Welfare in America and Europe

Report Outline
Reappraisal on Two Continents
Old and New World Attitude
Dilemmas in Reforming Welfare
Special Focus

Reappraisal on Two Continents

Americans tend to view the idea of the welfare state with something approaching horror. Western Europeans, on the other hand, typically regard it as a necessity, a civilized, albeit costly, way of redistributing income to eliminate dire poverty. The so-called “cradle-to-grave security” systems in effect in Scandinavia, the Low Countries and Britain have succeeded to a large extent in providing a basic level of subsistence for all. Yet, the taxpayers have paid a high price for these programs.

Concern about the cost of social welfare programs in those countries has provoked a public outcry, particularly in Britain, about welfare “chiselers” and has led to demands that something be done to halt the rapid expansion of these programs. While there have been numerous proposals for making the systems more efficient and subsequently less costly, it is unlikely that any country will dismantle its cradle-to-grave security programs in the near future. The European attachment to existing systems was expressed by Dr. Elizabeth Weiser of Austria's Ministry of Social Welfare. She told a Canadian journalist: “I accept that the state owes a minimum duty to its people. We don't want to go the way of the Americans.”

The American welfare system is often described as chaotic, unmanageable, inefficient, inequitable, riddled with fraud, degrading to those it is intended to help and increasingly burdensome on those who pay for it. Through the years, there have been countless attempts to reform the so-called “welfare mess.” The latest effort was outlined by President Carter on Aug. 6 and legislation was introduced in Congress Sept. 12. Amid considerable opposition, the House Welfare Reform Sub-committee has begun marking up the bill and expects to finish by early January. The Senate Finance Committee, preoccupied with energy and social security legislation, has not yet taken any action on the bill.