Welfare reform is something people on the right often speak about during election years but rarely gets much focus or attention. In order for any meaningful reform to happen, a couple of other dominoes must fall in place.
The Rise of the Welfare System
The dichotomy of the United States between the 1920s and 1930s is quite striking. The former decade was a period of great success, opulence, and opportunity. The latter decade was marked by so much failure, poverty, and dismay that, all these years later, it's symbolically known as "The Great Depression."
When the Great Depression started, there were roughly 18 million disabled and elderly, along with single mothers with children, living below the poverty line in the United States. Churches, private charities, and local governments saw it as their collective duty to work together and provide basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter for these individuals. But by 1933, another 13 million Americans were unemployed, and it was no longer feasible for these private organizations to care for a swelling population of impoverished and desperate people.
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