Part I  Watch a video clip. Then finish the following task.

Task:

What services offered to the father and son are free of charge in the video clip?

Part II  Background Information (1)

★Background Information (2)

Social welfare: Public assistance programs,commonly called "welfare", provide cash or in-kind benefits forparticular categories of the financially needy. The US welfare system operateson both the federal and state levels. The federal welfare program is known as Social Security, which provides benefits or assistance for childcare, disability, food stamp and medical assistance. The state welfare programs, on the other hand, provide assistance to both individuals and local communitieswith state schooling and social insurance. US welfare programs grewsignificantly in the decades following World War II, but increases in welfarecosts during the 1960s and 1970s brought into question the extent and qualityof public assistance. In the early 1980s the Reagan Administration reduced welfare expenditures and suggested turning responsibility for welfare fundingover to the states. The cuts in federal funding that took effect during the Reagan Administration did in fact effectively place the responsibility for maintaining funding levels on the states—and, in some cases, on the largercities. The result has been a widening of the already existing disparities insocial services spending between states, and between cities and regions withina state.

Part III  Pre-reading Activities

Listen to a passage in which the speaker complains about the welfare system. Then finish the following task according to what you hear.

Task:

1. Why do politicians and government leaders want caseworkers to make it as difficult as possible for people to receive their welfare checks?

2. What does Mr. Callahan want the speaker to do?

Part IV  Discussion