read thi artiicle and then aswer the questions below Japan: Welfare and Homeless
ID: 3500929 • Letter: R
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read thi artiicle and then aswer the questions below
Japan: Welfare and Homelessness
Homelessness is an especially serious issue in the United States because of this country’s failure to provide the minimum level of social welfare funding. Such a “safety net” feature would be taken for granted in virtually any other industrial democracy, but the problem is by no means unknown in other societies. Even Japan, despite its remarkable economic progress during the last several decades, has a significant population of homeless people. Nobody knows how many people are without places of permanent residence in Japan, largely because it is very difficult to conduct an accurate census of this highly transient population. “Census takers found 191 homeless people in Yokohama [in October of 1990], but social workers think the number at its peak in the summer is twice that.” There are some marked similarities between the homeless in Japan and those in the United States. Alcoholism is a serious problem for the homeless in each society, and in both societies minorities are disproportionately represented on the streets. Japan’s homeless are often Koreans, Filipinos, Bangladeshi, and members of the indigenous lower-caste Burakumin ethnic group. But there are also differences between the two nations. Although a significant percentage of the Japanese homeless are suffering from mental illness, there has been no large-scale deinstitutionalization of mental patients in recent decades such as that which has taken place in the United States. Drugs are a minor problem among the Japanese homeless. “And, unlike the United States, Japan is not faced with large numbers of entire families without homes or people with jobs who cannot find housing.” U.S. officials sometimes charge that many of the homeless are simply lazy people who prefer not to work, a claim that anti-poverty advocates generally regard as grossly distorted. Similar themes are heard today in Japan: “‘It may be an oversimplification, but I think most of the homeless are there because they want to enjoy their freedom,’ says Yoshinori Shibuya, a senior official in the Yokohama social welfare bureau. ‘We urge them to accept welfare payments or to go to the hospital, but 80 percent refuse.’” However, it is far from easy to receive welfare benefits in Japan. In fact, only 0.7 percent of the population receives such benefits. Compare this to the 4.8 percent of the U.S. population who get grants from Aid to Families With Dependent Children, or the 9.7 percent who are food stamp recipients. The reasons the disparity among the two nations is so large lie at the heart of their respective societies and cultures. In Japan, it is the responsibility of the family to take care of its own. Only if a welfare applicant can prove that he or she does not have family to help them will they receive any benefits at all. Nor are healthy people ever eligible, the argument being that they could find work if they wanted to since Japan has a much lower unemployment rate than the U.S. Unwed mothers are also more rare, one percent in Japan versus the U.S.’s 30 percent. Moreover, in most cases, most single mothers in Japan are divorced or widowed rather than never married. Because the majority of those women live with parents or family members that can both support them and help supervise the children, they make up only 9 percent of the welfare roll. The vast majority of recipients are elderly (44 percent). Another 41 percent is made up of households with sick or handicapped persons. Not only is the family the first source of assistance, the welfare applicant must prove he or she has no assets or savings. Nor are luxuries such as cars or air conditioning allowed once a person receives benefits. Caseworkers who have a much lighter case load than in the U.S. make periodic checks to ensure no one cheats. In fact, welfare fraud is extremely rare. “Japan does have two elements of a social welfare program that far surpass anything in the United States: universal medical care and comprehensive day care. Everyone has access to doctors and hospitals at affordable prices, with the services free for the poor. And neighborhood nurseries throughout Japan provide excellent care for children. . . for a modest fee that is waived for low-income families.” (Kristof p. 10) In any event, the Japanese cultural emphasis on politeness and saving face impacts the way both homelessness and welfare are handled. As one volunteer worker put it regarding the homeless, “We are careful not to become too familiar with the people we help because it’s a shameful thing for them. They get annoyed even if we ask their names. They generally want to be left alone.” Similarly, in the government building that houses one welfare office on the sixth floor, a separate hidden elevator ensures that welfare applicants need not be embarrassed. In fact, many people who may well be eligible for welfare never apply at all because of this sense of shame.
1)Do you believe that a welfare system similar to that in Japan could work in the United States? Why or why not? Use whatever information you have learned so far regarding the cultural and societal structures of the two countries that would make it either possible or impossible.
2)Research newspaper articles discussing the pros and cons of the welfare reform bill signed in 1996. Educate yourself on the changes. How do you think they will impact the poor? The country?
Explanation / Answer
America endorses and practices individualism. Americans fundamentally believe in the rights of one self. The young ones are taught to speak their mind, exercise their rights,make independent choices etc.The focus on individualism is so much that group dynamics and its needs are not the primary factor for an individual. The rewards in an American societal structure, particularly that of business and social policy, focus on the performance of an individual rather than the group. The profit and rewards are highly individualized and this makes America a country that put utmost focus on self and its needs prior to that of the society. On the other hand, Japan is what one can truely call a collectivist society. The notion of 'we' is strong as compared to 'I'. Due to wide spread practice of tenants of Buddhism and philosphy of Confucius, Japanese have endured the idea of placing the needs, safety,happiness and security of the group as its priority, rather than a individual. For this reason, the welfare system of Japan wouldnt work in America.Let's start with a basic example. The homeless population in American is addicted to drugs and alcohol. Now, while alcohol is a problem among the homeless in Japan,drugs, however, poses no threat among the homeless there.With the stigma attached to mental health, most alcoholic population in Japan do not seek to institutionalize themselves in mental asylum, while Americans enrol themselves in rehabilitation cebter and hospital. Secondly, due to collective nature of the society, most Japanese people often get shelter and support of their family. This is highly unlikely in America. This is reflected in the welfare system policy as well. For example, in Japan , you are not entitled to welfare benefits if you are staying with your family. Even the single mothers in Japan , who are welfare applicants, do not recieve welfare benefits if they are staying with their relative or family who can look after them or support them. This is why single mother's in Japan only makes 9 percent if the total welfare roll.The vast population of the welfare beneficiaries are elderly people (44%) and handicapped people (41%) in Japan. This system of norms for being a recipient for welfare roll cannot work in America due to the inherent fundamental difference in the culture of both the nation. Former being highly collective and the latter being individualistic.
With the passing of Welfare Reform Bill (1996), the conditions and regulations to be a recipient of the welfare changed, Clinton ended the previous welfare system in operation called Aid to Families With Dependent Children, which allowed the poor families to recieve welfare support from the government without having to pass through the multiple elgibilty criteria. However, with the introduction of the new bill, a poor man should be able to meet criteria by the State to recieve help i.e. they either must be volunteering,looking for a job or participating in skill training or vocational programmes. This has put families in need under strict dire and psychological distress to recieve help, if only they fulfill the criteria. Poverty is not just a financial disability but it effects the psychological health of a person too. Many poor people are depressed and fail to find work or volunteer. For this reason, they are denied the welfare benefits. Thereby, the poverty rate has increased in America since 1996, from 32 percent in 1996 to 39 percent in 2000. Thus, the Welfare Reform Bill (1996), have had a cluttered and devastating effects on poor stricken community, as it completly and utterly failed to acknowledge the mental health status and being of a poor man.
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