December 8, 2015

A Tale of Two Welfare Systems

A liberal and conservative government tackle welfare reform.

It was the best of times for Wisconsin’s welfare program; and while it wasn’t the worst of times for New York City’s dole, the waste and excess in the program is growing. Any statesman knows that running a government welfare program is tricky business. While it’s good that there’s a safety net to catch citizens when they fall upon hard times, it’s hardly a role the government is well-suited to fill. Go too far and the government will find it’s taking from taxpayers to prop up the welfare queens.

Only look to New York City in the ‘80s and '90s to see this problem. More than a million New Yorkers were reliant on the city for aid. It took the administrations of two mayors to ensure welfare was going to the people that needed it the most — and not the moochers. Under the reforms, about 20% of recipients left the government dole to find jobs, to provide for themselves. It’s a similar reform that Scott Walker’s Wisconsin recently instituted, as Hot Air describes. Able-bodied adults were required to work at least 20 hours a week, or look for a job — with government assistance, we might add. It was the way for the government to provide a safety net, but a safety net that encouraged its citizens to bounce back into the work force.

But NYC’s bleeding-heart mayor, Bill DeBlasio — despite the previous administrations’ reforms — felt that the Big Apple’s welfare was too onerous. His administration cut some of the verifications and restrictions on welfare. Now, nearly 400,000 New Yorkers are receiving state assistance, an increase of 8%.

Is it another sign of hard times? Probably not, as the economy is on a slow recovery. And if New York residents listen to their liberal leaders, then the economy couldn’t be better. But the true economic bedrock is being laid in places like Wisconsin, where more people are at work, contributing instead of relying on the government to prop them up.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.