These discrepancies lead former Delaware Governor Pete du Pont to ask whether differences among the state programs might hold some lessons for successful welfare reform. Drawing on a recent study by National Center for Policy Analysis researchers Merrill Matthews Jr. and Kristin Becker, du Pont points out some of the obstacles to successful welfare reform. Failure to pass legislation to tighten time limits on welfare benefits. Additionally, he points to the practice in some states of relying on expensive education and training programs for the poor, rather than emphasizing the need for them to start working. Then there is the factor of excessively high welfare benefits.
Many states offer welfare compensation packages two to three times higher than the minimum wage.
Such benefits deter people from accepting perfectly decent jobs. Given Hawaii's record of failure in welfare reform, it is interesting to note that recipients there receive the largest compensation package in the country.