Did Bill Clinton's welfare reforms make the Great Recession worse?

The '90s welfare overhaul is hailed by many in both parties as a historic success. But it's coming under new scrutiny as the economy struggles

Then-President Bill Clinton in 1996
(Image credit: Matthew Mendelsohn/CORBI)

Pledging to "end welfare as we know it," President Bill Clinton in 1996 put his signature to landmark legislation that fundamentally reformed the American welfare system. The law has long been praised for ending excessive dependency on government largesse, and Republicans in particular have pointed to the law as a model for reforming other ballooning entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Social Security. But in truth, argues Jason DeParle at The New York Times, it was only in the light of the 1990s' booming economy that welfare reform appeared successful. Once the the Great Recession hit in the late 2000s, single mothers — welfare's main recipients — were left without a helping hand, largely because Clinton's reforms made it easier for states to deny handouts and instead use federal welfare grants to plug their own budget holes. Did Clinton's welfare overhaul actually make things worse?

No. Welfare only encourages poverty and single motherhood: Before Clinton's reforms, welfare "was responsible for accelerating the breakup of the black family and creating the mindless cycle of government dependency," says Donald Douglas at American Power. Single-parent families received a "smorgasbord of public services in addition to cash payments," which gave them "literally no incentive to find a job." Don't let liberals use the economic slowdown to resurrect a "left-wing dependency-style welfare state."

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