Welfare Limits Left Poor Adrift as Recession Hit

[greenforest32]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/us/welfare-limits-left-poor-adrift-as-recession-hit.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/14/1074416/-Age-16-welfare-reform-showing-that-critics-were-right-The-poor-children-included-are-being-hurt



Sweet, let's send all federal programs back to the states to shrink big, wasteful government and let the states find "innovative solutions" to drop coverage which won't be a problem as private charity will cover the demand

[Antonio the Sixth]

Welfare reform is one of the most disgustingly reactionary laws ever passed in the USA. This, among other things, is why I don't get how so many democrats can like Clinton.

[memphis]

We've shifted welfare from direct programs into the tax code.  It's still around. It's just less visible and less targeted toward the people who actually need it.

[Beet]

If there were an abundance of high paying jobs, programs like this wouldn't be necessary. In the late 1990s that's what we had, and it made welfare reform seem like a bigger success than it actually was.

[Redalgo]

The lack of outspoken support I've witnessed from Democrats in recent years for transitioning from a liberal to social democratic welfare regime, or at least overhauling the current arrangement, has contributed significantly to my slow drift away from the party. The basic needs of people to pursue healthy, fulfilling lives ought to be the birthright of all - not an entitlement reserved only for people fortunate enough to already possess an abundance of capital, or who can eek by on meager state benefits secured by abiding to a variety of time limits and prerequisites attached. It's a real shame.

[opebo]

If there were an abundance of high paying jobs, programs like this wouldn't be necessary. In the late 1990s that's what we had, and it made welfare reform seem like a bigger success than it actually was.

There was an abundance of jobs then, but not high-paying ones.  Certainly anyone who had been on welfare was unlike to get anything other than a subsistence-pay level job even at the height of the boom.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

From the article one would expect a drop after the recession hit. The graph doesn't show that.

[J. J.]

From the article one would expect a drop after the recession hit. The graph doesn't show that.

There is another problem.  Poverty level is not the eligibility level.

[greenforest32]

Welfare reform is one of the most disgustingly reactionary laws ever passed in the USA. This, among other things, is why I don't get how so many democrats can like Clinton.

The lack of outspoken support I've witnessed from Democrats in recent years for transitioning from a liberal to social democratic welfare regime, or at least overhauling the current arrangement, has contributed significantly to my slow drift away from the party. The basic needs of people to pursue healthy, fulfilling lives ought to be the birthright of all - not an entitlement reserved only for people fortunate enough to already possess an abundance of capital, or who can eek by on meager state benefits secured by abiding to a variety of time limits and prerequisites attached. It's a real shame.

I agree with these sentiments. The welfare program is so pathetic and you aren't even eligible for it if you don't have kids. I was especially disappointed with our Governor recently on this issue: http://www.stateline.org/live/printable/story?contentId=583490

You must be logged in to read this quote.