the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization; well-being: to look after a child's welfare; the physical or moral welfare of society.
welfare work.
financial or other assistance to an individual or family from a city, state, or national government: Thousands of jobless people in this city would starve if it weren't for welfare.
(initial capital letter)Informal. a governmental agency that provides funds and aid to people in need, especially those unable to work.
Idioms for welfare
on welfare, receiving financial aid from the government or from a private organization because of hardship and need.
Origin of welfare
1275–1325; Middle English, from phrase wel fare.See well1, fare
Not only is getting out and about good for your health, it also does wonders for your dog’s welfare, Gruen says.
How to help your pet with separation anxiety|Sara Kiley Watson|August 26, 2020|Popular Science
In a country with some 210 million people, such a system could speed up the delivery of social welfare and tax benefits, and make public policies more efficient.
Brazil is sliding into techno-authoritarianism|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Beyond boosting profits, their efforts are driven by an imminent climate crisis, in which cattle play a significant role, and growing concern for livestock welfare among consumers.
Biotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will It Succeed?|Dyllan Furness|August 16, 2020|Singularity Hub
So, the costs — of pollution, of degraded animal welfare — that are currently not being borne by either producers or consumers of food, would have to be borne.
How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Ep. 386 Rebroadcast)|Stephen J. Dubner|August 6, 2020|Freakonomics
In effect, it enhances social insurance protections and is a step towards universal basic income, both policies I think would improve social welfare even in the absence of a pandemic.
Economists Think Congress Should Keep Paying Unemployed Workers $600 A Week — Or Even More|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|July 21, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
It was a Republican Congress working with a Democratic president that succeeded in passing the welfare reform bill the first time.
To GOP Congress, as Usual, It’s Welfare on the Chopping Block|Monica Potts|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This welfare spending discourages work, increases taxes, and operates as a hidden and inefficient subsidy to low-wage businesses.
To Make Their Victory Durable, the GOP Must Fix the Minimum Wage|Dmitri Mehlhorn|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But they were not making enough profits, as the rate of growth had slowed as Brazil invested in the welfare of its own people.
What Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff Can Teach Hillary Clinton|Heather Arnet|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If government planning and welfare had the answer, shouldn't we expect government to read the score to us once in a while?
Government-provided support for those unable to support themselves. In the United States, it is undertaken by various federal, state, and local agencies under the auspices of different programs, the best known of which are Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and food stamps.