Welfare spending
Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter.
[8][9] More broadly, welfare may also encompass efforts to provide a basic level of well-being through subsidized social services such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, vocational training, and public housing.
[11] Some historians view systems of codified almsgiving, like the zakat policy of the seventh century (634 CE) Rashidun caliph Umar, as early examples of universal government welfare.
[13] In the early 20th century, the United Kingdom introduced social security around 1913, and adopted the welfare state with the National Insurance Act 1946, during the Attlee government (1944–1951).
According to economist Robert Henry Nelson, "the medieval Roman Catholic Church operated a far-reaching and comprehensive welfare system for the poor ...".
"[31] Reflecting Luther's views, in 1522 the Wittenberg Church order set up a "common chest" for welfare work which provided various means of support for the poor.
[12] Traditionally estimated at 2.5% of an individual's assets, government zakat funds were distributed to various groups of Muslims, including impoverished people and those in severe debt.
In the medieval period and until the Industrial Revolution, the function of welfare payments in Europe was achieved through private giving or charity, through numerous confraternities and activities of different religious orders.
[52] In developing countries, formal social security arrangements are often absent for the vast majority of the working population, in part due to reliance on the informal economy.
Social insurance is therefore compulsory for all self-employed individuals, employees and employers operating in the Czech Republic and gets deducted from a salary in a similar manner to taxes.
This insurance serves to finance unemployment support, disability benefits and covers a part of an employer's salary in cases of long-term illness that obstructs them from participating in the workforce.
This is provided to individuals that are unable to participate in the workforce to the same degree as their able-bodied counterparts, due to their disability contributing to the decline of their ability to work (be it partially or entirely).
The Estonian welfare state provides a range of services, including universal healthcare, free education, and a comprehensive system of social security.
The Estonian welfare state is funded through a mix of taxation and public spending, and it relies on a strong social security system to provide support to citizens in need.
The Finnish Nordic model welfare state is based on the principles of social equality and the belief that all citizens should have access to the same basic rights and opportunities.
Due to the pressure of the workers' movement in the late 19th century, Reichskanzler Otto von Bismarck introduced the first rudimentary state social insurance scheme.
They focus on income transfers and service provisions while aiming to alleviate both long- and short-term poverty through, among other things, education, health, security, and housing.
The Norwegian welfare state provides a range of services, including universal healthcare, free education, and a comprehensive system of social security.
The Polish welfare state provides a range of services, including universal healthcare, free education, and a comprehensive system of social security.
It has undergone significant changes in recent years, including the implementation of structural reforms and the introduction of market-oriented policies, which have had an impact on the level and quality of social services provided.
The social policies implemented by the Spanish State, as in the rest of Europe, are a set of measures and tools aimed at protecting and ensuring basic human needs, especially in the field of education, health, and economic security.
[93] As for the labor market, it is characterized by high employment protection, the persistence of gender biases and a lower dispersion of workers' wages due to the importance of trade unions in negotiations.
The beginnings of the Spanish Welfare state date back to the last decade of dictatorship, Francoist Spain, when it began to develop through the Social Security Law of 1963.
Later, after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco and with the arrival of democracy, it would be when the existence of public needs not covered by the State became evident, and when education, health and social services were universalized.
This advance of the welfare state was also marked by the economic crisis, which led to a deterioration of the labor market and highlighted the need to increase public spending to offer greater protection to the retired and unemployed.
Social policies in Spain constitute a set of legislation, decisions and activities that seek to promote the welfare of all Spaniards and improve their quality of life, facilitating access to society's goods and resources to cover their basic needs and respond to complex situations that citizens may face.
Spain lags behind EU values in social protection spending measured both as a percentage of GDP and in absolute terms and in the proportion of adults working in state services.
This ends up causing a great lack of resources and deficiencies in the Spanish healthcare system, such as long waiting lists, even for life-threatening operations, scarce primary care, etc.
The "bedroom tax" is an austerity measure that has attracted particular criticism, with activists arguing that two-thirds of council houses affected by the policy are occupied with a person with a disability.
[113][114] It encourages states to require some sort of employment search in exchange for providing funds to individuals, and imposes a five-year lifetime limit on cash assistance.
