Should people work for welfare, or should welfare be paid with no strings attached? It is a controversial topic that has been with welfare since its founding. This page analyses the history, current status, public opinion, and ideas related to welfare work requirements.
History of Work Requirments
In 1996, the welfare system of the United States was reformed with the addition of a work requirement. Here is the history.
Current Battle
The current battle over work requirements is in Georgia. The State fought for approval to add work requirements to an expansion of Medicaid called Georgia Pathways. The Biden Administration withheld approval. The state took the administration to court and won. More.
Here are the rules of the work requirement in Georgia Pathways.
Reciprocity in Welfare
“No one should have to surrender his or her dignity as a condition for receiving help. There must be reciprocity as the framework of any meaningful relationship. In other words, the person should be given the opportunity to give in return for what is received.”
Here is more from Robert Woodson, a paster and poverty warrior.
Public Opinion
87% of Americans believe you should work for welfare. That is a startling statistic compared to so much else that is contentious in welfare policy and programs. The survey was conducted by AEI/Los Angeles Times and is detailed on the Welfare Opinion Page. Americans know intuitively that work is the best solution for poverty, and the statistics bear this out. The poverty rate for non-working adults is 30% compared to those working of 2% (See U.S. poverty statistics).
Work Penalty in Welfare System
There is a work penalty embedded in the federal welfare system. It is called “cliffs,” and it means that welfare recipients entering the workforce can lose their eligibility for multiple welfare programs all at once. This causes many of them to become worse economically if they get a job. Here’s more. This is an unintended consequence of 13 independent, uncoordinated programs (see U.S. Welfare Programs Page and the Purpose of Welfare). Most Americans are appalled when they find out a work penalty is embedded in our welfare system and don’t understand how such a system has not been reformed over the years. But the reality is that without the public pushing Washington for reform, leaders have no political will to take on the challenge (More on Welfare Reform Page).
Covid and Work
How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact America’s work ethic? Here is an analysis of employment levels, job openings, and welfare participation before and after the Pandemic.
Why Are Those In Poverty Not Working?
Here is the explanation from the Census Bureau. Only 7% say they are not being able to find a job.
The Value of Work
Americans know that work is the foundation for good middle-class lives and defines the nation’s cultural fabric. Perhaps Bill Clinton said it best: “I used to get up in the morning and watch my mother get ready to go to work. And we had a lot of trouble in my home when I was a kid, and she still got up every day, no matter what the hell was going on, and she got herself ready and went to work….. It kept food on the table, but it gave us a sense of pride and meaning and direction….I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for a child to grow up in a home where the child never saw anybody go to work…. I know that it’s sometimes hazardous to extrapolate your own experiences…. But on this, I don’t think it is.” (more on Poverty Quotes Page).
Historically, America has always felt strongly about work. Here are the words of Jason Pearle from the book American Dream describing FDR and the great depression. “Americans think people should earn their own way and resent it when adults, including single parents, do not work and rely instead on welfare. So fundamental is the commitment to work and self-sufficiency that President Roosevelt, in his 1935 message to Congress accompanying the original Social Security Act, found it necessary – even with Americans in the grip of the Great Depression – to declare: ‘the lessons of history . . . show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber’ and that welfare was a ‘narcotic’ and a ‘subtle destroyer of the human spirit.’ He even said that ‘we must, and we shall quit this business of relief.’”
Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much these days. They are split between their desire to see welfare spending and programs expanded or contracted. But one thing nearly everyone agrees on is the importance of work and the desire of our welfare programs to put work as a central pillar of our policy and programs. Americans generally believe people should work for welfare.
Government Programs With A Work Requirement
The TANF program and the SNAP Program each have a work requirement. The other 11 Programs in the Welfare System do not.
TANF stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and pays cash to low-income Americans. The program is one of the oldest welfare programs in the federal government and is structured to move welfare recipients from welfare to work over a five-year period.
A full description of the TANF program and its history is presented on the TANF Page. The program and its predecessor, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), have an over 50-year history, which since 1996 has included a work requirement. TANF caseloads dropped precipitously upon the addition of the work requirement, which was the goal of reform. Supporters tout these statistics as proof that work requirements moved people off of welfare and into jobs. However, critics argue that there were not enough jobs to go around and that too many welfare recipients merely dropped out of the program without work and were forced to seek help elsewhere. The debate continues to this day, but it is not very instructive. That is because TANF represents less than 5% of federal expenditures on welfare and is too small to be influential in the overall system.
The SNAP Program also has a work requirement. Generally, able-bodied adults between 18 and 50 with no dependent children can get SNAP benefits only for three months in a 36-month period if they do not work or participate in a workfare or employment and training program. However, this requirement is waived in some circumstances and was waived during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Something for Something
A majority of Americans feel work should be a condition of receiving welfare. Not only does our welfare system not have this attribute, but we spend billions of dollars as pure hand-outs and ask for nothing in return. Many critics of the welfare system believe welfare should be associated with reciprocity. That is, we should seek to get something for the dollars we spend on welfare for the good of society and for the good of the individual. Society is advanced by the individual’s growth in life skills, job training, and education, and we should seek this growth as we pay out welfare dollars. Our low-income neighborhoods have many needs that the poor can help address, such as child education (reading to kids as an example), child care, and neighborhood improvements. We should add “something for something” to our welfare system (more on the Welfare Reform and Welfare Issues Page).