Barbara Ehrenreich, of Nickel and Dimed fame, raises the important point that 1996's welfare reform -- brought about to rightly incentivize work while discouraging dependence -- failed to imagine what our country's social safety net would look like in some distant future (at the time inconceivable) of high unemployment.
Suddenly, TANF and EITC benefits that are linked to work are available to only a tiny fraction of the population in need, as evidenced by relative stagnation in enrollment. Compare this with the rising ranks of those receiving Food Stamps, which are not tied to employment. Food Stamp enrollment has grown from a then record-high of 29.1million in July 2008 to 33.2 million in June 2009. This is ONE in every NINE Americans.
Ehrenreich also notes the changing perception of public benefits among individuals who were -- as recently as last year before losing their jobs -- middle-class. She describes their humiliation when going through a bureaucratic application process that requires finger printing in four states, and is more than likely to bring feelings of self-defeat in the remaining forty-six. Clearly we need to deter benefits fraud and incentivize work and independence, but it's worth exploring application and delivery channels that begin to help empower rather than merely running over the downtrodden once more.
A private sector solution perhaps??
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/opinion/12ehrenreich.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=barbara%20ehrenreich&st=cse
7.03.2009
"Less Educated Take the Worst Hit" - WSJ 6/7/09
The June 7 Wall Street Journal reported that the least educated are taking the biggest hit as unemployment numbers continue to rise, with the unemployment rate for workers over 25 who have not gone beyond high school rising to 10% in May, almost double the rate year-on-year. The picture is still bleaker for workers who haven't completed high school -- an unemployment rate of 15.5%, up from 8.4% last year.
The spread has stimulated demand for community colleges (remember when they used to accept new students??) and GEDs as employees try to fill gaps in resumes. Also notable was how acutely current job loss has hit less educated men over women -- construction and manufacturing jobs down with mild growth in education and health has meant that men have a jobless rate of 10.5% compared to women's 8.0%.
The spread has stimulated demand for community colleges (remember when they used to accept new students??) and GEDs as employees try to fill gaps in resumes. Also notable was how acutely current job loss has hit less educated men over women -- construction and manufacturing jobs down with mild growth in education and health has meant that men have a jobless rate of 10.5% compared to women's 8.0%.
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