Introduction
It is only natural that a civilized society that has learnt the lessons of history provide for the maintenance and reform of its downtrodden citizens who may have been subjected to depravation as a result of unemployment, death or injury of the breadwinner, or one of a number of other catastrophe that God presents as a means of testing humanity. In the United States of America, as in many other western nations, welfare or caring by the society has been in place since 1935 and the state provides assistance to needy groups such as families with dependant children amongst others through the legal instrument of the Social Security Act of 1935. United States citizens are also assisted by other means such as food coupons, medical assistance etc. In other countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Germany and many other European countries, state assistance is extended to the unemployed, widows, single mothers, those suffering from debilitative disease as well as other recognized misfortunes. The legal instruments which make this assistance possible are the various Social Security Acts of different nations that have legislated social security (Jared, 2000).
In recent times, in the United States as well as in many other nations, there have been calls for a reform of the social security system. Critics of the system have commented that the social security system encourages the unemployed to refuse uninteresting and low paid jobs in order to live off the public assistance. It is further argued that assistance from the public purse was meant to provide temporary relief for those who may be in need and that it is expected that the recipients of public welfare will continue to make all possible attempts to stand on their own feet and build their lives. The public welfare was........
