S., financial assistance for food purchasing for low- and no-income people is provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.[45] This federal aid program is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but benefits are distributed by the individual U.S. states. It is historically and commonly known as the Food Stamp Program, though all legal references to "stamp" and "coupon" have been replaced by "EBT" and "card," referring to the refillable, plastic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that replaced the paper "food stamp" coupons. To be eligible for SNAP benefits, the recipients must have incomes below 130 percent of the poverty line, and also own few assets.[46] Since the economic downturn began in 2008, the use of food stamps has increased.[46] The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a child nutrition program for healthcare and nutrition of low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants and children under the age of five. The eligibility requirement is a family income below 185% of the U.S. Poverty Income Guidelines, but if a person participates in other benefit programs, or has family members who participate in SNAP, Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, they automatically meet the eligibility requirements. The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a type of United States federal assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to states in order to provide a daily subsidized food service for an estimated 3.2 million children and 112,000 elderly or mentally or physically impaired adults[47] in non-residential, day-care settings.[48] Public housing[edit] Main articles: Public housing in the United States and Section 8 (housing) The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 created Section 8 housing, the payment of rent assistance to private landlords on behalf of low-income households. Impact[edit] Average Incomes and Taxes CBO Study 2009*[49] Households by Income (%) Market Income1 Federal Transfers 2 Income + Transfers Avg Federal Tax rate %3 Federal Taxes $4 % Federal Taxes Pd. 5 #W6 % Net Income7 0–20 7,600 22,900 30,500 1.0 200 0.3 0.42 6.2 21–40 30,100 14,800 45,000 6.8 2,900 3.8 0.90 11.1 41–60 54,200 10,400 64,600 11.1 7,200 9.4 1.29 15.8 61–80 86,400 7,100 93,500 15.1 14,100 18.3 1.70 21.6 80–100 218,800 6,000 224,800 23.2 51,900 67.9 1.97 47.2 Source: Congressional Budget Office Study[49] 1. Market Income = All wages, tips, incomes etc. as listed on Income tax form 2. Federal Transfers = all EITC, CTC, medicaid, food stamps (SNAP), Social Security, SSI etc. received 3. Average tax rate includes all Social Security, Medicare, income, business income, excise, etc. taxes. 4. Net Federal taxes paid in dollars 5. Percent of all federal taxes paid 6. #W = Average number of workers per household in this quintile 7. % Net Income = percentage of all national income each quintile receives after taxes and transfers. According to a 2020 study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, U.S. government programs that focus on improving the health and educational outcomes of low-income children are the most effective, with benefits substantial enough that the government may even recoup its investment over time due to increased tax revenue from adults who were beneficiaries as children.[2] According to the Congressional Budget Office, social programs significantly raise the standard of living for low-income Americans, particularly the elderly. The poorest 20% of American households earn a before-tax average of only $7,600, less than half of the federal poverty line. Social programs increase such households' before-tax income to $30,500. Social Security and Medicare are responsible for two thirds of that increase.[49] Political scientist Benjamin Radcliff has argued that more generous social programs produce a higher quality of life for all citizens, rich and poor alike, as such programs not only improve life for those directly receiving benefits (or living in fear of someday needing them, from the prospect of unemployment or illness) but also reduce the social pathologies (such as crime and anomie) that are the result of poverty and insecurity. By creating a society with less poverty and less insecurity, he argues, we move closer to creating a nation of shared prosperity that works to the advantage of all. Thus, his research suggests, life satisfaction (or "happiness") is strongly related to the generosity of the social safety net (what economists often call decommodification), whether looking across the industrial democracies or across the American states.[50] Social Impact[edit] Complaints of mistreatment in navigating the welfare state are commonplace, with most unpleasant encounters arising from interactions between welfare recipients and social workers.[51] The dominant approach to social work was casework which emphasized the personal characteristics or moral deficiencies of the recipient rather than social reform. In some cases the said deficiency was grounds for denying assistance. Casework fostered a paternalistic and demeaning relationship between social workers and clients. Caseworkers are the persons who have the most opportunity for showing respect or disrespect to the welfare client.[51] Attitudes of welfare clients toward their caseworkers are described not as much in terms of what they receive in their checks but rather in terms of the relationship that they have with their caseworker; a study found that the way in which a client was shown respect was often more important to the client than what the provider in the situation did to solve the client’s problems.[52] As such, there has been work in the private and public sector to target the relationships between social worker and welfare recipients as a way to improve access to social provisions and ease the transition from welfare to work. In a study conducted of the association between the relationship held between people with mental health illnesses who are arrested and sent to mental health court with the mental health court (MHC) caseworker assigned to their case and outcomes, researchers found that perceived conflict with caseworkers was higher in a number of participants who were terminated or missing from MHC. Participants who reported less conflict with an assigned caseworker utilized more services and spent fewer days in jail.[53] The study shows the importance a perceived bond has on a participant's use of services, with less perceived conflict resulting in an increase of service use and program retention and decrease in jail time served.[53] Similar results were found in an evaluation of the impact of eleven different welfare-to-work approaches on adults and children in the course of five years.[54] Two programs who had lower enforcement of the participation mandate compared to the other nine, had little to no impact on employment and earnings if its participants. It appears that a minimum level of involvement and enforcement by program staff is required to produce a moderate improvement in employment—without it, participants who would not participate on their own volition would not engage in the program’s activities and reap the benefits from them.[54] Within the same evaluation it was found that programs that appointed one caseworker per person rather than the traditional two, had better outcomes for participants than programs that had assigned two caseworkers per person.[54] When a social worker demonstrates to her clients by her actions that she respects them, a relationship is able to grow. Clients who feel respected by their social worker will be more likely to freely discuss difficult topics, explore their own contributions, and appoint themselves in efforts to achieve specific outcomes.[55] A client’s perception of their provider’s level of regard for them was significantly related to their ability to achieve a certain outcome at the end of their program. Respect, although important throughout all phases of service, it is particularly crucial to interactions among newcomers or strangers.[55] Such expressions would include vocal sounds (ex. greeting, calling), physical movements (ex. serving, guiding), bodily movements (acknowledging, polite posture), appearance (ex. proper dressing, grooming), and so forth.[56] When grievances do need be addressed by the welfare beneficiaries, they usually seek the assistance of a lawyer or advocate. Because advocacy is a practice of speaking for the advocate, no matter how “rebellious” they aspire to be, they inevitably perpetuate the same subordination of their client as the system they attempt to combat[57] Lucie White presents this point in her “Goldberg v Kelly On the Paradox of Lawyering for the Poor” and proposes that when lawyers are representing poor welfare recipients, lawyers need to continuously cede to “clients” the power to speak for themselves. Such an act would transform the lawyer from a professional service that is imposed upon subordinated communities to partners that allow clients to take the lead of their own advocacy.[57] Analysis[edit] According to a 2012 review study, whether a social program generates public support depends on:[58] whether the program is universal or targeted towards certain groups the size of the social program benefits (larger benefits incentivize greater mobilization to defend a social program) the visibility and traceability of the benefits (whether recipients know where the benefits come from) the proximity and concentration of the beneficiaries (this affects the ease by which beneficiaries can organize to protect a social program) the duration of the benefits (longer benefits incentivize greater mobilization to defend a social program) the manner in which a program is administered (e.g. is the program inclusive, does it follow principles?) Household characteristics[edit] Characteristics of Households by Quintile 2010[59] Household Income Bracket (%) 0–20 21–40 41–60 61–80 81–100 Earners Per Household 0.4 0.9 1.3 1.7 2.0 Marital Status Married couples (%) 17.0 35.9 48.8 64.3 78.4 Single Parents or Single (%) 83.0 64.1 51.2 35.7 21.6 Ages of Householders Under 35 23.3 24 24.5 21.8 14.6 36–64 years 43.6 46.6 55.4 64.3 74.7 65 years + 33.1 29.4 20.1 13.9 10.7 Work Status householders (%) Worked Full Time (%) 17.4 44.7 61.1 71.5 77.2 Worked Part Time (%) 14.3 13.3 11.1 9.8 9.5 Did Not Work (%) 68.2 42.1 27.8 17.7 13.3 Education of Householders (%) Less than High School 26.7 16.6 8.8 5.4 2.2 High School or some College 61.2 65.4 62.9 58.5 37.6 Bachelor's degree or Higher 12.1 18.0 28.3 36.1 60.3 Source: U.S. Census Bureau[unreliable source?] Social programs have been implemented to promote a variety of societal goals, including alleviating the effects of poverty on those earning or receiving low income or encountering serious medical problems, and ensuring retired people have a basic standard of living. Unlike in Europe, Christian democratic and social democratic theories have not played a major role in shaping welfare policy in the United States.[60] Entitlement programs in the U.S. were virtually non-existent until the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the implementation of the New Deal programs in response to the Great Depression. Between 1932 and 1981, modern American liberalism dominated U.S. economic policy and the entitlements grew along with American middle class wealth.[61] Eligibility for welfare benefits depends on a variety of factors, including gross and net income, family size, pregnancy, homelessness, unemployment, and serious medical conditions like blindness, kidney failure or AIDS. Drug testing for applicants[edit] Main article: Drug testing welfare recipients This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The United States adopted the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in 1996, which gave individual states the authority to drug test welfare recipients. Drug testing in order for potential recipients to receive welfare has become an increasingly controversial topic. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina claims he pushes for drug screening as a matter of "moral obligation" and that testing should be enforced as a way for the United States government to discourage drug usage.[62] Others claim that ordering the needy to drug test "stereotypes, stigmatizes, and criminalizes" them without need.[63] States that currently require drug tests to be performed in order to receive public assistance include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah.[64] Demographics of TANF recipients[edit] Further information: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families A chart showing the overall decline of average monthly TANF (formerly AFDC) benefits per recipient 1962–2006 (in 2006 dollars).[65] Some have argued that welfare has come to be associated with poverty. Political scientist Martin Gilens argues that blacks have overwhelmingly dominated images of poverty over the last few decades and states that "white Americans with the most exaggerated misunderstandings of the racial composition of the poor are the most likely to oppose welfare".[66] This perception possibly perpetuates negative racial stereotypes and could increase Americans' opposition and racialization of welfare policies.[66] In FY 2010, African-American families comprised 31.9% of TANF families, white families comprised 31.8%, and 30.0% were Hispanic.[67] Since the implementation of TANF, the percentage of Hispanic families has increased, while the percentages of white and black families have decreased. In FY 1997, African-American families represented 37.3% of TANF recipient families, white families 34.5%, and Hispanic families 22.5%.[68] As of 2013, the US population as a whole is composed of 63.7% whites, 16.3% Hispanic, 12.5% African-American, 4.8% Asian and 2.9% other races.[69] TANF programs at a cost of about $20.0 billion (2013) have decreased in use as Earned Income Tax Credits, Medicaid grants, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), child nutrition programs, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), housing assistance, Feeding Programs (WIC & CSFP), along with about 70 more programs, have increased to over $700 billion more in 2013.[70] Costs[edit] The Great Recession made a large impact on welfare spending. In a 2011 article, Forbes reported, "The best estimate of the cost of the 185 federal means tested welfare programs for 2010 for the federal government alone is $717 billion, up a third since 2008, according to the Heritage Foundation. Counting state spending of about $210 billion, total welfare spending for 2010 reached over $920 billion, up nearly one-fourth since 2008 (24.3%)"—and increasing fast.[71] The previous decade had seen a 60% decrease in the number of people receiving welfare benefits,[28] beginning with the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, but spending did not decrease proportionally during that time period. Combined annual federal and state spending is the equivalent of over $21,000 for every person living below poverty level in America.[72] See also[edit] Wikiquote has quotations related to: Social programs in the United States Administration of federal assistance in the United States Wealth inequality in the United States Welfare economics Welfare in California Welfare in Puerto Rico References[edit] ^ Krugman, P. (2007). The Conscience of a Liberal. New York: W. W. Norton ^ a b Hendren, Nathaniel; Sprung-Keyser, Ben (2020). "A Unified Welfare Analysis of Government Policies". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 135 (3): 1209–1318. doi:10.1093/qje/qjaa006. ^ García, Jorge Luis; Heckman, James J.; Leaf, Duncan Ermini; Prados, María José (2019). "Quantifying the Life-Cycle Benefits of an Influential Early-Childhood Program". Journal of Political Economy. 128 (7): 2502–2541. doi:10.1086/705718. ISSN 0022-3808. PMC 7331936. PMID 32616965. ^ Hacker, Jacob (2005). "Policy Drift: The Hidden Politics of US Welfare State Retrenchment". Beyond Continuity: Institutional Change in Advanced Political Economies. Oxford University Press. ^ Pierson, Paul (1994). Dismantling the Welfare State?: Reagan, Thatcher and the Politics of Retrenchment. Cambridge Core. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511805288. ISBN 9780521403825. Retrieved March 20, 2020. ^ Means tested programs [1] accessed 19 Nov 2013 ^ Social spending after the crisis. OECD. (Social spending in a historical perspective, p. 5). Retrieved: 26 December 2012. ^ Dawn (January 9, 2014), Welfare for Single Mothers, Single Mother Guide ^ 2013 Status Of The Social Security And Medicare Programs [2] accessed 16 Oct 2013 ^ White house Historical tables. Table 1 [3] accessed 16 Oct 2013 ^ Hacker, Jacob S. (September 9, 2002). The Divided Welfare State: The Battle Over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States. Cambridge University Press. pp. 29–30. ISBN 9780521013284. ^ OECD database on social expenditures [4] accessed 9 Dec 2013 ^ Hacker, Jacob S. (September 9, 2002). The Divided Welfare State: The Battle Over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States. Cambridge University Press. pp. 31. ISBN 9780521013284. ^ a b c Skocpol, Theda (1992). "Protecting Soldiers and Mothers". Harvard University Press. Retrieved March 21, 2020. ^ a b Fishback, Price V. (2020). "Social Insurance and Public Assistance in the Twentieth-Century United States". The Journal of Economic History. 80 (2): 311–350. doi:10.1017/S0022050720000200. ISSN 0022-0507. ^ "English Poor Laws". Social Welfare History Project. January 19, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2018. ^ "Employer neglect factoring into workers compensation". Ben Davis Law. December 1, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2018. ^ "What Happened During the Great Depression?". The Balance. Retrieved July 5, 2018. ^ "About the Great Depression". english.illinois.edu. Retrieved July 5, 2018. ^ "Civilian Conservation Corps: Definition and Facts". History.com. Retrieved July 5, 2018. ^ Robert Whaples; Randall E. Parker, eds. (2013). Routledge Handbook of Modern Economic History. Routledge. p. 8. ISBN 9780415677042. ^ Fishback, Price V.; Haines, Michael R.; Kantor, Shawn (2007). "Births, deaths, and New Deal relief during the Great Depression" (PDF). Review of Economics and Statistics. 89 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1162/rest.89.1.1. ^ a b c d e f g Deparle, Jason (February 2, 2009). "Welfare Aid Isn't Growing as Economy Drops Off". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2009. ^ "Poverty Facts – Poverty Solutions". npc.umich.edu. The University of Michigan. Retrieved March 28, 2018. ^ a b c "Welfare Rolls See First Climb in Years". The Washington Post. December 17, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2009. ^ a b c d e f "Stimulus Bill Abolishes Welfare Reform and Adds New Welfare Spending". Heritage Foundation. February 11, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009. ^ a b c "Ending Welfare Reform as We Knew It". The National Review. February 12, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009.[dead link] ^ a b c d e Goodman, Peter S. (April 11, 2008). "From Welfare Shift in '96, a Reminder for Clinton". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2009. ^ "Change for the Worse". New York Post. January 30, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009.[dead link] ^ a b AllenMills, Tony (February 15, 2009). "Obama warned over 'welfare spendathon'". The Times. London. Retrieved February 15, 2009. ^ "Rising Extreme Poverty in the United States and the Response of Federal Means-Tested Transfer Programs" (PDF). ^ "Sanders: Welfare reform more than doubled 'extreme poverty'". politifact.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018. ^ Spending on Largest Welfare Programs in U.S. [5] accessed 19 Nov 2013 ^ "Welfare Reform History Timeline – 1900s to current United States." SearchBeat. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. . ^ Means Tested Programs in U.S. [6] accessed 19 Nov 2013 ^ "Individual Mandate Penalty You Pay If You Don't Have Health Insurance Coverage". HealthCare.gov. Retrieved March 28, 2018. ^ Medicaid General Information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (CMS) website ^ Sultz, H., & Young, K. Health Care USA Understanding its Organization and Delivery. p. 257 ^ a b Pear, Robert; Haberman, Maggie; Abelson, Reed (October 12, 2017). "Trump to Scrap Critical Health Care Subsidies, Hitting Obamacare Again". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2018. ^ List of executive actions by Donald Trump#cite note-215 https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/10/12/presidential-executive-order-promoting-healthcare-choice-and-competition ^ Everett, Burgess (February 1, 2018). "Republicans Give Up on Obamacare Repeal". Politico. Retrieved April 8, 2018. ^ "Donald J. Trump on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved March 28, 2018. ^ Jonathan L. v. Superior Court, 165 Cal.App.4th 1074 (Cal.App. 2 Dist. 2008). Text of opinion ^ Lewin, Tamar. "NYT on increase in tuition". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2009. ^ "Nutrition Assistance Program Home Page" Archived November 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, U.S. Department of Agriculture (official website), March 3, 2011 (last revised). Accessed March 4, 2011. ^ a b Erik Eckholm (March 31, 2008). "Food stamp use in U.S. at record pace as jobs vanish". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2012. ^ Why CACFP Is Important, Child and Adult Care Food Program Homepage, Food and Nutrition Service, US Department of Agriculture ^ Child and Adult Care Food Program (CFDA 10.558);OMB Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement Archived 2009-06-21 at the Wayback Machine; Part 4: Agency Program Requirements: Department of Housing and Urban Development, p. 4-10.558-1 ^ a b c Average Incomes and Taxes 2009 [7] accessed 19 Nov 2013 ^ Radcliff, Benjamin (2013) The Political Economy of Human Happiness (New York: Cambridge University Press). See also this collection of full-text peer reviewed scholarly articles on this subject by Radcliff and colleagues (from "Social Forces," "The Journal of Politics," and "Perspectives on Politics," among others) [8] ^ a b Nadasen, Premilla (June 17, 2014). Welfare Warriors: The Welfare Rights Movement in the United States. Routledge. ISBN 9781136743696. ^ Green, Edward J. (October 1991). "Wise Choices, Apt Feelings: A Theory of Normative Judgment, Allan Gibbard. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990, x + 346 pages". Economics and Philosophy. 7 (2): 289–295. doi:10.1017/s0266267100001449. ISSN 0266-2671. ^ a b Canada, Kelli E.; Epperson, Matthew W. (November 2014). "The client-caseworker relationship and its association with outcomes among mental health court participants". Community Mental Health Journal. 50 (8): 968–973. doi:10.1007/s10597-014-9713-z. ISSN 1573-2789. PMID 24557529. S2CID 8764224. ^ a b c mdrc.org (PDF) https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/full_391.pdf. Retrieved December 15, 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help) ^ a b Sung, Kyu-taik; Dunkle, Ruth E. (April 2009). "How Social Workers Demonstrate Respect for Elderly Clients". Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 52 (3): 250–260. doi:10.1080/01634370802609247. ISSN 0163-4372. PMC 3110652. PMID 19308830. ^ Sung, Kyu-taik (March 2001). "Elder respect: exploration of ideals and forms in East Asia". Journal of Aging Studies. 15 (1): 13–26. doi:10.1016/s0890-4065(00)00014-1. ISSN 0890-4065. ^ a b White, L.E. (1990). "Goldberg v. kelly on the paradox of lawyering for the poor". Brooklyn Law Review. 56 (3): 861–888. ^ Campbell, Andrea Louise (May 11, 2012). "Policy Makes Mass Politics". Annual Review of Political Science. 15 (1): 333–351. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-012610-135202. ISSN 1094-2939. ^ Characteristics if Households by Quintile 2010 [9] accessed 19 Nov 2013 ^ Esping-Andersen, G. (1991). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ^ G. William Domhoff. "Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power". Sociology.ucsc.edu. Retrieved August 14, 2012. ^ Delaney, Arthur. "Food Stamp Cuts Might Come With Drug Testing". Huffington Post. Missing or empty |url= (help) ^ Goetzl, Celia. "Government Mandated Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients: Special Need or Unconstitutional Condition?". Retrieved October 24, 2013. ^ Cohen, Robin. "Drug Testing of Public Assistance Recipients". OLR Research Report. Retrieved October 24, 2013. ^ 2008 Indicators of Welfare Dependence Figure TANF 2. ^ a b Gilens, Martin (1996). "Race and Poverty in America: Public Misperceptions and the American News Media." Public Opinion Quarterly 60, no. 4, pp. 515–41 (516). ^ "Characteristics and Financial Circumstances of TANF Recipients – Fiscal Year 2010". United States Department of Health and Human Services. ^ "Demographic And Financial Characteristics Of Families Receiving Assistance Archived 2016-01-26 at the Wayback Machine". United States Department of Health and Human Services. ^ Demographics of U.S. population Table 1 [10] accessed 26 Dec 2013 ^ 79 Means tested welfare programs in the United States [11] accessed 26 Dec 2013 ^ Ferrara, Peter (April 22, 2011). "America's Ever Expanding Welfare Empire". Forbes. Retrieved April 10, 2012. ^ Tanner, Michael (October 20, 2014). "The War on Poverty: Are We Winning Yet?" (PDF). Cato Institute Policy Analysis. Number 761: 3. Retrieved July 2, 2015. Further reading[edit] MaCurdy, Thomas; Jones, Jeffrey M. (2008). "Welfare". In David R. Henderson (ed.). Concise Encyclopedia of Economics (2nd ed.). Library of Economics and Liberty. ISBN 9780865976658. OCLC 237794267. Alison Siskin, Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview, Congressional Research Service, 12 December 2016 v t e Contemporary social welfare programs in the United States Transfer payments Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Social security Supplemental Security Income Social Security Disability Insurance Unemployment insurance Public housing Section 8 (housing) Office of Public and Indian Housing Food Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program WIC Child and Adult Care Food Program Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico School meal programs in the United States School Breakfast Program Farmers' Market Nutrition Program Summer Food Service Program Special Milk Program Nutrition Assistance Grants Reduced-price meal Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations Education Head Start Program Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Grants & subsidies Community Development Block Grant Community Services Block Grant Child care and development block grant HOME Investment Partnerships Program Housing trust fund Mutual self-help housing NeighborWorks America Urban Partnership Bank HOPE VI Government National Mortgage Association FHA insured loan HUD Neighborhood Networks Renewal community Empowerment zone Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Lifeline State & territory California New York Puerto Rico v t e United States articles History By event Pre-Columbian era Colonial era Thirteen Colonies military history Founding Fathers Continental Congress Continental Association Lee Resolution Declaration of Independence American Revolution War Treaty of Paris Articles of Confederation Confederation Period American frontier Drafting and ratification of Constitution Bill of Rights Federalist Era War of 1812 Territorial evolution Mexican–American War Civil War Reconstruction era Indian Wars Gilded Age Progressive Era Women's suffrage Civil rights movement 1865–1896 / 1896–1954 / 1954–1968 Spanish–American War Imperialism World War I Roaring Twenties Great Depression World War II home front American Century Cold War Korean War Space Race Feminist Movement Vietnam War Post-Cold War (1991–2008) War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq War COVID-19 pandemic By topic Outline of U.S. history Demographic Discoveries Economic debt ceiling Inventions before 1890 1890–1945 1946–1991 after 1991 Military Postal Technological and industrial Geography Territory Contiguous United States Continental America counties federal district federal enclaves Indian reservations insular zones minor outlying islands populated places states Earthquakes Extreme points Islands Mountains peaks ranges Appalachian Rocky National Park Service National Parks Regions East Coast West Coast Great Plains Gulf Mid-Atlantic Midwestern New England Pacific Central Eastern Northern Northeastern Northwestern Southern Southeastern Southwestern Western Longest rivers Arkansas Colorado Columbia Mississippi Missouri Red (South) Rio Grande Yukon Time Water supply and sanitation World Heritage Sites Politics Federal Executive Cabinet Civil service Executive departments Executive Office Independent agencies Law enforcement President of the United States Powers Public policy Legislative House of Representatives current members Speaker Senate current members President pro tempore Vice President Judicial District courts Courts of appeals Supreme Court Law Bill of Rights civil liberties Code of Federal Regulations Constitution federalism preemption separation of powers civil rights Federal Reporter United States Code United States Reports Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency Office of the Director of National Intelligence Uniformed Armed Forces Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Space Force Coast Guard National Guard NOAA Corps Public Health Service Corps 51st state political status of Puerto Rico District of Columbia statehood movement Elections Electoral College Foreign relations Foreign policy Hawaiian sovereignty movement Ideologies anti-Americanism exceptionalism nationalism Local government Parties Democratic Republican Third parties Red states and blue states Purple America Scandals State government governor state legislature state court Imperial Presidency Corruption Economy By sector Agriculture Banking Communications Companies Energy Insurance Manufacturing Mining Science and technology Tourism Trade Transportation by state Currency Exports Federal budget Federal Reserve System Financial position Labor unions Public debt Social welfare programs Taxation Unemployment Wall Street Society Culture Americana Architecture Cinema Crime Cuisine Dance Demography Economic issues affluence eviction home-ownership household income income inequality labor unions middle class personal income poverty standard of living wealth Education attainment Family structure Fashion Flag Folklore Great American Novel Health health care health insurance Holidays Homelessness Human rights Languages American English Indigenous languages ASL Black American Sign Language HSL Plains Sign Talk Arabic Chinese French German Italian Russian Spanish Literature Media Journalism Internet Newspapers Radio Television Music Names National symbols Columbia Statue of Liberty Uncle Sam People Philosophy Political ideologies Public holidays Race Religion Sexuality / Adolescent Sexuality Social class Society Sports Theater Transportation Video games Visual art Social class Affluence American Dream Educational attainment Homelessness Home-ownership Household income Income inequality Middle class Personal income Poverty Professional and working class conflict Standard of living Issues Ages of consent Capital punishment Crime incarceration Criticism of government Discrimination affirmative action antisemitism hair texture intersex rights Islamophobia LGBT rights racism same-sex marriage Drug policy Energy policy Environmental movement Gun politics Health care abortion health insurance hunger obesity smoking Human rights Immigration illegal International rankings National security Mass surveillance Terrorism Separation of church and state Outline Index Category Portal v t e Welfare in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_programs_in_the_United_States&oldid=1002525176" Categories: Welfare in the United States Economy of the United States Federal assistance in the United States Hidden categories: All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from May 2016 Articles with dead external links from August 2010 Webarchive template wayback links CS1 errors: missing title CS1 errors: bare URL CS1 errors: requires URL CS1: long volume value Use American English from September 2019 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from September 2019 Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2011 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles needing additional references from June 2018 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2010 Articles with unsourced statements from October 2009 All articles lacking reliable references Articles lacking reliable references from December 2015 Articles needing additional references from July 2014 Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Languages Deutsch فارسی Simple English Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 24 January 2021, at 21:22 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement