FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR WELFARE HELP LIFT THE POOR OUT OF POVERTY
- BY FGA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR WELFARE HELP LIFT THE POOR OUT OF POVERTY
MORE THAN 80% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT WELFARE WORK REQUIREMENTS
As the welfare state has grown year over year, so has its impact on government budgets at every level, as well as the number of Americans trapped in welfare dependence. The challenge for lawmakers is to rein in the welfare state and promote polities to lift people out of poverty into independence and self-sufficiency.
Work requirements have been an integral part of the success of many welfare reforms since the 1990’s and remain extremely popular with the public, according to a report released Monday by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA). Unfortunately, governments at the state and federal level have moved to block or waive work requirements for more and more welfare programs, despite their track record.
“Excluding work requirements from our welfare programs ignores decades of success in helping vulnerable Americans become self-sufficient and free from government dependence,” said FGA research director Jonathan Ingram, author of the report.
“Welfare is at its worst when it’s a handout that discourages work, kills jobs, and creates a fiscal cliff for the poor. Welfare is at its best when it’s a targeted hand up that encourages personal growth and helps the truly needy through life’s temporary challenges.”
Excluding work requirements creates perverse impacts on the recipients. The absence of work requirements in the ObamaCare Medicaid welfare expansion, for example, could result in more than 2.5 million Americans dropping out of the work force entirely and could cost a new Medicaid expansion enrollee nearly $2,000 in benefits for simply earning $1 more than the eligibility limit.
The report does stress that work requirements do not have the power to make a disastrous welfare program successful, such as the Medicaid welfare expansion called for in ObamaCare. But work requirements should be a component of any welfare program running in every state. FGA’s report, “Work Requirements Work Well for Welfare” shows work requirements can lead to better lives and healthier budgets. You can read the paper here.
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