US Social Welfare: Learn About Benefits & Opportunities

[Rotan72]

I am from UK, my area only publishes local news, I don't know much about America,
Tell me something about US social welfareplease...How are people's lives ? How much money can one receive when he-she retires ? Do all people have better chances to get an education ? etc.

 

[Cyrus]

Thats too general a question. It could take hundreds of posts. It really is different for every person. There are so many changes by race, age, sex, location, income, I don't think you can really speak of 'average' American. You might be able to talk about average within a typology.

 

[Rotan72]

Ok, could you tell me about crime rates in some states? Which one has the lowest number of criminals ?

 

[Cyrus]

Do you live in the city? Do you live in a high rent area, low rent area? Are you in a minority community? It all depends where you live.

I would want to live in washington dc, but I would not want to live in south east washington dc. It all depends.

 

[Rotan72]

Ok Maryland

 

[Cyrus]

What part? I can take you to some posh places (bathesda-chevy chase), or I can take you to some slums (...cough cough baltimore).

 

[SOS2008]

In the United States, welfare (financial aid) refers more specifically to money paid by the government to those who are in need of financial assistance -- people who are unable to support themselves, perhaps due to unemployment, disability or some other reason.
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The amounts paid are typically very low, and may fall below the poverty line. Recipients must usually demonstrate a low level of income (eg. by way of "means testing") or financial hardship, or that they satisfy some other requirement (eg. childcare responsibilities or disability), or regularly demonstrate that they are periodically searching for employment.
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In the United States, personal welfare is normally given to households with children (often headed by single mothers) and even these households have only been able to access benefits for a maximum of five years per lifetime of the adult recipient since 1996.
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With regard to personal welfare for the individuals without children, most American states had been providing welfare benefits to single adults and childless married couples since the Great Depression, but the number of states doing so declined steeply during the 1990s, and many of the states still doling out such benefits use methods other than cash payments to render the assistance. Today only two states - New Jersey and Utah - still provide cash benefits to poverty-stricken adults who do not have child dependents. These programs were often known officially by such names as Home Relief and General Assistance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_(financial_aid)

Unfortunately ner-do-wells are attracted to such programs, such as seen with recent Katrina scams. Medicaid is assistance designed specifically for physical disabilities, mostly the elderly. Once again, this system is scammed, but the worst offenders are those in the Medical industry. Worse yet these are professionals (e.g., Doctors) who make above average incomes, yet over charge not only Medicaid but also health insurance companies in general. Nationalizing health care would probably make matters worse from this standpoint. The fraud is what needs to be controlled in order to bring health care costs back down in the U.S. -- That and county hospitals/emergency care, where medical care cannot be refused to anyone including illegal aliens.

I believe the average Social Security check is around 1,500 a month, and this retirement income comes from a system Americans pay into during the years of life that they work. Company pension plans are all but a memory, so Americans are responsible for covering the rest of their retirement costs on their own.

Crime rates constantly vary, and can be checked via Internet searches.

 

[russ_watters]

Google is your fried, Rotan72...

 

[loseyourname]

Are you looking to move to the US and live off of the government? Your best bets are Alaska and Wyoming. Both states have very low crime rates (little to no population density) and each also has a permanent fund set up that pays all state residents a yearly amount simply for living in the state. Prices are high in Alaska, though, and I'm sure the weather can't be great, so Wyoming is probably the safe choice. I'm sure it's boring and a bit homogeneous, but you can live the simple life.