The Failure of Welfare Reform

The following is in rebuttal to the very many articles by the likes of such writers as Cal Thomas, who are jumping all over welfare reform as an example of great conservative politics. The only problem the reform is a disaster as the following article shows: By SJ Otto

From Slate:

By JORDAN WEISSMANN

If you want a sense of how thoroughly America’s welfare system has decayed thanks to the reforms Bill Clinton signed into law two decades ago, consider Arizona.

Despite being home to one of the nation’s most crushing child poverty rates, the state has all but stopped giving cash assistance to its needy. During 2014, for every 100 poor families with children in Arizona, just 8 families received aid. And even that tiny fraction is likely to shrink. Last year, while trying to chip away at a $1 billion budget deficit, lawmakers lowered the maximum amount of time Arizonans could receive welfare payments before being kicked off the rolls permanently—it’s now just 12 months.

This was a first. Most states enforce a five-year time limit. Some, including Arizona, have gone as low as two years. None had tried the one-year-and-you’re-out approach.

For the rest click here.