As for the other 25 percent, the CEA admitted, it had no clue. The news media were no more diligent in their investigation of the welfare roll figures. In fact, there are many possible explanations for the falling welfare rolls. None of this stood in the way of the success stories rolling off the presses. If there had been, we'd surely have heard about it.
Individual stories paint an even bleaker picture.
Ask anyone who is in everyday contact with welfare recipients, and they'll tell you dozens of stories of women who have been victimized by the new restrictions. Of 96 welfare recipients who said they had left the welfare rolls, only three reported that it was because they had found a job. But perhaps there's no need for that after all.