Safety Net free essay sample

Students can have fair chances and hope for their futures, thanks to the government. There are problems that come along with the safety net but that doesn’t imply that everyone using it, uses it wrongfully. There are people out there in need of this and without it would be dead right now. We cannot punish the innocent for the wrong doers actions. According to an article, dozens of benefits programs provided an average of $6,538 for each man, woman, and child in the county in 2009, a 69 percent increase from 2000 after adjusting to the inflation. The government safety net was created to keep Americans from extreme poverty, but the sad part is that the poorest households no longer are receiving the majority of the government benefits. Almost everyone present relies on the government to pay for their medical care. For example Mr. Kopka, 74, has had three heart procedures in recent years. His wife recently had surgery to remove cataracts from both eyes. We will write a custom essay sample on Safety Net or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Without Medicare, Mr. Kopka said, they could not have paid for the treatments, meaning his wife would be blind and he would be dead. Although there are many cases such as this one, a few federal programs are more popular than Medicare. Medicare’s financial problems are much worse than Social Security’s. People need these programs and they need the government and do not use it as a joke. One woman even said â€Å"Without it, I’m not sure how I would live, with the check I’m getting from Social Security, it’s a constant struggle on making sure that I pay my rent and have enough left for groceries. † â€Å"Man dies from toothache, couldn’t afford meds† is the name of this article that would make anyone’s jaw drop. It is outrageous that a man died and was not able to pay for his tooth medication. A 24 year-old father died from a tooth infection that spread and made his brain swell. This is reminder of the importance of oral health and the number of people without access to dental or health care. Willis went to the emergency room, where he received prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medication. Sadly, he could not pay for both so had to choose one and pain medication was his choice. This caused the infection to spread and make his brain swell and die. According to this article this story is actually not unique. In 2007, 12 year-old Deamonte Driver also died when a tooth infection spread to his brain. The Maryland boy underwent two operations and six weeks of hospital care, totaling $250,000. Doctors said a routine $80 tooth extraction could’ve saved his life. His family was uninsured and had recently lost its Medicaid benefits, keeping the young boy from his life saving dental surgery. Stories like this make it more obvious that the government MUST continue to have these safety net programs. Getting access to dental care is particularly tough for low-income adults and children and it’s getting tougher as the economy worsens. This is the main concern of the people in disagreement with the social safety net programs. The debt is over whelming and hurting the deficit of the country and pulling us more and more into debt. Through the problems like debt that comes along with the social safety net programs, the help that it brings to the citizens in need is more than the debt it causes. The system needs to be sure of the people using the programs, free clinics are needed for the sick that are also poor, the unemployment benefits are needed, public education, Medicaid, Medicare, the government needs to have their citizens protected. Where would the people of this country be? Not to life off of the system or depend on it for life, but to work their way up in society and be independent. The government’s duty is to help their citizens but not to take advantage.