GREEN: Food stamps for votes - Washington Times

GREEN: Food stamps for votes - Washington Times


Welfare to work is the cornerstone of a reform passed in 1996 by a Republican Congress and signed by Bill Clinton. The Obama administration on Thursday announced it was taking steps to gut this landmark law.

The theory behind welfare reform was people on government assistance not only should work towards getting a job but actually want one. The law is credited with shrinking the welfare caseload by over 2.8 million, making them productive members of society. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will now undo the reform by offering states waivers on work requirements imposed on some individuals receiving welfare money. The change will create voters dependent on the state who will be more likely to pull the lever for the party committed to expanding government.

The work requirements HHS considers so onerous cover a wide range of activities currently supported by local benefits offices. “Job training, job skills, vocational education, learning english as a second language, pursuing a GED, and apprenticeship programs all provide preparation for people to get job skills under their belts,” said Heritage Foundation’s Katherine Bradley, former deputy director of the office of family assistance (which administers the welfare program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF). “That’s all going to stop because of this waiver. It’s going to give people who were getting help to become more employable no help. By removing the expectation that people leave the rolls and get jobs, it robs them of their dignity and chance to break the generational cycle of government dependency.”