Texas Welfare Essay
Texas WelfareTexas state government like any other in United States of America has some programs specifically targeting the less privileged in the society.
These programs are aimed at according the needy families a chance to lead a decent life like any other American. This assistance may not make the recipient live as they had expected but to some extent they are in position of meeting their basic needs which include food, shelter, clothing, basic education and medical care.The programs that are aimed at helping the needy families in this state range from food stamps medical aid among others. In this question I will clearly evaluate the benefits provided by the state government and at the same time give a hypothetical situation of a person under the program highlighting the effects such a situation can have on an individual. One of the programs is the CEAP, Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program.
It is a utility which is aimed at helping the low income families to meet their energy needs. The families are assisted through getting some money for their utility bills. This program is provided to these families through the service providers who at the same time educate them on how to reduce their future energy costs. The WAP utility program is designed to help the low income earners families or rather the needy families through provision of energy related improvements. This is aimed at reducing energy consumption for these families through helping in energy conservation. This not only saves the family some money but also goes along in reducing their energy bills. When it comes to family health issues Medical help is provided to those families who are not in a position to buy their own private insurance cover.
Rental assistance which is offered through the housing and community affairs department is designed to help those who may be experiencing difficulties paying their rent. They are usually given vouchers to help them meet their rent obligations. Another program is geared towards helping those whom resources and income are not enough to enable them afford a decent meal. This involves giving food stamps to individuals or single families for them to collect food. The benefits provided by the Texas state government goes a long way in ensuring that the needy families do not suffer. They ensure that they can afford a good shelter where the family can live as long as they are able to afford a better place. This to some extent gives the family a sense of belonging as they are able to enjoy the minimum package that life has to offer as opposed to the families which life out in the cold due to lack of decent place to live.
(Haveman,R. 2001 56)The food and medical aid provided by the state gives the family an assurance that they will live to see another day. They are assured of the next meal and medical care when in need. This to some extent gives them hope that they will see another day.
These programs are just enough to make a family meet the basic need in life. Living on such a program is not the best thing for any person and his family but all the same it’s better to being such a program than to go through hell in life due to lack of the necessity in life. For any person to enjoy living he or she must first of all be in a position to cater for his or her need.
This means those people who are enrolled for assistance programs suffer emotionally due to the fact that deep down their heart they are aware that they have failed as far as taking care of themselves and their families is concerned. No man or woman is comfortable living on the assistance of other or the state. When somebody becomes a dependent to the state assistance his or her self esteem goes down and the relation ship with other is affected leading to depression.I have been on welfare before and for sure everyone who has been in such a situation will agree with me that it is not the best thing to happen on any decent American.
It such a hallowing situation that degrades a human being making somebody feel unworthy. If one fails to handle the situation carefully it can change the life completely, but with determination and will to go on I was able to overcome such a degrading situation.My parent income was only enough to cater for a few things at home, we could not afford most of the basic things in life. Some things were just luxuries.
It is at this point that my mother enrolled for the welfare program so that she can make the ends meet. My siblings might have been too young to understand what was going on but I was big enough to understand that all was not well. We were being assisted by the state to make a living. It is not that the situation is the worst thing that can happen to a person but a thought of living under the mercy of the taxpayers can be horrifying at times. The amount of money we received was barely enough to cater for our needs. We were only able to meet the very necessary one like food, rent and clothing.Living on welfare has its good and bad sides, for one it has enabled many needy families to live honorably as they have been assisted to get the basic needs in life.
The assistance given can be said to have helped them move on with life during difficult times. Were it not for such an assistance some families would have gone hungry for some days, they would not have a place to live since they could not have afforded decent house or rent to pay for a space. Health care would just be a dream; they would have succumbed to minor illness due to their inability to pay their medical bills.
Education would have been a dream as they would not have been in a position to go beyond basic education since they could not have afforded to pay the school fees required. This would have meant that their children would have gone through the same process. The society would have been burdened by the social evils that would have emerged since the children were not well taken care for, turning out to the social evils in the society. This process would be vicious cycle growing from bad to worse day by day. One the other side financial assistance can create dependency which can make individuals reluctant to work.
It also creates a feeling among the recipient who is caught up by circumstances in such a situation. They have a low esteem and in most occasions they can end up with mental conditions due to the stress they undergo planning for something which barely enables them to survive. (Atkinson, A.1995 423)Despite the fact that state assistance has benefited a few individual there are several changes that need to be made to make it more responsive to recipients need. The amount given barely meets the most important needs of a family; they are usually left with gaps which need to be filled. If I were the representative in this area I would ensure that the needy families get enough to make them live comfortably and at the same time assist them to get a decent job that will make them live off the welfare.
The program should be all inclusive offering special benefits to those who are very needy while at the same time ensuring that those who temporarily live on the welfare are helped to get out as soon as possible .This would go along way in improving their self worth and making their relationships with the other members of the society better.Poverty levels in the country and in Texas State in particular are bound to go up due to economic meltdown that is currently being experienced in America. Poverty programs need to be changed to responsive of the special need that may arise in such a situation. It should increase the amount given to an individual family so that all their needs can be met and also go along way in boosting their image as far as the society is concerned. This would make them live comfortably and be in a position to relate well with others something that would boost their employment prospects in future therefore living off the welfare.Work CitedHaveman,R.
Poverty: Measurement and Analysis:International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences(2001)Atkinson, A. Incomes and the Welfare State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.(1995)
