When you hear the words “welfare,” what comes to mind? For me, the word wellness has always had a very negative connotation. However, after looking further into the concept behind all of this, welfare isn't always such a bad thing. In general, social assistance provides financial stability to those who might not otherwise be able to achieve it. Social assistance can be very beneficial to a multitude of people through many different ways to make their lives easier. In the United States, welfare refers to a federal welfare program that was established to benefit the unemployed or just the average person from the lower classes. The most common forms of welfare assistance are Medicaid and food stamps. Believe it or not, a welfare program is not a new idea. Welfare started long before we were born. In the early days of welfare, the British implemented what are called “poor laws.” These laws distinguished between those who were able to work and support themselves and those who were not because of their physical condition or even their age. This was very similar to what President Franklin D. Roosevelt did during the era known as the Great Depression. The Social Security Act was changed in 1939, giving more money to low-income people throughout the Depression. Unemployment compensation and assistance for dependent children are two social programs that still exist today. Social welfare programs can benefit you in areas like health, housing, tax breaks, and simply more money in your pocket. Wellness isn't just an American idea. In Islamic culture, the word zakat means charity. Zakat is actually one of the five pillars of faith. This money has been collected by the government since the 7th century. Taxes, however, still give us the same benefit. Taxes were collected and used to provide income with ...... middle of paper ...... benefits arising from it. Works CitedArrow, Kenneth. “Economic welfare and resource allocation for invention.” The pace and direction of inventive activity: economic and social factors. Nber, 1962. 609-626. Harsanyi, John C. "Cardinal Welfare, Individualistic Ethics, and Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility." Essays on Ethics, Social Behavior, and Scientific Explanation. Springer Netherlands, 1976. 6-23. Pigou, Arthur Cecil. The economics of well-being. Transaction Publishers, 1924. Pierson, Paul, ed. The new politics of the welfare state. Oxford University Press, 2001. Sen, Amartya K. “Collective choice and social protection”. (1970).Arneson, Richard J. “Equality and Equal Opportunity in Welfare.” Philosophical Studies 56.1 (1989): 77-93. Moffitt, Robert. “Incentive effects of the American welfare system: a review.” Review of economic literature 30.1 (1992): 1-61.