A record number of Americans received food stamps in 2012. Citing the latest statistics released by the Department of Agriculture, the Weekly Standard reported food stamp participation was at an average of 46,609,072 people every month of 2012. In December of last year, 47,791,996 people received food stamps, or one …
On March 13, the House voted to restore the work requirements that the Obama Administration attempted to gut from the 1996 welfare reform law. The Preserving Work Requirements for Welfare Programs Act of 2013 was introduced in late February by a group of conservatives to undo the Administration’s actions. The …
Last summer, the Obama Administration gutted the successful 1996 welfare reform law by offering to waive its work requirements. Now the debate is back, as several Members of Congress are trying to restore the reforms that helped so many out of poverty. The work requirements were the heart and soul …
Federal budget cuts called “sequestration” are scheduled to hit in just 10 days. The sequestration cuts are not perfect—they’re a blunt instrument to cut spending, rather than a deliberative plan that sets priorities, trims entitlements, and cuts other spending. But they are law. It would be better to replace them …
During last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama proposed fighting poverty by raising the minimum wage. It sounds appealing but it will not work. Labor economists have repeatedly studied the effects of minimum wage increases. They find no correlation between higher minimum wages and lower poverty. Raising the …
In his speech today at Cleveland State University, Representative Paul Ryan (R–WI) laid out a vision for reforming the nation’s approach to poverty. “With few exceptions, government’s approach has been to spend lots of money on centralized, bureaucratic, top-down anti-poverty programs,” Ryan stated. “The mindset behind this approach is that …
Exotic dancers, robotic squirrels, and a reality TV show in India—your tax dollars supported all of these this year. Two reports just released—“Federal Spending by the Numbers 2012” by The Heritage Foundation and “Waste Book 2012,” a report by the office of Senator Tom Coburn (R–OK)—shed light on these and …
Tonight’s debate between President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney is supposed to focus on domestic policy, with a major concentration on the economy. Health care, the role of government, and philosophy of governing are also on the agenda. The Heritage Foundation’s policy experts have submitted 10 questions they …
