On Tuesday, the Virginia senate approved a bill that would require an initial drug screening of welfare applicants, followed by drug testing if officials suspected illegal drug use. Those who test positive or refuse to test altogether would lose Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (cash assistance) benefits for a year. …
“What’s needed most right now is creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed.” “Let’s move beyond the old, narrow debate over how much money we’re spending [on anti-poverty programs] and let’s instead focus on results—whether we’re actually making improvements in people’s lives.” Those quotes would certainly resonate with …
The recent release of the Census report on an upsurge of the number of Americans in poverty will almost surely be used to justify a spike in funding for federal anti-poverty programs. Yet after decades of increased spending on failed government anti-poverty programs, why should we expect a different result …
“Need Welfare in the Bronx? Come Back Tomorrow, Maybe” — that’s the title of a recent Womensenews.org piece that questions the success of welfare reform. Caseloads may have dropped, argues author Anna Limontas-Salisbury, but the system leaves those in need feeling frustrated and discouraged. Specifically, she blames the system’s inefficiencies …
Despite its failure last week, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) is continuing to push his tax-extenders bill. Bundled together with the many egregious pieces of this bill is a $2.5 billion Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) emergency fund. This provision ties right into the current administration’s philosophy on government welfare: …
President Obama’s budget outlines a plan to pay states to grow their welfare roles and eliminate efforts to fight family breakdown in low-income communities. Despite the fact that low work hours and fatherlessness are two of the greatest contributors to poverty in the United States, the newly released budget provides …
