The problem is that two-thirds of welfare beneficiaries are children.
Poverty can be dangerous.
The original argument of proponents of welfare reform was that Aid to Families with Dependent Children was an inadequate public-assistance program because it encouraged welfare recipients to forgo searching for a job. Thus, new Republican leadership in the Midwestern states lobbied for the program to be overhauled and the responsibility to be given to the states to take care of their indigent. The states won the battle for power and the responsibility for adopting and implementing welfare programs. One would think that the states would try new programs that would aid the poor, such as providing education, child care and job training to further the process of becoming self- sufficient. After all, the reduction of poverty benefits all.