Compare and Contrast Essay on Social Policies in U.S and United Kingdom

Published: 2021-06-29
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The government is entitled to offer certain services that are necessary to its citizens. These services are of social nature. The social services are deemed to provisions that are centered on care and response to the society's social needs. For the government or any other organ or level of government to offer such services, it has to come up with stringent policies that should be adhered to by all stakeholders in delivering the social provision care to the society. Among these policies that every government comes up with that helps in providing social services to the ordinary citizens is a social policy. Social policy denotes of the welfare developments, policies that governments comes up with that are used to offer social protection and social administration services. The issue of social policy is interconnected to the approach of the government in developing all the social services that are interlinked towards the welfare of the state. These social policies are not just mere academic matter but are related to economic and social conditions of a given country. These social policies relate on how they promote the conditions of welfare development towards the state. All these social policies, social work and administration area aimed at how the welfare of a nation is administered and how its areas of apprehension are being tackled. The main concerned areas being addressed include; administration of health, social problems, employment and education services, community disability, crime, and care. Thus this study will make a comparison of social policies between the United States and the United Kingdom.

The social policy at some point is related to subjects of gender, poverty, race and relevant collective society and community responsibility. In most cases, policies are deemed to be coursed of action. These measures whether unintended or intended should be deliberately adopted the policies have to be associated with the living of human beings who are cohabiting as a group. In the U.S and the United Kingdom, they both embrace the social policies. Among the social policies that are given prominence in these countries are Social Security in the United States and The UK welfare system policy.

Social Security policy of the United States

In the United States, social security is one of the largest programs that the federal government budget is channeled to. It accounts for almost 23% of the U.S budget. The United States subdivides the social security into two components that include; Disability Insurance (DI) and Old Age and survivors insurance (OASI). The social security in the United faces a lot of challenges. A lot of reforms are being instigated to improve it by making it more secure to the future generations and increase its federal finances. Cato Institute is an entity that is working around the clock to oversee the reformation plan of the social security policy.

The social security program has existed for over more than 60 years. It used to be the most successful social policy program of the federal government that used to give the United States citizens some financial protection regardless of the age bracket. The social security is designed in a way to offer income and services to persons in the episodes of death, disability, unemployment, retirement or sickness. Thus, social security intrinsically is formulated by the federal government under the social policy to aid in poverty alleviation, prevention, compensation and income redistribution. It functions through delivering non-systematic groups such as market, trade unions, credit unions, friendly societies, charitable organizations, voluntary agencies, and family as well. But above all, under this social policy, the government as control over the social security delivery.

The United Kingdom Welfare

Equally, United Kingdom embraces social policies that assist in giving basic social protection care to its citizens. Among the social protection care plans is the UK Welfare System. The UK Welfare System has seen necessary changes over the decade as the UK government tries to make it better and a responsible social policy. Among the fundamental changes done onto the welfare system are three conditional cash transfers that include; Child Tax Credits, the Working and Educational Maintenance Allowance. The UK Welfare System covers predominantly interesting aspects that include the household process of making decisions. Substantial proportions of income benefits of couples that will be directed towards the mothers. Thirdly, it covers cash support to poor students' compulsory post education. Fourth, the Working Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits that centers on behaviors that range from the aspects of socioeconomics.

Comparison of these social policies

In the U.S and UK the social policies in place, (Social Security and UK Welfare System) address the administration and welfare side of the society. The welfare part in all these two countries entails taking care of the minorities and less disadvantaged people in the society. Equally, welfare caters for the well-being of every individual of these two nations. In detail, the well-being ascribes under the social policies of these two government centers both on services that bring protection to the people who are at the old age, sick or marginalized.

Under both Social Security and UK Welfare System, the policies are guided by the state and trimmed under practical concerns, humanitarian, religious and democratic concerns. The services that underlie on humanitarian concern include practical necessities that cover social and economic provisions and poverty eradication. Religious aspects are involved with charitable duties that are aligned to the democratic and community concerns that highlight the fundamental rights of social protection of every individual. All these social well-being aspects embraced by these two countries have a sense of a social policy that is centered on social and political traits that tend to highlight a social living that is proper and affords fundamental of every citizen.

Subsequently, the Social Security and Welfare System of U.S and UK respectively embraces values and principles that refer to interests, wants and needs of the citizens, Such wants, needs, and interests identifiable under these social policies include poverty. Apart from poverty, they also include interests of families, individuals and communities that are dependent on education, social interaction and cooperative work that assist them in achieving their social targets that are relied upon a social interdependence on the well-being of persons.

Finally, both the United States and the United Kingdom under the social policies, respective governments offer special conditions to welfare factors such as social exclusion, mental illness, poverty, old age, unemployment and disability to be well covered under these two social policies. Respective countries under the Social Security and UK Welfare System try to offer solutions to the above problems hence helping the ordinary citizens attain a condition of well-being

All in all, the both the United States and the United Kingdom try as much as possible to make the social policies program work through funding them and passing relevant laws that guide them in their functioning. What differs between the social policies of these countries is the growth. In the United States, Social Security program is on the decline and has got a lot of challenges facing it. While in the UK, the Welfare System is on the rise, and it promises a good future if fully implemented.

Work cited

Diamond, Peter A. "A framework for social security analysis." Journal of Public Economics 8.3 (1977): 275-298.

Hall, Peter A. "Policy paradigms, social learning, and the state: the case of economic policymaking in Britain." Comparative politics (1993): 275-296.

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