Page 12 - Robert Rector News Today

The 1996 welfare reform began necessary changes to the disastrous old welfare system. The rewards to non-work in the TANF program have been substantially reduced. But much more remains to be done.

Although it does not restore entitlement status to TANF funding, the Baucus "WORK" bill overturns nearly every other element of the 1996 welfare reform. It also significantly expands the size and scope of the welfare state; the new spending contained in the billis around $10 billion over five years.

For a century or more, the redistribution of economic resources has been a major, if implicit, function of modern government.

The landscape of government welfare has changed since the historic decision.

History may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. The debates surrounding President Richard Nixon’s Family Assistance Plan from 1969 to 1972 and those of “pro-family” policy today are no exception. 

A Five Point Checklist For Successful Electricity DeregulationLegislation

Richard Nixon's welfare reform effort contains lessons for today's policymakers.

Congress has returned to Washington, but not for long. The looming midterm elections mean that lawmakers are here only for what USA Today calls “a three-week sprint” before they’re back out to campaign. That, in an age of growing dependency on government, means voters can expect to hear more pandering. ‘Tis the season for promises of government largesse. The critical variable is how much the politicians will offer — or rather, how much taxpayers will ultimately be on the hook for.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s annual poverty report, released this morning, found that 46.2 million Americans, or one in seven of us, were poor in 2010. The prolonged recession, with its high levels of unemployment, clearly has swollen the ranks of the poor.

The welfare reform of 1996 stands as perhaps the most important entitlement reform in the nation’s history.