Shrinking Welfare State
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In the reading, The Shrinking welfare State, The authors claim that with The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 more and more poor families will end up homeless and hungry. The new law limited the time individuals could receive aid, it required recipients of assistance to work within two years after receiving aid. The states were given the right to shorten that time period. The law also put a five-year lifetime limit on assistance. Benefits were prohibited to unwed parents under eighteen who do not live with adults and do not attend school. The new welfare legislation cut federal assistance programs by $54.5 billion over six years.
The authors contend that individuals seek assistance not because of laziness and a wish to get over on the "system". They insist that most of the people seeking benefits from the government need it due to their limited education and a lack of marketable skills. For this reason they say that the new legislation is only a temporary fix and once the period for benefits is over many individuals will be left out in the cold and hungry, literally...