Welfare Reform Promoting Personal Responsibility And...

Welfare Reform: Promoting Personal Responsibility and Serving the Needs of the PoorIntroductionDuring Bill Clinton’s campaign for Presidency in 1992, he promised Americans that he would make it his priority to end welfare as we know it (Clinton). This goal was made in response to the increase of public pressure to reform a system that many believed had become wasteful and ineffective. In response to this criticism, Clinton called attention to the importance of work instead of dependency on the government. He followed through with his promises and effectively transformed welfare programs unlike any other president. He took a system that was known for its long-term dependency and transformed it to help people become self-supporting. In this†¦show more content†¦Individuals that receive welfare are those who are unable to provide for themselves or their family. These can include children, the elderly, and people with disabilities (Allard). In many cases welfare programs can also be called public assistance, social assistance, or even social welfare programs. Historical BackgroundThe beginning of public assistance can be tracked all the way back to the 1800’s. During this time, government officials rarely took action to provide assistance to the poor. Instead, families, neighbors, and religious groups took it upon themselves to help people who had fallen by the wayside (Allard). During this time in history, the Christian doctrines, taught followers to feed the hungry, give drinks to the thirsty, and provide clothes for the naked (Streissguth). As a result of this, many rich nobles offered gifts of food and drink to those that were unable to provide for themselves. The traditional Catholic teachings taught individuals to be caring and to have empathy for those that were less fortunate. However, Protestant reform was beginning to take hold in many areas at this time and this change would soon disrupt the nature of charity. Many nations that w ere once Christian Catholic transformed to Protestant and then these nations later