America The New Welfare State

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America The New Welfare State

Introduction

This entry examines the role of the state and the political dimension surrounding the recognition of social needs to improve the well-being of citizens. It then discusses the multiple meanings of the term welfare policies across jurisdictions and analyzes welfare policies defined as actions to provide a basic level of subsistence for individuals. The type of policy instruments used to address basic needs has also generated a rich literature on the causes of poverty and on the consequences of welfare policies, which is summarized in the third section. The conclusion of the entry presents two new recognized needs: (1) low wages obtained by the working poor and (2) social exclusion.

Discussion

Generally, welfare policies represent various programs, transfers, and assistance provided by the state or other organizations aimed at improving the well-being of individuals. It is impossible to develop policies to fulfill every citizen's well-being, as there are unlimited wants but limited resources. As a result, governmental authorities must decide on welfare priorities, which generate political debates usually involving a discussion of social needs and risk. First, most welfare policies seek to address recognized social needs. As stressed by the sociologist Richard Titmuss, defining what constitutes a need is very trivial and it is constantly changing. For example, Titmuss mentioned that Britain's needs in 1900 were very different from those in the 1950s. The process of need recognition and, subsequently, the development of a policy to address a need can be long and arduous. Providing income relief to the elderly and facilitating alternatives to the poorhouse took decades, and it took nearly a century to raise substantially the living standards of retirees (Bashevkin, 2002). Major events, such as wars, can accelerate both the identification of needs and the implementation of solutions to address them. For example, a major extension of welfare policy in Japan is attributed to World War II with one key issue being the ill health of its citizens, resulting in high rates of failed physicals to join the army.

There are other elements that affect the recognition of needs. For example, citizens tend to consider the needs of seniors more favorably than the needs of young adults because the former are considered to be more worthy and vulnerable. Thus, there will be stronger support to provide social assistance for an elderly citizen who failed to reintegrate the labor market near retirement age than a young citizen who cannot find employment on graduation even though both conditions can be caused by a weak labor market. The recognition of need can also be based on other factors such as the meaning of citizenship. Historically, in the United States, access to welfare policies often excluded African Americans, and race continues to permeate discussions surrounding welfare policies. In a similar optic, the gender critique stresses that recognized needs often fail to consider women (Kasza, 2002). Also, immigrants often face multiple obstacles to obtaining the same treatment as citizens who were born in the ...