The years between 2008 and 2014 were some of the hardest economically for the world at large since the dot.com bust . In America, banks and other American badges of honor were falling like dominoes. Many companies in America had bet heavily on the housing market, selling homes to those that couldn’t afford them and charging high interest rates or stacking large balloon payments at the end of loans. Financial companies like Bear Stearns began then repacking these loans and pselling them around the world. It is actually surprising that other countries are so civil when they look at the detritus we sold around the world. The Europen Union was also struggling, causing many to wonder who would bail out of the EU first just to protect their economies. America bailed out its companies that were labeled “too big too fail” as well as the American public through emergency social programs. The EU bailed out whole countries, such as Greece and Ireland. The goal of this paper is to compare and contrast the United States social welfare system with that of Ireland in particular and to decide which country is better off financially. Who wins in a economic standoff?
In order to compare the Irish and American systems a working definition of social welfare must be established. Social welfare is a safety net, the proverbial shoulder to lean on when a person is unable to provide for his or her needs. It works almost like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It satisfies the most basic levels. There is assistance for food, publically funded housing or vouchers, and often access to basic healthcare. When did America and Ireland begin caring for their tired and their poor?
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America started its social welfare programs as a means to fight the Great Depression. In 1929 the stock market crashed and the economy tanked. Most people lost all that they had and America had not yet entered the world of 401k. Most people did not plan to get old and retire, instead working until they could not and then eventually dying. When the Great Depression occurred America realized it had no safety net for its citizens. No mandate for the poor. Then Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president and he put forth the New Deal. The New Deal established a Food supplement program, Social Security benefits, and a whole host of other social reforms to put the people to work. A great deal of the programs of FDR proposed are still in place today.
Ireland started its social welfare reform as early as 1766. It appears to coincide with industrialization and workers rights. In the 1900s, Ireland was steady in its addition of social welfare aid. For example, the Department of Social Welfare was established in 1947, with it becoming fully functional in 1952. 1974 brought with it the compulsory National Health Services.
Ireland obviously as a more robust social welfare system than America. American has just within the past year passed a mandate for universal healthcare. Ireland had been there quite a bit longer. Ireland has spent more per capita on programs to aid the poorest segment of its population at a a time when it was needed. America has caught up with Europe in general, and Ireland in particular. These programs have to come from some form of tax base and the overall economic health of a country.
In 2004, Ireland’s economy was booming. In 2003, “Ireland’s real growth of gross domestic product (GDP) was 2.1 percent, triple the average of 0.7 percent “ (Thornton, 2004). The rest of Europe could hardly keep up. Many were beginning to question when the bust would occur as the growth rate galloped at 8 percent. In 2009, 2010, Ireland received a bailout from the European Union. The Irish experienced high unemployment and emigration and have financially started to turn the corner, finally being able to leave the EU bailout program. Is Ireland’s economy back to the point that it surpasses that of the United States.
During the housing boom the United States saw unprecedented growth that was halted suddenly. At the time President George W. Bush was president and had to bend his political belief system so that he could conceivably save America from folding in on itself. As stated in the article In praise of stimulus and bailouts, “ there was a bit of a debt explosion from 2000 to 2008” (McKinley, 2013). When debt outpaces the GDP (gross domestic product) then a country has a huge problem and is forced to make drastic decisions such as bail outs and stimulus packages. McKinley was right. George W. Bush had to figure out a way to fix Clinton’s unnatural rise in home ownership. Yet Ireland and the United States have both turned a corner in their respective economic situations.
It is almost impossible to tell which country is in the best financial shapes by looking at the extent of their social welfare programs. For example Dubai, a wealthy nation, is known as a welfare state. So is it the vastness of the programs that is the economic indicator of growth. It seems just as right as it seems wrong. Honestly, it has to come down to who has the better back up plans. America only has America, but we do have other countries so heavily leveraged with us that they would only hurt themselves should they decide to collect on their debts all at one time. Ireland on the other hand, is emboldened first by its relationship with Great Britain and then its standing in the European Union. The European Union is dependent on the maultitude of countries to do their part. I would say that America is more finacially sound as of now but that could easily change in the next few years.
The purpose of this paper was to examine the social welfare systems of the United Staes and Ireland and use this information in dtermining which country is economically sound. The truth is that both have had their ups and downs but the reality is that they have bounced back well. Due to the bailout sanctions being lifted off the shoulders of Ireland have lead to the conclusion that America is economically superior, for now.
- Antle, W. James, III. “Bush is back: as the GOP reclaims power, the ex-president returns to remind voters of Republican wars, bailouts, and boondoggles.” The American Conservative 10.1 (2011): 6+. Academic OneFile. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
- McKinley, V. (2013). In praise of stimulus and bailouts. Regulation, 36(3), 52+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com
- Thornton, R. (2004). Caging the Tiger: Ireland’s economy roars on. Harvard International Review, 26(3), 10+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com
