EXCERPT...

The government has the mandate of ensuring that the citizens’ basic rights that determine the quality and dignity of life are respected. These include concerns related to medical care, housing, food security, and even employment. The US government executes this mandate through the use of various federal programs that help in alleviating the effects of poverty. The role played by welfare programs depends on the nature of the program. For instance, entitlement programs such as Medicare require that all citizens above 65 years be accorded Medicare irrespective of the financial capabilities (Textbook). On the other hand, programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits require the applicant to show they qualify and it is the discretion of the board to determine the recipients.

Despite the apparent beneficial effect of the welfare programs on many marginalized and poverty-stricken families, there are a number of opponents against continued use of government finances on welfare programs. Many conservatives have argued that welfare programs are incentives for continued laziness by a majority of the population since it could be perceived that the government is rewarding the unemployed with money and also promoting idleness or drug use. Another criticism against welfare programs is that the money could be put to better use by retraining the population to equip them with skills that would enable to get jobs in the contemporary industrial sector (Textbook). Strategies such as offering incentives to manufacturing companies to invest more within our borders to improve job creation by Trump’s government are argued to be better suited to helping poor Americans improve their lives and social welfare. 

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