Many have discussed and debated a systematic program called welfare. Some see it as a dead weight on our nation and question whether the programs offered are helping the community. As taxpayers, American funds contribute to the well-being of others. Due to the large number of people receiving government assistance, it is not so simple to monitor each individual. However, I propose that social protection be reformed. Society is abusing access to welfare and to avoid the coming downfall, the government must reform the accessibility and ownership of welfare because it is betraying its creation; it creates a dependent nation and affects taxpayers and people who actually need government help. The federal government's welfare program in the United States was designed to help the unemployed or underemployed. The poor were the benefactors of many government social programs, such as Medicaid and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).# In the past, the United States followed Britain's poor laws. This means a division between those who were unable to work due to age or physical health and those who could but were unemployed. The physically incapacitated received free forms of assistance from the government and the unemployed received service employment in workshops.# Throughout the history of welfare, there have been attempts to reform the how the government treated the poor. After the Great Depression, many families struggled to survive during the Great Depression. These families mainly suffered financially, so social assistance programs were created to temporarily solve these problems. #Some consider the program a success, but others see it as the creation of a dependent nation. After Rooseve...... middle of paper ......ide, Cynthia. Office of Government Relations, National Association of Social Workers, “PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITIES RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1996.” Accessed November 12, 2011. http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/welfare/legislation/summary.pdf.beach, William. Heritage Foundation, “Government Dependence Index 2009”. Last modified March 4, 2010. Accessed November 12, 2011. :http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/03/the-2009-index-of-dependence-on-government.Burke, Vee. Congressional Research Service, “Welfare Reform: An Overview of the Issues.” Last modified October 8, 2002. Accessed November 12, 2011. http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/archive/crs_welfare.shtml. Westfall, Joseph. Santa Clara University, “Community Well-Being.” Accessed November 12, 2011. http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v8n3/welfare.html.