Welfare increases buying power, which yields jobs for local wage earners, and otherwise makes communities more attractive to business investment. Welfare can also forestall homelessness, the high cost of illness, and millions of dollars in new emergency services. Invests, does not disinvest in local communities. Support welfare as a way to promote human capital and economic development. Converting federal entitlements into block grants will save states and cities money.
Block grants introduce new financial risks and inequities.
They shift federal responsibility and costs to the states, while cutting federal support. If the demand for benefits exceeds available funds, the needy could be placed on a waiting list for cash aid or sent into the streets. In the absence of resources and political will, block grants will increase the likelihood of poverty for those in need. Localities will have to pick up the tab for the rising economic costs of shelters, foster care, and prisons, but also the social costs that accompany the presence of high numbers of sick, homeless, hungry, and jobless residents. Means maintaining the federal guarantee to assist the poor and improving its reach through universal and comprehensive programs.