From the NRO:
""(The) stimulus bill will reverse Clinton-era welfare reform, re-establishing the wasteful, incentive-killing system whose transformation was the bipartisan pride of the 1990s.
Prior to reform, the federal government simply gave the states more money for every family they added to the welfare rolls. The predictable result was that the states worked hard to maximize their welfare caseloads in order to maximize the amount of federal funding they could therefore claim. The system had zero incentive to help people make the transition from welfare to work and independence—in fact, the states were financially punished for doing so. The Clinton-Gingrich reforms replaced that bounty-hunter system with a flat rate for each state, based on population and other factors. That gave state-level welfare authorities a better set of incentives, encouraging them to use their resources in the most effective manner and to reserve them for the truly needy.""
and....
""Given that the states will receive $4 from the federal government for every $1 they add to their welfare budgets, even conservative governors will feel pressure to inflate their welfare rolls in order to wring every dollar they can out of Washington. And there are early rumblings about removing the ... work requirements that rounded out the Clinton-era reforms.""
Now, don't get me wrong, I am all for helping people who find themselves in need of temporary assistance. Or, even permanent assistance if it is for a good, and documented reason. But... a return to rewarding states for expanding their welfare rolls, in today's economy, is a travesty. The money is simply NOT THERE.
Part of the reason Clinton left office with a balanced budget is that he put an end to this kind of folly.
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I know alot of liberals grumbled about the welfare to work requirements. I think in some cases it was too hard for a mom with small children to get a job and afford daycare. And of course there are always exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, ablebodied folks should work, not sit home and collect checks.
ReplyDeleteAs my DH says, the extreme right would throw everyone on the street to starve if they can't find a job, and the extreme left would hand out money to any lazy ass that asked for it. Somewhere is the middle ground, and overall, I think what Clinton enacted was better than the system we're going to see if Obama reverses his welfare to work mandate and hands out money WE DON'T HAVE to the states for more welfare recipients.