wfn.org | Faith and Life commentary: Welfare - an unfinished task

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Sept. 7, 1999 News media contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
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NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photograph of the Rev. Phil Wogaman is available.

A UMNS Commentary
by the Rev. Phil Wogaman*

The welfare reform act of 1996 observed its third birthday this summer.  It
replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (AFDC) with
stringent work requirements, eligibility standards, time limits and
diminished federal responsibility.  The AFDC and related welfare programs
had not been supported with much enthusiasm, but the welfare reform act was
highly controversial -- praised by many as an end to welfare dependency,
condemned by many as a heartless renunciation of public responsibility for
the poor.  

The returns aren't all in yet, but studies of the effects of the changes are
beginning to accumulate. The most dramatic result has been a sharp decrease
in the numbers of people on welfare. The rolls have been cut nearly in half
since 1994. If the objective is solely one of getting people off the dole,
then it has been a huge success. Of course, it could be an even greater
success just by eliminating welfare programs altogether!  

Most people are not that heartless. American religious bodies have been slow
to endorse the welfare reforms. Their concern is not just to end welfare; it
is to end poverty. They care especially about the economic well-being of
children and others who, through no fault of their own, haven't enough
income to meet their basic needs.

To be sure, the returns are not all bad. Many of those who have gotten off
welfare and taken jobs have wound up with more, not less, income. They are
the success stories. But, as noted by Ron Haskins, staff director of the
welfare panel of the House Ways and Means Committee, "there are people who
are worse off." A Ways and Means Committee report indicates that the poorest
20 percent of families headed by single women lost an average of $577 per
year, leaving them, on average, with only $8,047 annually. It is also
disquieting to learn that large numbers no longer receive food stamps, even
though they are still eligible, and that about a fourth of America's
children lack medical insurance.

If such poverty persists even during a period of almost unprecedented
national prosperity, what might we expect during an economic downturn?  I
don't know anybody who wants to return to the old system as it used to
exist, but surely there is room for improvement.  Ways must be found to
ensure that no child in America goes hungry or lacks medical care. It would
be better to risk some receiving benefits they do not "deserve" than to risk
some not receiving benefits they really need. In the end, what we do about
poverty helps define who we are as a nation.

I am struck by another anomaly in the attitudes of many people toward
welfare. There is a national movement, especially among religiously
conservative people, to return as many mothers to the home as possible. In
part that represents a well-founded recognition that children need a lot
more parental attention than they often get when both parents are employed.
In part, it may only be nostalgia for a situation that never really existed.
And in part, it may represent negative attitudes toward equality for women.
But in any case, is it not strange that poor women should be exempted from
this? Currently law compels poor mothers to go out and get a job, even if
this means serious neglect of children at home.  

All in all, it is evident that there is need for still more reform: to
assure adequate income for all, to take care of those who cannot
realistically be expected to find jobs outside the home, to be sure that
everybody has adequate health insurance, and to guarantee real educational
opportunity for all. For many of us, examining the yet incomplete welfare
reform brings to mind the haunting words, "inasmuch as you have done it to
the least of these..."

# # #

*Wogaman, pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, is a
seminary professor of Christian ethics and author. He is a clergy member of
the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church.

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