The only comprehensive social safety net program we have in the USA is Social Security.

Social safety net programs need to be primarily federal programs. They should be either federally or Sate administered and predominantly federally supervised. They are most likely to be effective, fair and equitable if they are entirely federally funded. Federality also provides for the most fair and equitable redistribution of income that social safety nets require. Social Security, Medicare, and SSI are the the most comprehensive safety net programs we currently have in the United States. The minimum guaranteed income for the elderly and disabled should be set at a level that insures basic needs for food, clothing and shelter can be adequately met. This requires significant revision in the methods by which the federal poverty level is set, and also will require that levels vary by region.

There should be a comprehensive national health plan that does not include co-pays that guarantees adequate medical care and prescription drug coverage, and that uniformly covers the entire population.

Janie