reply to post by astrogolf
Here are some facts:
On August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act established a system of old-age benefits for workers, benefits for victims of industrial accidents,
unemployment insurance, aid for dependent mothers and children, the blind, and the physically handicapped.
www.ourdocuments.gov...
Welfare was first established as a federal program during the Great Depression. In 1935, Congress enacted aid that focused primarily on widows,
orphans, divorced or deserted mothers and their children. The congress members of the 74th United States Congress from January 3, 1935 to January 3,
1937, during the third and fourth years of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency are as follows:
Total number of members of the congress = 531
Total number of women members of the congress = 8
In a radio address in 1938, Roosevelt reminded the American people that:
“Democracy has disappeared in several other great nations, not because the people of those nations disliked democracy, but because they had grown
tired of unemployment and insecurity, of seeing their children hungry while they sat helpless in the face of government confusion and government
weakness through lack of leadership....Finally, in desperation, they chose to sacrifice liberty in the hope of getting something to eat. We in America
know that our democratic institutions can be preserved and made to work. But in order to preserve them we need...to prove that the practical operation
of democratic government is equal to the task of protecting the security of the people....The people of America are in agreement in defending their
liberties at any cost, and the first line of the defense lies in the protection of economic security.”
“One problem that many welfare critics cite is that there are ways that welfare recipients could potentially abuse the system. However, the abuse of
the welfare system, although widely covered by the media and quoted by those advocating stricter welfare laws, is only a small part of the system. The
original concept of welfare, as envisioned by Roosevelt, was to make money readily available for those that need it. The fear now is that the easier
that it is to receive government aid, the more potential for abuse is added to the system. As with taxes, there are those that try to milk the welfare
system. But also similar to the tax system is that the number of people who abuse the system is fewer than the number of legitimate users. Although it
would be ideal to have a system with almost no fraud, it’s not practical because so many people in need of the assistance would slip through the
cracks while waiting for the approval of the government.”
www.nyu.edu...
[edit on 27-8-2010 by OceanStone]