Compare and contrast social insurance and public assistance ...

[daltonest1984]

Compare and contrast social insurance and public assistance programs, and give examples of each.
 
  Answer:

Question 2

When was the first public assistance (welfare) program enacted? What kinds of assistance are provided through welfare? Who qualifies for welfare?
 
  Answer:

[triiciiaa]

Answer to Question 1

An ideal response will:
1. Define social insurance as programs in which eligibility is based on prior service or contributions, such as payroll taxes. Examples include Medicare and Unemployment Insurance.
2. Define public assistance as programs that provide aid to the poor. Examples include Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF.
3. Note that both types of programs offer protection against hardship.

Answer to Question 2

An ideal response will:
1. Identify the first welfare program as being created in the late 1800s, when states established aid programs, called mothers' pensions, to help poor single mothers and their children.
2. Discuss how public assistance now incorporates elements of job training, transportation subsidies, housing subsidies, free school lunches, food aid for poor families and pregnant mothers, and tax credits for low-income people.
3. Describe how welfare programs are means-tested, which means that applicants must disclose all financial assets and income to prove they fall below the poverty line, which in 2014 was an annual income of 23,850 for a family of four.

[daltonest1984]

TY

[triiciiaa]

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