Should all federal welfare programs be abolished - Research Paper Example

ain welfare programs associated with the federal government include: the Food Stamp Program, Temporary Assistance for the Needy Families, Medicaid, and Supplementary Security Income, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Housing assistance. Other small government welfare programs include Infant and Children Welfare, Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Low Income Home Energy Assistance, and School Based Food Assistance. In 1996, welfare reforms by President Bill Clinton brought about the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Act (AFCDA).

Through this Act, President Clinton aimed at reducing welfare assistance to the needy families. These programs should therefore not be abolished because they impact positively on the lives of a majority of the American citizenry. For instance, the federal welfare programs have reduced poverty levels and provided for medical welfare of the low income earning citizens. These programs should not be abolished though far reaching reforms need to be put in place to reduce the number of people in these programs.

According to the United States Code, 2000 (279), the main aim of federal welfare programs is to provide assistance to the unemployed and needy citizens. Assistance includes unemployment and reemployment assistance, and emergency grants to assist seasonal farm workers and migrants. Before any reforms are made the benefits of federal welfare programs need to be evaluated. The first question we need to evaluate is why many people are running to welfare programs. If welfare programs did not help the poor, no legislation or Congress would have approved the welfare programs.

The Medicaid program introduced in 1965 was to be funded by both the federal and the state governments to help improve the medical needs of the low incoming Americans who cannot afford medical cover (Northrup, 181). The federal and state Medicaid covers pregnant