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Article: Welfare System
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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WELFARE SYSTEM
WELFARE SYSTEM.
In the American vocabulary, "welfare" has often had a limited meaning, most commonly associated in public discourse with public assistance to mothers with dependent children. Yet government welfare can also be given a broader definition, as a general social safety net designed to support citizens in need. Under this definition, "welfare" refers to government protections for workers' incomes, which are often threatened by structural economic change under the free market system. In an economy in which workers rely on wages to support themselves, threats to income arise due to unemployment, sickness, old age, and loss of the family breadwinner. In the United ...