For centuries, nations, cities, and individual families have dealt with the problem of poverty; how to remedy current situations and how to prevent future ones. For most of history, there have been no government controlled poverty assistance programs. The poor simply relied on the goodness of their families or, if they did not have a family, on the generosity of the public at large. In the United States, this situation changed in 1935 with the passage of the Social Security Act (Irwin 193). The Social Security Act has seen many successes, but it also faces many critiques of its structure and function.In the past, most governments did little to actively aid their poor population. This duty was understood to fall on the families of the poor individuals, charity groups, and generous individuals. Some governments aided their needy in indirect ways. In ancient Israel, religious laws dictated the responsibility of both the religious establishment and the citizens of Israel to care for the “fatherless and the widow”, as well as other poor persons (Exodus 22:22). One of the first government-mediated assistance programs was passed by the English Parliament in 1601 as the Act for the Relief of the Poor. This act set up local “parishes” that were responsible for taking care of the poor in their own district. However, the government provided no funds to facilitate this program—the parishes were responsible for levying and collecting taxes to finance their programs (Irwin, 192). Though it would be considered a very primitive form of welfare by today’s standards, it was a large step toward government-mediated welfare compared to the English system 250 years before that. In 1349, Parliament forbade charity on the grounds that it might encourage laziness. Since then, public attitudes have changed about the responsibility of the citizens and the government to provide for the assistance of the needy. L...
