Welfare Policies: Comparison and Contrast
between US and Greece
The development of social welfare policy is an integral part of how
states consider and apply protective measures to help the needs of citizens.
Given that countries vary in specific needs from one location to another,
social welfare policy should be patterned according to ways to address the
needs of the citizens as well as equally distributing resources to actively
administer support and coverage. This paper considers the difference between US
and Greece social welfare policies and lessons that can be gained for future
policy development.
U.S.
Social Welfare Policies
The composition of American social welfare comprises of provisions
that provide support and benefits to its citizens on areas such as health
insurance, pensions, child care and other mechanisms that aims to address the
needs of Americans. These provisions were solidified by the creation of the
Social Security Act in 1935 and other legislation that sought to recognize the
changing needs towards social security (Marx, 2011). Also included in U.S.
social welfare are insurance programs that aim to provide safety nets for
people. “The primary social insurance programs
today in America are Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, Unemployment
Insurance, and Workers Compensation” (Marx, 2011, p.1). Currently, the
setup of American Social welfare remains to be facilitated by taxes paid by the
citizenry and the government distributes these according to specifics
highlighted in the current administration’s budget. Looking closely, the social
welfare spending in the United States remains to be the highest compared to
other industrial economies (Morgan, 2013).
Greece
Social Welfare Policy
Comparing the structure of U.S. Social Welfare Policy, it can be seen that the approach taken by the Greece corresponds to both political interventions in the promotion of social welfare alongside with the response to the standards stipulated by its membership to the European Union (EU). Like the United States, Greece provides provision for healthcare insurance and other coverage that tries to examine the needs of the people. However, during the recent financial crisis, Greece suffered heavily and was unable to meet the challenges of providing social welfare to the citizenry. Specifically, Venieris (2013) contends that “its main characteristics are: the predominance of contributory social transfers – mainly pensions; the dominance of unjustified social insurance privileges; the delayed evolution of universal policies – mainly in health; the underdevelopment of social assistance and social services; poor unemployment protection; distributional imbalance and administrative inefficiency; inexistent family policy” (p.17). This particularly goes to show the lack of sufficient planning and the lack of political will have an impact on the continuity of social welfare policy. Arguably, the financial crisis in 2008 exposed Greece social welfare policy as it failed to address the consistency necessary to promote the needs of the people.
Comparing the structure of U.S. Social Welfare Policy, it can be seen that the approach taken by the Greece corresponds to both political interventions in the promotion of social welfare alongside with the response to the standards stipulated by its membership to the European Union (EU). Like the United States, Greece provides provision for healthcare insurance and other coverage that tries to examine the needs of the people. However, during the recent financial crisis, Greece suffered heavily and was unable to meet the challenges of providing social welfare to the citizenry. Specifically, Venieris (2013) contends that “its main characteristics are: the predominance of contributory social transfers – mainly pensions; the dominance of unjustified social insurance privileges; the delayed evolution of universal policies – mainly in health; the underdevelopment of social assistance and social services; poor unemployment protection; distributional imbalance and administrative inefficiency; inexistent family policy” (p.17). This particularly goes to show the lack of sufficient planning and the lack of political will have an impact on the continuity of social welfare policy. Arguably, the financial crisis in 2008 exposed Greece social welfare policy as it failed to address the consistency necessary to promote the needs of the people.
Analysis
of Social Welfare Policies
Based from the comparisons between Greece and the United States,
there U.S. social welfare is arguably better than Greece. The United States
remains to be effective in administering its social welfare policy because of
the related structure it provides to the citizenry. It is a mixture of
providing privately-owned service and publicly-enforced mechanisms, supported
by taxation, that support the needs of its citizens. In addition Greek economy is currently
suffering from a crisis. Even if this may seem to be the case, careful
attention must be made to how the U.S. welfare policy is promoting the needs of
Americans. Arguably, the US structure continues to exhibit several features
that can remains to be similar to the case of Greece. For example, the unequal
distribution of resources and the preference towards specific groups make the
support of social welfare policy costly and difficult to administer.
Specifically, Morgan (2013) contends that “Washington's
reliance on private social benefits and services -- often provided by
businesses to their employees rather than by the government to everybody --
ensures good coverage for some but poor coverage for others” (p.1). Arguably, these features can become
problematic in the long run.
Also, the current format advocated
by the United States remains incomplete particularly in addressing areas
related to equal distribution and efficiency of service. In turn, this results
in a more costly and inefficient way to administer social policies. “The United States is on the far end of the spectrum
when Also, the current format advocated by the United States remains
incomplete particularly in addressing areas related to equal distribution and
efficiency of service. In turn, this results in a more costly and inefficient
way to administer social policiesit comes to
private social provision and tax-based benefits, but many other countries rely
on a diverse mix of public and private welfare and tax subsidies, often leading
to more equality and efficiency” (Morgan, 2013, p.1). In addition, it
undermines the value of coverage where access to benefits, poverty and
unemployment remain to be a challenge to address given the lack of concrete and
supportive structure.
Learning
Opportunities
For the United States to maintain a sustainable social welfare
policy, there are specific suggestions that can make this approach possible.
The first one revolves around effectively distributing resources to improve the
efficiency of administering social welfare. This means equalizing the benefits
given to everyone. Arguably, Morgan (2013) contends that “Filling in the gaps of the American social welfare system to better
help the less fortunate will involve limiting or eliminating some benefits
enjoyed by others, generally those who are better off and far more politically
powerful” (Morgan, 2013, p.1). In particular, preference needs to be
made on how to administer these choices consistently and disregarding specific
influences from groups influencing social welfare policy.
Also, the U.S. government needs to
standardize its short and long term planning in addressing the changing needs
of citizens. As far as social welfare is concerned, there must be a constant
commitment from both citizenry and the government to open up ways for social
welfare policies to be improved. Arguably, planning must remain to both
government agencies and the citizens themselves to carefully relate issues
altogether. “If Americans truly believe that
basic social services are things that all citizens deserve, they should not be
content with a social welfare system that often makes getting such services a
matter of privilege or luck” (Morgan, 2013, p.1).
References
Marx, J. (2011). Current Issues and Programs in Social Welfare. The Social Welfare History
Project. Retrieved from http://www.socialwelfarehistory.com/recollections/current-issues-and-programs-in-social-welfare/
Morgan, K.J. (2013). America’s Misguided Approach to Social Welfare. Foreign Affairs.
Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138483/kimberly-j-morgan/americas-misguided-approach-to-social-welfare
Venieris, D. (April 2013). Crisis Social Policy and Social Justice: the case for Greece. Hellenic
Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/50258/1/GreeSE_No69.pdf
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