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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.