<P> Ward's theories centred around his belief that a universal and comprehensive system of education was necessary if a democratic government was to function successfully . His writings profoundly influenced younger generations of progressive thinkers such as Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Dewey, and Frances Perkins (1880--1965), among others . </P> <P> The United States was the only industrialized country that went into the Great Depression of the 1930s with no social insurance policies in place . In 1935 Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal instituted significant social insurance policies . In 1938 Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, limiting the work week to 40 hours and banning child labor for children under 16, over stiff congressional opposition from the low - wage South . </P> <P> The Social Security law was very unpopular among many groups--especially farmers, who resented the additional taxes and feared they would never be made good . They lobbied hard for exclusion . Furthermore, the Treasury realized how difficult it would be to set up payroll deduction plans for farmers, for housekeepers who employed maids, and for non-profit groups; therefore they were excluded . State employees were excluded for constitutional reasons (the federal government in the United States cannot tax state governments). Federal employees were also excluded . Many textbooks, however, falsely indicate that the exclusions were the product of southern racial hostility toward blacks; there is no evidence of that in the record . </P> <P> By 2013 the U.S. remained the only major industrial state without a uniform national sickness program . American spending on health care (as percent of GDP) is the highest in the world, but it is a complex mix of federal, state, philanthropic, employer and individual funding . The US spent 16% of its GDP on health care in 2008, compared to 11% in France in second place . </P>

Who is responsible for ensuring the state of social welfare at the national state and local level