A Different Type Of Welfare Reform Is Necessary

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the government to people in need. During the period form 1890 to 1935 the meaning of the word seem to reverse itself, taking the secondary meanings as the primary. Where welfare had once meant prosperity, good health and a vision of the
good life, it then came to mean poverty, poor health, neglected children and hopelessness.
During this time period the United States had begun to initiate programs for the benefit of the poor. Welfare programs are not well liked either by the recipients or by those that feel they are paying for the programs. Those that consider themselves as paying for the programs often criticize the recipients for being dishonest and lazy. The agencies that
administer the programs probe into every aspect of the recipients lives. Recipients have little privacy and are expected to be able to account for every dime spent on a monthly basis. Welfare stigmatizes the recipients. (Gordon 1 & 2).

The second thing one would need to know in order to compare welfare and self-sufficiency is what self-sufficient is. This word, again according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is an adjective meaning able to provide for oneself without help. There are many people that are self-sufficient. Middle and high income families are self-sufficient, low income families are not. Even low-income families that do not receive welfare are not self-sufficient, most of them just do without the items that are less necessary. Some low-income families receive help with housing, either living in subsidized or public housing or receiving Section 8 assistance from H...