United States of America and various countries of the European Union, specifically the United Kingdom by M. Katharine Brunson Abstract In this comparative research paper, general American and European welfare policy is analyzed. The United Kingdom on the other hand, offers a much more comprehensive and acceptable welfare system for her citizens. This is consistent with the social service trends in the rest of Europe.

United States of America and the United Kingdom.

The left wing is typically more liberal in thought and is a strong supporter of institutional welfare. Institutional welfare provides for every citizen, regardless of economic status. Furthermore, leftist policies support public provision through high government intervention and collectivist ideas. The United Kingdom clearly outlines these points in her social policies and welfare program. In contrast, the right wing is conservative and against most forms of public welfare. The right wing tends to be more individualist in social positions and favors small government with little intervention. This fundamental difference clearly separates the political foundation of the United States and United Kingdom, especially in reference to welfare policies. British Welfare 1929 was a pivotal year across the globe. When the United States stock market crashed, ripples were felt across Europe. 1930s, they met increasing unemployment and poverty. As president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt took action by implementing a new economic strategy in the New Deal. While the USA committed herself to social justice and firmly held the belief of government responsibility towards its citizens, the USSR praised socialism and evolved communism.

The United Kingdom saw the action other global governments were taking, and decided to follow the lead. War proved to transform the decision makers of the government and thus, Britain built upon her wartime experiences and further developed her political institutions. In 1945, the United Kingdom gave birth to the first modern welfare state. With both the Conservative Party and Labor Party fully backing the ideals of the Beveridge Report, British citizens saw many new opportunities. The welfare state was not established to rid the country of poverty, but rather to make social services as available as public services. This belief wanted programs, such as health care and employment benefits, to be as accessible and well developed as paved roads and public transportation.

This ideology would spark debate in future years. Over the past fifty years, the British welfare state developed drastically through two major reforms; the first in the 1960s and the second in the 1980s. The first reform focused on central government. It was necessary to make economic planning and spending more efficient. Thus, efforts were made to give public expenditure responsibilities to the national Treasury. The result was a system that could distribute resources from the Treasury to respective departments and onto various specialty services in an orderly fashion.

The second major reform focused on renovating the administration of welfare, specifically health care and social care. This had three main elements to it.

First, reorganization forced the administration to divide into agencies with the hope of encouraging individual assessment.