SocietyCommentary
Why the Left Is Wrong About Welfare Reform
Welfare reform is becoming an issue again and the left isn’t happy about it. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, recently proposed a bill, backed by the… Read More
SocietyNews
Obamaphone Fraud as High as 65%
A massive portion of Obamaphone recipients are receiving the benefit after lying on their applications, according to a new 90-page report from the Government Accountability Office. An undercover… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Welfare Currently Punishes Work and Marriage. This Bill Would End That.
There is much to celebrate in America today. Americans are, on average, wealthier, healthier, and better educated than we ever have been. We’ve made huge… Read More
SocietyNews
These 13 Counties Started Work Requirements for Food Stamps. Here’s What Happened.
Participation in the food stamp program plunged by 85 percent in 13 counties in Alabama after officials required that recipients must work, look for work,… Read More
SocietyFeature
How Work Requirements, Drug-Free Environment Saved This Single Mom’s Life
VISTA, CALIF.—It was two years ago when Amber Gann hit rock bottom. “My oldest daughter had told me, ‘You’re a drug addict, and I don’t… Read More
SocietyNews
Family Homeless Nonprofit Forced to Choose Between Government Funding and Drug-Free Policy
VISTA, CALIF.—Growing up, Teena Faison never imagined she’d find herself a single mom and homeless. “We didn’t wake up one day and go, ‘Hey, I… Read More
SocietyNews
How States Could Restrict Use of Food Stamps in Trump Era
Officials in at least two states are preparing to ask the new Trump administration for approval to prohibit use of food stamps to buy junk… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Taking the First Step Toward Welfare Reform
Since President Lyndon Johnson launched the War on Poverty in 1964, the federal government has spent over $22 trillion on means-tested welfare programs. And what… Read More
SocietyNews
Conservative Lawmakers Say Current Welfare System Is ‘Anti-Family’
With a new Republican administration in tow, conservative lawmakers are renewing their call for welfare reform that incentivizes families rather than punishing them. “When we… Read More
SocietyCommentary
15 Facts About US Poverty the Government Hides
On Tuesday, the Census Bureau released its annual poverty report declaring that 43.1 million Americans lived in poverty in 2015. We should be concerned about… Read More
SocietyNews
How the $12 Million Illinois Medicaid Gave to Dead People Hurt This Family
Jake Chalkey has defied doctors’ expectations. Born with a brain malformation, Jake wasn’t supposed to live past 2 years old. He suffered from life-threatening seizures,… Read More
SocietyCommentary
20 Years Ago, Welfare Reform Was Signed Into Law. Here’s What We’ve Learned.
Two decades ago, President Bill Clinton signed one of the most successful public policies into law: welfare reform. It was called the Personal Responsibility and Work… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Did Welfare Reform Really Throw 3.5 Million Children Into Third World Poverty? The Facts May Surprise You
Today is the 20th anniversary of welfare reform. Two decades ago, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, known as… Read More
SocietyNews
The Truth About How Many Americans Are Living on Less Than $2 a Day
Over the last 20 years, welfare reform has reduced poverty trends, national welfare experts say. President Bill Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Marriage Reduces Child Poverty, but Our Welfare System Penalizes Marriage
According to a recently released study from the American Enterprise Institute, 82 percent of lower-middle-class families with young children face “marriage penalties” in the welfare… Read More
SocietyNews
How These States Ensure Welfare Dollars Aren’t Used for Alcohol, Lottery Tickets
A new state law in Maine went into effect last month prohibiting welfare recipients from purchasing items like alcohol, lottery tickets, and tattoos with their… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Finally, a Proposal to Help Disability Beneficiaries Return to Work
A plan to ensure disability insurance isn’t abused has been introduced in Congress. The program could save taxpayers a substantial amount of money and maintain… Read More
SocietyCommentary
These States Added Work Requirements for Food Stamp Recipients: Here’s How It’s Working Out
Several states have grappled with welfare reform. A few states that have incorporated work requirements have seen encouraging outcomes that should provide a blueprint for… Read More
EconomyCommentary
As a Teen Cashier Seeing Food Stamp Use, I Changed My Mind About the Democrat Party
Mamaw encouraged me to get a job—she told me that it would be good for me and that I needed to learn the value of… Read More
EconomyCommentary
What We Can Learn From 1 Pastor About Winning the War on Poverty
One of the best parts of representing my home of North Carolina in Congress is getting to welcome constituents and friends to our nation’s Capital… Read More
SocietyNews
Governor to Obama in Food Stamp Fight: ‘Wake Up and Smell the Energy Drinks’
Maine Gov. Paul LePage may have considered a proposal to prohibit food stamp recipients from using their benefits to buy candy and sodas to be… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The Right Way to Fight Poverty (and Why Paul Ryan’s Plan Misses the Mark)
Twenty years after the welfare reform of 1996, House leadership is once again turning attention to policy for fighting poverty. Reforming the massive welfare system,… Read More
EconomyNews
House Bill Would Strengthen Welfare Work Requirement
Rep. Jim Jordan introduced a bill Thursday that would reform food stamps. “Welfare programs are meant to be a temporary safety net, but they have become… Read More
SocietyNews
Congress Examines Welfare Reform: ‘The Most Effective Anti-Poverty Program Is a Job’
For the first time in a decade, the House Ways and Means Committee held a full committee hearing on welfare reform, addressing how to get… Read More
EconomyCommentary
School Lunch Program: No Wealthy Child Left Behind
This week, the House is expected to markup its child nutrition bill, which covers programs such as school meals. The last child nutrition bill–the Healthy,… Read More
SocietyFeature
How Maine’s Time Limit on Welfare Pushed One Woman to Pull Herself Out of Poverty
Jill Rothrock knows the moment she hit rock bottom. It was 2007, and Rothrock went into the pharmacy in Bucksport, Maine, to pick up a… Read More
SocietyNews
Meet the Woman Who Oversaw Maine’s Welfare Reform
For Mary Mayhew, reforming the state’s welfare system hasn’t been easy. But the impact those reforms have had on Maine residents makes it all worth… Read More
Economy Commentary
Kansas Required Work for Food Stamps. Here’s What Happened.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “No country can sustain, in idleness, more than a small percentage of its numbers. The great majority must labor at something… Read More
SocietyFeature
A Preacher Turned Lawmaker and His New Campaign to Win the Old War on Poverty
Greensboro, N.C.—Mark Walker spent his childhood in and out of prison. He wasn’t an inmate, but the chaplain’s son at one of Alabama’s minimum-security state… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Maine’s Successful Welfare Reform and Why It Worked
States are often the best laboratories for testing out what public policies will make life better for their citizens. Maine’s experiment with welfare reform is a… Read More
