Posted: February 26th, 2022

Social Policy

Discussion 1 (300 words)

How does the U.S. social security system differ from some of the social insurance and public assistance programs developed in other countries (Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, England, etc.)? Choose a specific country for comparison with U.S. Discuss and defend your reasoning.

Note: You will need to conduct research online to develop your answer. Search the internet for countries to compare and add key phrases such as “social welfare programs” or “social insurance” to your search.

Reply 1 (ashley) 60 words

The U.S. socical security system is completely different from social insurance and public assistance programs developed in other countries such as Germany, Sweden and England. First off U.S. social security insurance covers disablied, elderly and unempolyed but in Sweden the insurance does not over unempolyed people becuase that is under a different policy in thier country. Health care is covered under U.S. social system but not Sweden because the right to health care depends on residence. In Swedden there are different areas that receive social support that the U.S dosen’t family support and sickness insurance. In the U.S. pentions are gaurtneed but in Sweden they are not they are broken up into three different categories, the incomebased pension, the premium pension and the guarantee pension.Sewden keeps their pensions out of the central government’s budget.Sweden also provides housing allowances throught their social insurance for families.

There are some smiliaries between the U.S. social security system and Sweden’s social insurance. Both are paid by employee and employer and are administered by a certain agency. Both countries look out for their disablied and eldery with their social insurance.

Reply 2 Danielle (60 words)

The first thing I wanted to point out from the text, is that “the United States is the wealthiest nation…and last in in the gap between rich and poor children” (Segal, 2015, pg. 368). This goes to show, that while the United States has plentiful resources, the United States does not use those resources to improve the struggles that several Americans face; poverty and poor health. Additionally, the United States only has one universal program, social security, while other developed nations have more universal programs. Below I will outline some of the social service programs France offers in comparison to the United States.

France has a universal family insurance system. No matter the income, employers pay families with children until the child hits a particular age. There are some exceptions to the rule; ex. continued education or disability (Wingert, n.d.). In the United States, there is no universal program that is similar to this. In the United States, public assistance programs are offered on an as needed basis (Segal, 2015). Another universal program in France is their universal healthcare system. Everyone in France is required to be enrolled in the healthcare system (Tikkanen, 2020). Something similar to this in the United States is the Affordable Care Act. While similar, in the United States it is not universal (Segal, 2015). In France, one of the many purposes of the universal healthcare system is to reduce disparities (Tikkanen, 2020). In the United States and France, the healthcare system is ranked pretty high, but one of the big differences is the actual health of its citizens; France is ranked number one, while the United States is ranked eleven (Segal, 2015). Why is this, when the United States is ranked as the wealthiest nation? Another universal program in France is their social security program. In France, anyone born in France or a resident of France are eligible for the benefits. The social security program in France consists of healthcare, unemployment, and pensions. For those that were unable to contribute to social security, they are still eligible to receive the healthcare services under social security (Nadal, 2005). This is different for those in the United States, where those that do not contribute to social security benefits, will not be eligible for any benefits, under any circumstance (Segal, 2015).