Category: Politics & Economics

• How much does the US Government spend on welfare?

  Nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) has pointed out 83 overlapping federal government welfare programs that together represented one of the largest budget items in 2011. The total amount spent by the federal government on these 80+ welfare programs totals approximately $1.03 trillion dollars. State and local governments spent $1.4 trillion on public welfare in 2019, or 22% of total government spending. Between 1977 and 2014, it was the second-largest expenditure, right behind elementary and secondary education.

  Welfare spending increased to 6.3 percent of the GDP during the COVID crisis in early 2020. Welfare spending was estimated at $7.2 billion in 2021.

  What is welfare?

  Welfare refers to a wide range of government programs that help people who are unable to support themselves financially. Welfare programs are typically paid for by taxpayers and help people cope with financial stress during difficult times. Welfare recipients usually get their payments every two weeks or once a month. Welfare programs vary, as they look to promote the pursuit of work, education, and/or a better standard of living.

  The US regulates six major welfare programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income, Earned Income Tax Credit, Housing Assistance, and Medicaid.

  How many people are on welfare in the United States?

  The number of people living on welfare in the United States is 59 million. That’s approximately 19% of the U.S. population, which includes people who rely on safety nets like Medicaid and SNAP (also known as Food Stamps), according to an analysis report by the Urban Institute in 2019. That was before the coronavirus pandemic hit the global economy.

  A large percentage of welfare recipients are white. Hispanics account for 24% percent of them, Blacks for 23%, and Asians and Native Americans for 8%.

  Welfare recipients are mostly children. A study of the demographics of welfare users reveals that children under the age of 18 account for 41% of all beneficiaries. Meanwhile, people aged 18–64 account for half of the recipients. Just 12% of seniors (65 and older) receive welfare benefits.

  What is a welfare check?

  A welfare check is when police visit someone’s home to ensure that everything is fine. A request for welfare checks is usually made by friends, family members, and neighbors, usually, after someone unexpectedly stops answering the phone or contacting people.

  Most people think of police officers as patrolling the streets looking out for wrongdoers or answering emergency calls. Many people don’t realize that the police in their communities are also available to conduct background checks. This essential law enforcement role is an important tool for creating safe communities.

  Asking the police to do a “welfare check” on a close relative, friend, or neighbor may be a smart option if you are concerned about them. Whether it is an older person who has died at home, a person who is thinking about suicide, or a neighbor who seems to be in danger, wellness checks can save lives.

  What happens if you get caught lying to welfare?

  Welfare fraud varies by state, but usually includes the possibility of jail time, repayment of benefits, or disqualification from future assistance. Welfare fraud is considered a separate crime in some states, while in others, people could be charged with theft, perjury, or forgery.

  Some people under welfare can commit crimes to receive more than what’s intended for them, this is called an Intentional Program Violation (IPV).

  How does the US Department of Health and Human Services support public welfare?

  The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is responsible for administering and managing programs that deal with health care and welfare. The secretary of HHS advises the US President on the federal government’s health, welfare, and income security plans, programs, and policies. He or she oversees the administration and promotes public understanding of its goals, programs, and operations.

  HHS is a cabinet-level agency in the executive branch. Its mission is to improve and protect the well-being of all Americans by providing high-quality health and human services and advancing medical research. There are a wide variety of HHS agencies that administer more than 300 programs that focus on such initiatives as helping people get financial assistance, health care and advocacy, conducting medical and social science research, ensuring food and drug safety, and enforcing laws and regulations relating to human services.

  What is social welfare policy?

  Social welfare policy refers broadly to the set of standards and rules that govern the level of, and conditions for welfare support, which is aimed at serving the needs of the people. Virtually everything the gov­ernment does affects social welfare, including taxes, national defense, education, and health care policy, but so does the failure to respond to people’s needs. Narrowly defined, social welfare policies focus on providing income assistance and social services for people who need them.

  Social welfare policy is made at three levels: local, state, and federal. The policy is set by the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government through laws, executive orders and regulatory rules, and court decisions. A comprehensive view of social welfare policy acknowledges that corporations, NGOs, and for-profit organizations all make decisions that have an impact on the communities and lives of the people they serve. These organizations consequently have social repercussions. The New Deal program, which was implemented in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression, laid the foundation for today’s social welfare programs, which address fundamental human necessities including food, housing, health care, and work. The 1960s political upheaval, the 2008 Great Recession, and the 2020 coronavirus pandemic all resulted in significant social policy changes.

  Who’s the president who started welfare?

  At a White House conference on the subject of poverty and single mothers in 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt called for a national campaign to help single mothers and their children improve their lives. This marked the emergence of social welfare in the United States. The conference declared that keeping families together in the home was preferable to placing the poor in institutions that were widely criticized as expensive failures. Welfare reformers argued that the new system would also prevent juvenile delinquency because mothers would be able to watch over their children full time. By 1935, a nationwide welfare system was established for the first time ever in American history.

  2022.07.08

• What percentage of roads in Germany have no speed limit?

  There are many kinds of highways in Germany. Some of them are called “Autobahns”. Autobahns don’t have any speed limits in parts where it’s deemed safe to travel quickly.

  Germany has 142,847 miles of road. There are more than 8,000 miles of autobahn in Germany. This means that circa 5.6% of Germany’s road network consists of autobahns. On average, 70% of an Autobahn will have no speed limit. This means that about 3.9% of all roads in Germany have no speed limit.

  Why are German roads so well-maintained?

  Since the first stretch of the Autobahn was completed in Germany in the 1920s, people have considered it to be the perfect road for every vehicle. Generally, the roads are well-engineered and maintained; potholes are rare, and snow removal is almost instantaneous. Signing is uniform and comprehensive. These factors help keep Autobahns in good condition at all times and under all weather conditions. It’s also worth noting that because there are no fixed speed limit signs, it’s very appealing to drivers from around the world.

  How much do German roads cost?

  Toll charges for German motorways are only payable for vehicles with a maximum permissible weight of 7.5 tonnes and more. You pay tolls either via the Toll Collect on-board unit or manually via the internet, mobile app, or in the Toll Collect Payment Terminal. Only vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes are subject to tolls for both the Herren and Warnows tunnels in the north of Germany.

  The plan to introduce toll collection for passenger cars was eliminated in 2019. Thus, German motorways are still toll-free for passenger cars.

  Why do German roads hold up better?

  To accommodate higher-volume traffic, Autobahn roads are built with multiple layers of concrete to support heavy vehicles. Autobahn roads are checked regularly for irregularities in the surface or any damage.

  Furthermore, Germany’s municipal road departments award contracts for road work based on the quality of the work and the guarantee that the work will last for a longer period of time than if they had outsourced the work to companies offering the municipality the lowest prices.

  Today, the Autobahns are one of the world‘s largest highway networks with an overall length of 7,900 miles. It connects most of the 16 states to all major cities of Germany, including Bavaria, Baden Wurttemberg, Saarland, Hesse, Saxony, and Berlin. The Autobahn has two, three, or four lanes in each direction, depending on the section.

  Why are there so many roads in Germany?

  After World War I, the idea of constructing highways connecting Germany’s expanding cities was conceived in the post-war Weimar Republic. The first public road connecting Cologne and Bonn was completed in 1932. It still exists today as part of Autobahn 555. After Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, he used the autobahns for his own political gain and tasked Fritz Todt as Inspector General of road construction with the goal of increasing autobahn networks.

  Only 2,360 miles (3,800 kilometers) of the intended 12,430 miles (20,000 kilometers) of the motorway had been finished by 1942 when the war turned against the Nazis. Following the war, the majority of West Germany’s Autobahns were repaired and made operational as part of an expansion program that began in the 1950s.

  Germany has the world’s second-largest road system after the US. There is a total of 656,074 km of roads with over 221,000 km of this being trunk roads and highways.

  Who pays for roads in Germany?

  The Autobahn is funded by tax revenue and maintained by the German government itself and not by the individual states it crosses. Taxes include the toll fees paid for by large vehicles weighing more than 7.5 metric tonnes on all German motorways and federal trunk roads, including service areas, even in urban areas. The toll network comprises approximately 51,000 kilometers in length.

  How many miles of paved roads are there in Germany?

  650,169 km of German roads are paved and 5,905 km are unpaved according to an estimate in 1997. Germany has the world’s second-largest road system.

  Why does Google Maps not cover German roads?

  German roads are actually covered by Google Maps, but Google’s Street View is what’s not covered.

  Given its turbulent past and the fact that many Germans have a deep distrust of government, organizations, and agencies when it concerns data protection and privacy. It is no surprise to see that many people in Germany feel uneasy about any agency being able to see their homes and streets on Google Maps. During World War 2, the Third Reich placed the population under intense scrutiny and harshly cracked down on dissents, hence Germans consider privacy hard-won freedom.

  This has led to the tradition of strong data protection in Germany, which has created a wall to Google’s Street View program. Google has tried to bring Street View into the country twice before but has failed both times because of public backlash. According to research presented by Harvard Business Review, the average person in Germany is willing to spend up to $184 to protect his or her personal health data.

  2022.07.08

• What percentage of eligible persons must a policy cover in a noncontributory group?

  In a noncontributory, 100% of eligible persons (employees) must be covered by the policy. The norm for insurance businesses is that noncontributory plans must enroll all eligible employees. The standards for deciding who is qualified to participate in the plan may be established by the employer.

  What is a noncontributory pension plan?

  Any pension plan or other sort of benefit plan that is fully funded by the employer is a noncontributory plan. There are no payments needed from plan participants. Noncontributory life insurance policies are regularly established by employers for their employees. Non-contributory plans are most advantageous to low-income employees who might not otherwise be able to afford the associated incentives.

  What distinguishes a contributory policy from a noncontributory policy?

  There are two types of insurance policies: contributory and noncontributory. A contributory policy is one in which the insurance company depends on the insured individual to contribute from their salary. A noncontributory policy does not require the insured person to contribute money. Instead, the employer pays all insurance contributions and the employee’s salary is unaffected.

  Until 1996, what was the most important noncontributory public assistance program?

  The most important contributory program until 1996 was the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). It was created as a grant program by the Social Security Act of 1935 to allow states to give cash welfare payments to needy children who had been denied parental support or care because their father or mother was unable to care for them, either because they were absent or unemployed.

  State benefit payments may be repaid by the federal government indefinitely at “matching” rates that were inversely correlated to state per capita revenue. All people who fell within the federal law’s eligibility categories and whose resources and income fell under the state’s defined limits were able to apply for assistance from the state.

  The program failed because it offended both liberals and conservatives, who worried that the low level of support provided would put a ceiling on welfare benefits rather than a floor under them. However, the majority of the adjustments made to AFDC over its 70-year lifespan made things worse for recipients and so it was abolished.

  What are primary and noncontributory insurance coverage?

  Commercial general liability, vehicle liability, worker’s compensation, and other insurance policies are all involved in primary and noncontributory insurance policies. The coverage determines the order in which rules apply when more than one policy is activated by the same event.

  Primary denotes that one party’s liability insurance is responsible for responding to a claim first before another entity’s policy applies. On the other hand, noncontributory insurance prevents the primary party’s insurance company from requesting assistance from the other entity’s policy in order to settle a claim. It means that a loss is only covered by one policy.

  What does a primary and noncontributory clause mean in liability insurance?

  A primary and noncontributory clause is a type of clause in an insurance policy that determines who is responsible for a loss. The clause states if the insurance company is primarily responsible for losses and if the policyholder is not responsible for any losses. This type of clause is important when insurance companies are trying to determine who should pay for a loss.

  How does the government pay for noncontributory programs?

  Noncontributory programs are funded by tax revenue. The government collects taxes from individuals and businesses, and then distributes the money to the programs that they decide are most important.

  In certain cases, such as Social Security and Medicare, taxes are collected from those who are actually eligible for the program. Other programs, such as food stamps and welfare, provide benefits to people who may not be required to pay taxes.

  Where are annuity payments of non-contributory pension plans filed?

  If you are receiving an annuity payment from a non-contributory pension plan, the payments will likely be filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This is because the IRS is responsible for determining how much tax to withhold from your annuity payments.

  Regardless of whether the person makes contributions to the pension plan or not, the pension plan guarantees that it will pay the person a predetermined amount of money each month.

  How is eligibility determined for noncontributory programs such as TANF?

  The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, which offers food stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, and other non-cash benefits to low-income families depending on their ability to pay, are examples of a non-contributory program. Those who are eligible for the aforementioned programs are determined through what is called means testing.

  Means testing is a type of targeting in which a representative evaluates the household or individual’s income. The person or household is eligible for program benefits if their income is below a certain threshold. This ideally entails the existence of information on income that can be verified and documented, such as tax returns, wage information from employers, or financial data from institutions.

  What does it mean to say that past medical history is noncontributory?

  When a person is applying for a health insurance policy, they will have to answer questions about their medical history. This includes information about any diseases or conditions that the applicant has had in the past. If an applicant’s medical history is noncontributory, this means that the disease or condition did not play a role in causing the individual’s current health problems. For example, if an applicant has high blood pressure but had a heart attack before their high blood pressure, their high blood pressure would be considered non-contributory to their heart attack.

  When are you taxed in a noncontributory pension plan?

  You will only be taxed on the amount of money you get from your defined contribution plan in a given year when you retire and reach the legal age to start taking withdrawals. Instead of offering lump-sum payments, non-contributory retirement plans often offer a constant and reliable stream of income. Your taxable earnings for the year are increased by the total of the payments you received from your pension plan, and regular income tax rates are then applied.

  2022.07.07

• What percentage of all drivers are driving intoxicated?

  Drinking and driving put lives in danger,  and due to the increased likelihood of being involved in collisions, drunk driving raises insurance premiums for all drivers across the United States. The Zebra conducted a survey of 1,500 American drivers to determine their perceptions and self-reported habits in order to better understand the current situation of American attitudes and actions concerning drunk driving.

  It was found that, between 2020 and 2021, the number of people who admitted to driving while intoxicated decreased: Only 17.3 percent drove while intoxicated at least once in the year, compared to 18.9 percent the previous year.

  What alcohol level is considered driving intoxicated?

  The US federal limit to legally drive is a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08%. But it can be different from state to state. You should become versed with the DUI laws of the state you are in before you consider drunk driving.

  What percent of crashes are caused by drunk drivers?

  Each year, more than 10,000 individuals are killed by drinking and driving, however, this figure has reduced in recent years. Each year, alcohol-related road fatalities account for just under 30% of all traffic fatalities, a trend that is slowly beginning to reverse.

  Drunk driving statistics vary greatly depending on age, gender, and geography, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Young persons, motorcycle riders, and drivers with previous DUI convictions are the most likely to drive while intoxicated.

  What is the penalty for killing someone while driving drunk?

  The consequences of killing someone while driving while inebriated are severe. A motorist may be charged with felony offenses, which may result in jail or prison time, fines, and license suspension or revocation, if they are found guilty of a DUI-related (or BUI-related; boating under the influence) fatality.

  A motorist who kills another person while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is usually charged with a felony. State rules, on the other hand, differ in how DUI-related killings are prosecuted. The prosecutor will usually have multiple options, such as:

  • DUI Death Enhancements
  • Vehicular Homicide and Vehicular Manslaughter
  • Manslaughter and Murder

  When do most drunk driving accidents occur?

  Drivers under the influence of alcohol are involved in around one-third of all fatal collisions. However, these collisions happen more frequently at particular times of the day. More than half (55%) of drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2009 between the hours of midnight and three in the morning had an alcohol-impaired driver, which is double the national average.

  In the United States, accidents involving drunk drivers resulted in an average of 36 fatalities per day between 2001 and 2005, according to the NHTSA.

  These numbers significantly increased during particular seasons of the year, such as the summer and the holidays. For instance, the number of fatalities involving drunk drivers increased from 45 per day on average during the Christmas season to 54 per day over the New Year’s vacation.

  Who do you call for drunk drivers?

  Calling 9-1-1 is the fastest way to report a drunk driver. Traffic infractions, including aggressive or impaired driving, are not considered an emergency in some jurisdictions. In such instances, you should contact local law enforcement’s non-emergency number. You may generally get the correct phone number by dialing 4-1-1.

  Many areas have “Crime Stoppers” or similar services that allow you to report a drunk driver anonymously. You can not use your cell phone to report someone who is driving while inebriated if you yourself are driving. You must pull over into a safe place before making a call.

  When was drunk driving made illegal?

  The first rules prohibiting driving while intoxicated in the United States were enacted in New York in 1910. Despite the introduction of the Breathalyzer and other innovations, it was not until the late 1970s and early 1980s that the public became more aware of the hazards of drinking and driving, and lawmakers and police officers began to crack down on offenders.

  After her 13-year-old daughter, Cari was killed by a drunk driver while walking home from a school carnival in 1980, Candy Lightner formed Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD.

  Lightner and MADD were essential in changing public perceptions of drunk driving and pushing for legislation that enhanced the penalty for driving while intoxicated. MADD also aided in the raising of the legal drinking age in numerous states.

  Why do drunk drivers always survive?

  By not bracing for impact, a drunk person’s body is able to take the path of least resistance during a collision—not it’s uncommon to find a drunk person curled up in the car’s front footwell, relatively unharmed—and is also better able to absorb the energy delivered by the impact. Staying as relaxed as possible during an approaching impact, according to Medevac nurse Kaitlin McLoone, is good advice for everyone.

  Most car accidents include three independent impacts: the vehicle colliding with an object, the driver (or passenger) colliding with the vehicle’s interior, and that person’s internal organs slamming against the inside of his body. During these three collisions, the subject experiences fast deceleration, putting a huge strain on their solid organs and bones, which is sometimes fatal. By being relaxed during a collision, the force of rapid deceleration is more distributed on the body, which can help save your life.

  2022.07.07