Discussion 1:  Why are there still poor people in America half a century after the implementation of a system of social welfare programs that were designed to end poverty?

The number of people living in poverty in America has fluctuated greatly over the years. In the years leading up to the Great Depression, poverty was at an all time high, with over half of all American’s struggling to make ends meet (Kangas). This situation was remedied by the implementation of social welfare programs by President Roosevelt in the 1940’s. Continuing social welfare programs that were expanded on by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson continued to cut the poverty rate in half between 1959 and 1973 (Kangas).

The poverty rate has continued to increase through the 1980’s and 1990’s after a combination of recessions as well as government cutting of welfare programs. This shows that the amount of people living in poverty correlates to two things – the amount of government social welfare programs offered as well as the state of the economy (Kangas). The high poverty rate in America today is due to a combination of a sluggish economy doubled with the lack of social welfare programs available due to government spending cuts.

Discussion 2: How much faith do you have that social security and Medicare will be there when it’s your turn to collect? Explain.

It is difficult to have faith in the social security system when it can be projected that in roughly 50 years the Social Security Administrations trust fund balance at the U.S. Treasury will hit zero. This news does not bode well for the future of young American’s today, who are paying into a system that may or may not even  be able to support them when it is time to retire (DeLong, 2010).  According to some analysts, the Social Security Trust Fund could run out as soon as 2037 (Palmer, 2009).

It is difficult to predict, however, whether or not social security will run out. One of the glimmers of hope is the strength of the popular support behind social security. For any politician to make heavy cuts to social security to to allow it to expire under his or her watch would be the equivalent of political suicide. This and this alone gives me hope that a way will be found to pump new life into social security and to keep it going for generations to come.