FAML 430 Week 13
“I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
― Thomas Jefferson
This week, we will explore the role of the state or organized government in offering support to individuals, families, and communities. Around the world, governments have taken different approaches to protecting and caring for their citizens. Some have minimized government involvement and look to the people to solve their own problems and muster support through personal efforts and privatized services. At the other extreme is communism where the government owns and operates nearly all commercial and social enterprises. Between these extremes are governments that operate with degrees of socialism and capitalism—or degree of free enterprise and publicly controlled programs and services supported through taxation.
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
― Margaret Thatcher
A democracy is a form of government in which the people choose, by public vote, leaders who will best represent the voice of the people. That voice is rarely unified and may swing from liberal to conservative ideals or from socialistic to capitalistic practices.
“Stay involved in democracy. Fight for democracy. It can be messy and frustrating, believe me, I know. I understand why many Americans are frustrated by government and feel like it doesn’t make a difference. It’s not perfect, and not supposed to be. It’s only as good as we are, as what we choose to care about, as the people we elect. We’re never going to get 100 percent of what we want right away. But what if we got some of it right away, and protected it, and kept moving forward until we got the rest? That’s what voting is about. It’s not about making things perfect; it’s about making things better.”
― President Barack Obama quoted in goodreads
Liberals generally believe in governmental action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all and that it is the duty of government to reduce community issues and to protect civil liberties and individuals and human rights. They also believe the role of government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for government to assist in solving people’s problems. Liberals are often referred to as being on the left when put on a political perspective. Democrats are often viewed as being more liberal.
Conservatives generally believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. They also believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve their own problems. Conservatives are often referred to as being on the right when put on a political perspective spectrum. Republicans are often viewed as more conservative.
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.”
– Ronald Reagan, 1986 News Conference
When it comes to government involvement in our lives, are you a conservative, liberal, or somewhere in the middle?
The following resources provides additional insight into political ideologies.
While individual citizenship and nonprofit efforts in the private sector are essential to providing individuals and families with support services, the state has increasingly become involved in a growing number of issues where government involvement is viewed to be in the best interest of the public good. Many believe the patchwork of public charities cannot alone provide the education and assistance for concerns that are frequently viewed as human rights. Government oversight or involvement is needed. The national defense, public education, scientific research, economic development, environmental protection, health care, roads and infrastructure, public safety and emergency response, social equality, civil rights, and the temporal welfare of citizens—are all areas of public concern that are supported through taxation.
Where to Turn for Help?
When children and families are in need, where should they turn for help? When the Church welfare program was first announced in 1936, the First Presidency made this statement:
“Our primary purpose was to set up, insofar as possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of the dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift, and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as a ruling principle in the lives of our Church membership.”
From Conference Report, October 1936, p. 3.
As Latter-Day Saints, we believe in first fostering self-reliance that will allow us to care for our own needs and to be of service to others. When this falls short, individuals or families should seek help from extended family, government and community resources, and church assistance through fast offerings.
The Church General Handbook provides the following counsel on providing help to individuals in need:
22.3.2
Help Members Assess and Address Short-Term Needs
Members strive to meet their basic needs through their own efforts, help from extended family, and help from government and community resources (see22.12). If these sources are insufficient, members may need Church assistance.
22.4
Principles for Providing Church Assistance
With the help of the Lord, members seek to provide for themselves and their families. When members need financial assistance, they should turn to the following sources in this order:
- Their extended family
- Government and community financial resources
- Church assistance through fast offerings
When turning to the government for support, we might find different levels of support depending on the mix of services provided by our local, state, and federal governments. Public agencies are financed by taxation and are administered within the legal framework established at each level of government. So, services to families in Idaho might be different than in California because of different legal codes and taxation plans. Like we discovered with child labor laws, there often are efforts to “federalize” legislation, programs, and services to create unified standards, programs, and services for all.
Taxes are levied primarily on income, sales, and property. About two-thirds of our overall taxes are collected by the federal government. States collect about 20%. And the local government collects the remaining 14% of our overall taxes. The following resources provide a brief overview of how your taxes are spent. Contrary to what some may think—the majority of our tax dollars are not spent on welfare or social programs.
- How Are My US State Taxes Spent?
- How Your US Tax Dollars Are Spent
(01:58 mins, "How Your Tax Dollars Are Spent" Transcript)
“I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”
― Benjamin Franklin
Would you welcome higher taxes if it meant ending poverty, extending parental leave policies, providing free universal childcare and pre-k programs, and creating more government support for individual support or families? Or would you rather keep the extra taxes and arrange and pay for those services yourself? Would being rich or poor change your answer?
The following figure shows the Federal Government Spending 1959-2016 in billions of dollars.
The second figure shows mandatory spending on social programs in 2019.
NOTE: Source Information and Explanation
NOTE: Source Information and Explanation
Scandinavian countries are well-known for their broad social safety nets and public funding of social programs (See “Insight into the Tax Systems of Scandinavian Countries”). Sweden is a country that has practically eliminated poverty and is widely known for its family-friendly policies and strong public support of children and families. But the support comes with high taxes. Elke Asen (2021) reports that Sweden's top personal tax rate of 57.2 percent applies to all income over 1.5 times the average national income. In comparison, the United States levies its top personal income tax rate of 43.7 percent (federal and state combined) at 9.2 times the average US income (at around $500,000). The following short video clips provide insight into the Sweden way:
- Taxes in Sweden: from Poor No More, a Canadian feature documentary
(01:21 mins, "Taxes in Sweden: From Poor no More, a Canadian Feature Documentary" Transcript) - Best of DadLabs Season 3 Video: Best Family Leave Plan on Earth? (starts at 0:50)
(03:19 mins, "Best of Dadlabs Season 3 Video: Best Family Leave Plan on Earth?" Transcript)
But in a democracy, there are different ideas as to the best way to help others. Good-hearted people across the political spectrum see different paths to helping those in need. The United States government is often seen as “miserly” in its humanitarian aid to other countries given its GDP and overall wealth. Similarly, our government provides a more limited safety net and fewer social programs than many countries. But some argue that with private enterprise and fewer intrusion from the government, people find ways to solve their own problems—and do so more efficiently. While government aid to humanitarian efforts may be less as a percentage of our GDP, private charitable giving in the United State is very high. And even countries like Sweden have discovered that privatizing some services fosters healthy competition, lowers costs, and increases efficiencies. The following video clips provide an alternative perspective to helping people:
- American Charity
(01:17 mins, "American Charity" Transcript) - Sweden Not a Socialist Success
(05:29 mins, "Sweden Not a Socialist Success" Transcript) - Govt Should Do Less
(11:55 mins, "Govt Should Do Less" Transcript)
The following humorous video illustrates that sometimes random, unplanned, emergent solutions may be the best way to solve a problem.
- The Better Boarding Method Airlines Won't Use
(09:32 mins, "The Better Boarding Method Airlines Won't Use" Transcript)
Who, How, and When to Help?
“Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.”
— Marion G. Romney from "The Celestial Nature of Self-reliance" October 1982 General Conference
The approaches of providing government assistance to children and families have changed over time. Traditional approaches have often been challenged with the “red-tape” and the slow and costly procedures common to any large bureaucracy. To combat these challenges, some government agencies have introduced competitive grants or block grants—where funding is given to states or local municipalities to administer programs. This allows program administration and intervention to be closer to those in need. Increasingly, many government services are being administered by private for-profit organizations that make competitive bids to administer government programs and services for a designated period. They are funded with tax dollars and program fees. The Head Start program is one example of a government program that is run by private organizations through a competitive bid process. In addition to reducing bureaucratic challenges, such government-private business partnerships also hope to move toward a family preservation model of support services, which empowers individuals and families and encourages self-reliance.
Family Preservation Support Services | Traditional Family Support Services |
|---|---|
Build on family strengths | Emphasize family deficits |
Focus on families | Focus on individuals |
Respond flexibly to family needs | Program and funding source dictates services |
Reach out to families | Have strict eligibility requirements |
Treat families as partners in goal setting | Workers set goals and establish solution |
Offer services in home or homelike settings | Services are office-based |
Respond quickly to needs | Often have waiting lists |
Adapted from Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support, 10th Edition, by Roberta M. Berns
Determining how to best use tax dollars in social support is also hotly debated. Is money best spent in prevention [before the crisis], intervention [during the crisis], or rehabilitation [after the crisis]?
Prevention Services | Support or Intervention Services | Rehabilitation Service |
|---|---|---|
Parks | Counseling | Prisons and Correction |
Recreation | Economic Assistance | Mental Health |
Education | Resource Referrals | Special Needs |
| Health and Welfare | Addiction Recovery and Rehabilitation Centers |
| Crisis Intervention |
|
| Foster Care / Adoption |
|
| Child Care |
|
While most would agree that building fences atop a dangerous cliff is better than patching up the bodies of those who have fallen, in reality, money typically funds those individuals and situations of greatest desperation. Prevention does not qualify as desperate. Yet one research study, "Economic Impact of Head Start,"found that for every dollar spent on the Head Start program, the government saves $3.69 in future costs.
“The government is not your salvation. The government is not your road to prosperity. Hard work, education will take you far beyond what any government program can ever promise.”
— Mia Love
You Try: Applying for Government Assistance
While there are regular attempts to simplify processes and cut bureaucratic red tape, fears of welfare fraud or abuse tend to keep processes complicated and extensive. Consider the following:
- Try to find the online form to apply for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in Rexburg, Idaho. If you’re lucky enough to find it, bring the URL to your weekly Zoom meeting.
- As a wise and educated college student, fill out the Idaho Health & Welfare Application for Assistance
Did you have any problems? Was the process understandable and reasonable? Would such processes become a barrier for people in need in getting the support and services they need?
Brief Overview of the Historical Evolution of the US Welfare System
Before the Great Depression of the 1930s, there was no federal welfare system. Care for children, the disabled, the elderly, and those who had fallen on hard times was considered a family or church responsibility. But unemployment during the Great Depression was so widespread that many were unable to care for their own.
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
The Beginnings
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” started the modern welfare system with the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935. It has three major programs, including Social Security, Unemployment Insurance (involuntary unemployment), and Aid to Dependent Children (ADC).
In 1956, Social Security Disability Insurance was added to this beginning welfare safety net. Much of it was set up as an “Insurance” system—which means citizens paid into the program during their working years and thus earned a benefit during retirement or unexpected unemployment. It is sometimes called an entitlement because it was earned through personal contributions during more prosperous times.
Eligibility for “welfare” programs is not based on any personal contribution in the past, but is simply a mean income test. If you meet poverty standards—you are eligible.
NOTE: Sometimes social support programs are a hybrid of what we might consider insurance and welfare programs. "Entitlement programs" are not clearly in one domain or the other, but are simply an indication of the government's obligation to pay based on some criteria.
Defining "Entitlement."
The Great Expansion
During the post-war boom of the late 1940s and 1950s, some families fared better than others. Michael Harrington’s 1962 book The Other Americapopularized the idea that while our country prospered as a whole—poverty was a real problem and many families needed additional help.
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” which was messaged as a “hand up” and not a “hand out,” started a significant expansion of the modern welfare state. During the next decade, the following programs were added:
- Head Start (1965),
- Food Stamp Act 1964 (now called SNAP)
- Medicaid (1965)
- Medicare (1965)
- National School Lunch Program (1966)
- Supplemental Security Income (1972)
- WIC (Women’s Infant and Children) (1975)
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) (1975)
Contractionary Developments
President Nixon’s and President Carter’s efforts to further expand the welfare program failed. Attitudes in the US were changing amidst rumors of welfare fraud, and intergenerational welfare families living on the dole.
In the early 1980s, President Ronald Reagan was elected on the promise of welfare reform and the stories he perpetuated about the welfare abuses of the welfare queen. The popular 1984 book, by political scientist Charles Murray, titled Losing Ground, further raised concern and encourage welfare reform.
In the late 1980s, President George H. W. Bush introduced some work-based welfare, but these programs were not seen as a great success.
Watch
- The True Story Behind the Welfare Queen Stereotype (7:11 minutes)
The most important social welfare program in America is a job.
— Newt Gingrich
Interestingly, it was a Democrat president that led the most contractionary welfare reform in modern US History. During the 1990s President Bill Clinton oversaw efforts that introduced significant work requirements, strict eligibility requirements, and lifetime limits for receiving welfare. During this time, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children(AFDC) was renamed Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to further message that things were different. Over the next decade, the number of poor served was reduced by 63%. Still, the work requirements of TANF have been criticized and some believe the program is ineffective in reducing poverty or helping families get off welfare. Watch the following news report on the current status of TANF.
Watch
“You can't get rid of poverty by giving people money.”
— P.J. O'Rourke, political satirist
Citizen perspectives and support for funding public welfare programs seem to sway from compassion to skepticism depending on the social, political, and economic environment. This change in perspective was illustrated by the vastly different view of poverty presented in the popular books, The Other American, and Losing Ground.Glen Elder’s poverty research suggests that during times of economic prosperity, poverty is often seen to result from a character flaw in individuals. This is illustrated by the adage, “Poor people have poor ways.” But during the Great Depression—when many were jobless and poor—poverty was attributed to outside forces—such as the economic environment. So, our attitudes towards the poor and welfare assistance ebbs and flows within the historical context. As you read the following articles on poverty and our government response, consider the following questions:
- What makes a person or family situation “deserving” or “undeserving” of public welfare assistance?
- How have our attitudes toward the deserving poor changed over time? Why?
- Should we help more people a little or fewer people a lot? Do comprehensive programs better help people escape poverty?
- How can public assistance be given in a manner that encourages self-reliance, personal well-being, and resiliency?
- What’s the key to “getting off” welfare and escaping poverty permanently?
- As the pendulum of public options swings back and forth on public welfare programs—where do our nations stand now?
- Considering Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, at what levels of government and in what systems is public welfare assistance best extended?
- Is the standard of what is considered poverty different in the USA and other parts of the world? Does being poor depend on your point of comparison? Are the consequences of poverty real even when the standard of comparison is different?
- How does the United State compare to approaches in other countries?
United States Government Offices
In the United States Federal government, the President as leader of the Executive Branch is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress. He appoints, and the Senate confirms, the heads, or Secretaries, of fifteen Executive Departments, which become his advisory Cabinet. These departments and independent agencies (which have limited presidential control) are responsible for implementing or contracting government services. They establish the rules governing the delivery and the standards and expectations associated with any block grants that they pass on to states, local governments, or the private sector. Evaluation, transparency, accountability are governing principles given elected officials must ultimately answer to the people. While a number of Executive Departments and independent agencies assist directly and indirectly in fighting poverty at a group or macro level—It is the US Department of Health and Human Services that is primarily responsible for public welfare assistance to individuals and families. The US Department of Education, The US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the US Department of Agriculture also have significant programs that assist those in need. The fifteen Executive Departments in the US Government are the following:
- US Department of Agriculture
- US Department of Commerce
- US Department of Defense
- US Department off Education
- US Department of Energy
- US Department of Health and Human Services
- US Department of Homeland Security
- US Department of Housing and Urban Development
- US Department of Transportation
- US Department of the Treasury
- US Department of State
- US Department of the Interior
- US Department of Labor
- US Department of Justice
- US Department of Veterans Affairs
Within many of these major departments are dozens of agencies, bureaus, and offices. For example, within just the US Department of Health and Human Services are eleven agencies, administrations, or offices. And within one of those—The Administration for Children & Families are thirteen offices or bureaus. Thus, government bureaucracy is not small. As you explore some of our government organizations and programs, consider the following questions:
- What are some of the major social programs and government offices that help children, youth, and families?
- Could you find help if you needed assistance?
Explore the following websites:
- Government Administration Fact Sheets [10 minutes]
- Health and Human Services Social Services Programs [5 minutes]
- USA.gov[5 minutes]
“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”
― Gerald R. Ford, Address to a Joint Session of Congress, 1974
Government Welfare Today
As quoted in "Poverty and the Social Welfare State in the United States and Other Nations", Garfinkel, Rainwater, and Smeeding (2010) examined social welfare spending and poverty in rich nations. They define social welfare as having five components:
- health care spending
- education spending
- cash retirement benefits
- other government cash transfers such as unemployment insurance and the earned income tax credit (EITC)
- non-cash aid such as food stamps and public housing
In the US, we currently have six major welfare programs.
You can learn more about each of these programs by selecting the links and reading the article below:
- Housing assistance
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
(05:30 mins, "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families" Transcript) - Medicare & Medicaid 101
(03:47 mins, "Medicare & Medicaid 101" Transcript) - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP or "food stamps")
(01:49 mins, "How SNAP Brings Long-Lasting Benefits" Transcript) - Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
(04:06 mins, "Supplemental Security Income (SSI)" Transcript) - Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
(02:38 mins, "Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)" Transcript)
Read
“There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
— Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political and spiritual leader
History: Cooperative Extension Service
Within the US Department of Agriculture is an organization that historically was known as the “Cooperative Extension Service” or “Extension.” It is a partnership or “cooperative agreement” between federal, state, and county governments. In general, the county provides the facilities (often the courthouse), the state provides salaries for personnel, and the federal government provides funds for programming. The goal of the Extension is to “extend” the research-based science and practices of the land grant universities to the people of the state. Its community outreach programs are of particular interest to Child Development and Marriage and Family majors because this is the home of 4-H, which is the nation’s largest youth development program. And this is the government home to agricultural education and “home economics” or family and consumer science education. Historically, and today, experts recognize that strong agricultural yields depend in part on strong farm families and well-run homes. Today, many of the countries 3,000 county offices have an agricultural agent, a family, and consumer science agent, and a 4-H agent or educator. Some states refer to county agents as educators and some states have regionalized their support rather than staffing every county independently.
The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 gave tracts of land to states so each state could develop a university so the populous of the state could be educated and benefit from the latest scientific research. The Hatch Act of 1887 extended the presence of these universities by creating experiment stations around the states. Again, the goal was to encourage farmers to apply the latest science to their agricultural endeavors. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established the USDA’s Cooperative Extension Service. The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 created a merger that resulted in Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). And most recently, the 2008 Farm Bill established the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to take the place of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. While the federal government name has changed, local and state governments are often still known by their historical roots as Extension (see Utah, Idaho). Learn more about the historical roots of Extension and the current role of NIFA in positive youth development, family life education, and agricultural development by watching these video clips:
- Smith-Lever Act 100 Year Anniversary
- Ministry of Ezra Taft Benson: A Latter-day Saint in Washington, D.C.
- Note: President Ezra Taft Benson was an Extension Agent before his call as a general authority, and later became the Secretary of Agriculture.
- URI Cooperative Extension - We've Got Science Behind Us
- Ag Minute—4-H History
(Federal-State-Local image long description)
Conclusion
The role of the state or organized government in offering support to individuals, families, and communities varies around the world. Governments have taken different approaches to protecting and caring for their citizens—and in the US, different states have taken different approaches. In the US, the social safety net of the welfare state has largely developed in the last century. During that time there have been expansions and contractions as the attitudes towards the “deserving poor” and the causes of poverty shift. Fear of welfare abuses has encouraged work requirements and strict eligibility and enrollment requirements which complicate the processes and keep many from the resources they need. At the same time, those receiving assistance often fail to develop self-reliance sufficient to escape poverty before losing welfare eligibility.
The local, state, and federal governments each contribute in different ways to the fight against poverty, but most of the taxation for public assistance programs occurs at the federal level, but much is returned to state and local governments and the private sector through block grants. These groups then administer the programs in manners that meet the federal oversight. The US Department of Health and Human Service, with its many subordinate organizations, is the executive department primarily charged with social welfare programs. The US Department of Agriculture is the unlikely home of many youth development and family education programs offered through Extension programs. Our government and its social programs reflect both the regular change of the democratic process and the stubborn resistance of large bureaucracies. Perhaps, President Barack Obama was correct in saying, “It’s not about making things perfect; it’s about making things better.”
"Doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experiment. In the last analysis, the welfare of the workers depends upon their own initiative. Whatever is done under the guise of philanthropy or social morality which in any way lessens initiative is the greatest crime that can be committed against the toilers. Let social busybodies and professional 'public morals experts' in their fads reflect upon the perils they rashly invite under this pretense of social welfare."
— Samuel Gompers
Optional Readings and Resources
If you desire to expand your understanding of poverty and racial disparity, you might explore the following resource:
“When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed.”
— Mother Teresa
Read
In preparation for your Zoom meeting, please read the following resources.
- Moffitt (2015) The Deserving Poor Welfare System
- Rector [The Heritage Foundation] (2015) Poverty and the Social Welfare State in the United States and Other Nations
“The key to improving self-sufficiency is to increase work and healthy marriage. Increased self-reliance will lead to an enhanced sense of self-achievement, a principal component of human well-being. Restoring healthy marriage will sharply reduce poverty, improve child outcomes, and increase adult happiness."
— Robert Rector from "Poverty and the Social Welfare State in the United States and Other Nations"
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