Government benefit programs help to keep people afloat in financial situations that would otherwise drown them. For example, families that wouldn’t be able to afford the high prices of food at the supermarket can use food stamps to help sustain their livelihood. Programs essentially give people a much needed safety net to fall back on during hard times. In fact, almost as much as one-third of the United States periodically falls into hard times and believes they deserve help from the government.
Benefit programs maintain the long standing American culture of hope. This goes hand in hand with the characteristic of keeping people afloat. America has, for much of its history, been a place where people come to seek out a better life and to fulfill their dreams. Without the programs some people’s financial situations would restrict any chances for hope, which would disgrace the core foundational principles the United States were build upon. The people would feel as if they were in an endless pit, trapped, with no way to escape, but with benefit programs the government removes some of the stress and feelings of despair.
Lastly, government benefit programs showcase compassion and heart of the United States to citizens of other parts of the world. Not all countries are able to help their poor and downtrodden and not all counties make a conscience effort to. Countries like China, readily, aim to ignore their poor because it is economically profitable. Although every one may not agree with benefit programs, the existence of them represents dual party bipartisanship that many countries are unable to achieve (most counties do not operate under the two party system however the idea of difficulty of the cohesion of parties remains the same) .
While these programs do spur positive ramifications, they could use extensive reform. All government benefit programs need to practice strict means testing. Recipients of programs would need to complete a thorough interview process consisting of paperwork and one home visit. This requirement would reduce the amount of people abusing government programs when they have the ability to take care of themselves without assistance. Additionally, some programs should also be downsized to only provide for the disabled and families with dependents such as children or older people. This is because individuals with sole responsibility for themselves should be more able to find jobs and necessary education because they have more flexibility with time.
Overall, the United States has a sufficient and efficient benefit system. Poverty in America, while still makes for an austere living lifestyle, is much more comfortable due to these programs. The United States should to strive it best to try and preserve and improve the integrity its government benefit systems in order for future struggling generations of Americans to be able to partake in the same programs as their predecessors.
