**
Dr. Eowyn posted: "This morning's devastating news from the U.S. Census
Bureau: Americans on welfare (108,592,000) now outnumber Americans who work
full-time (101,716,000). They also out-numbered the total population of the
Philippines. For every 1 person working full" Respond to this post by
replying above this line
New post on *Fellowship of the Minds*
<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/> Why Americans don’t work:
Welfare pays better than
minimum-wage<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/10/25/why-americans-dont-work-welfare-pays-better-than-minimum-wage/>
by
Dr. Eowyn <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/>
This morning's devastating news from the U.S. Census
Bureau<http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/census-bureau-means-tested-govt-benefit-recipients-outnumber-full>
:
*Americans on welfare (108,592,000) now outnumber Americans who work
full-time (101,716,000). *
They also out-numbered the total population of the Philippines.
For every 1 person working full-time year round, there's 1.07 people
getting some form of means-tested government benefit. In fact, the labor
force participation rate under the POS is the lowest in U.S. history.
And the reason?
*Welfare pays better than a minimum-wage job in 33 of America's 50 states.*
That's what libertarian think tank Cato Institute senior fellow Michael
Tanner found in his study.
[image:
welfare1]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/welfare1.jpg>[image:
welfare2]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/welfare2.jpg>
Below is Tanner's essay in the *New York Post* of Aug. 19, 2013:
*When Welfare Pays Better Than
Work*<http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/when-welfare-pays-better-work>
The federal government funds 126 separate programs targeted towards
low-income people, 72 of which provide either cash or in-kind benefits to
individuals. (The rest fund community-wide programs for low-income
neighborhoods, with no direct benefits to individuals.) State and local
governments operate more welfare programs.Of course, no individual or
family gets benefits from all 72 programs, but many do get aid from a
number of them at any point in time.
Today, the Cato institute is releasing a new study looking at the
state-by-state value of welfare for a mother with two children. In the
Empire State, a family receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,
Medicaid, food stamps, WIC, public housing, utility assistance and free
commodities (like milk and cheese) would have a package of benefits worth
$38,004, the seventh-highest in the nation.
While that might not sound overly generous, remember that welfare benefits
aren’t taxed, while wages are. So someone in New York would have to earn
more than $21 per hour to be better off than they would be on welfare.
That’s more than the average statewide entry-level salary for a teacher.
Plus, going to work means added costs such as paying for child care,
transportation and clothing. Not to mention that, even if it’s not a
money-loser, a person moving from welfare to work will see some form of
loss — namely, less time for leisure as opposed to work.
Is it any wonder, then, that, despite the work requirements included in the
1996 welfare reform, only 27.6 percent of adult welfare recipients in New
York are working in unsubsidized jobs? (Another 13 percent are involved in
the more broadly defined “work participation,” which includes job search,
training and other things.)
Welfare is slightly more generous in Connecticut, where benefits are worth
$38,761; a person leaving welfare for work would have to earn $21.33 per
hour to be better off. And in New Jersey, a worker would have to make
$20.89 to beat welfare.
Nationwide, our study found that *the wage-equivalent value of benefits for
a mother and two children ranged from a high of $60,590 in Hawaii to a low
of $11,150 in Idaho. In 33 states and the District of Columbia, welfare
pays more than an $8-an-hour job. In 12 states and DC, the welfare package
is more generous than a $15-an-hour job.*
Of course, not everyone on welfare gets all seven of the benefits in our
study. But, for many recipients — particularly the “long-term” dependents —
welfare clearly pays substantially more than an entry-level job.
To be clear: There is no evidence that people on welfare are lazy. Indeed,
surveys of them consistently show their desire for a job. But they’re also
not stupid. If you pay them more not to work than they can earn by working,
many will choose not to work.
While this makes sense for them in the short term, it may actually hurt
them over the long term. One of the most important steps toward avoiding or
getting out of poverty is a job.Only 2.6 percent of full-time workers are
poor, vs. 23.9 percent of adults who don’t work. And, while many
anti-poverty activists decry low-wage jobs, even starting at a minimum-wage
job can be a springboard out of poverty.
Thus, by providing such generous welfare payments, we may actually *not* be
helping recipients.
There should be a public-policy preference for work over welfare. And while
it would be nice to raise the wages of entry-level service workers,
government has no ability to do so. (Studies have shown that attempts to
mandate wage increases, such as minimum-wage hikes, primarily result in
higher unemployment for the lowest-skilled workers.)
If Congress and state legislatures are serious about reducing welfare
dependence and rewarding work, they should consider strengthening work
requirements in welfare programs, removing exemptions and narrowing the
definition of work.
In New York, lawmakers should consider ways to shrink the gap between the
value of welfare and work by reducing current benefit levels and tightening
eligibility requirements.
Click here <http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2619084432001> to watch Fox
Business' interview with Tanner.
*Dr. Eowyn <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/>* | October
25, 2013 at 6:42 am | Tags: labor force participation
rate<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=labor-force-participation-rate>|
Categories: Culture
War <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=20812>,
Economy<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=17656840>,
Liberals/Democrats/Left
<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=115894710>, Obama's
America <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=12285619>,
Taxes<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=34919470>,
United States <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=5850>,
Welfare<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=35261655>| URL:
http://wp.me/pKuKY-nak
Comment<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/10/25/why-americans-dont-work-welfare-pays-better-than-minimum-wage/#respond>
See all
comments<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/10/25/why-americans-dont-work-welfare-pays-better-than-minimum-wage/#comments>
Unsubscribe<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=7f89380f46003915c34c2cdd2b126a38&email=bovinescatologists%40gmail.com&b=Lau95vI%2CNeyNHur9dF%7EzHjZOFnwRx%26-7%5De9ueK%5Bt56Kx%266NYaC%5D>to
no longer receive posts from Fellowship of the Minds.
Change your email settings at Manage
Subscriptions<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=7f89380f46003915c34c2cdd2b126a38&email=bovinescatologists%40gmail.com>.
*Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/10/25/why-americans-dont-work-welfare-pays-better-than-minimum-wage/
Thanks for flying with WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com>
--
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"PoliticalForum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
