Welfare has not worked well. Individuals on welfare often feel degraded. Often, family life has been destroyed, particularly among blacks. Often, children who grew up on welfare remain dependent as adults. And so today there is a nationwide determination to reform welfare.
Welfare reform has two main goals.
The most obvious goal is putting people to work. When the American welfare program began in the Depression under President Roosevelt, it was for widows and their children. But over time, it expanded, especially under President Johnson. Today, one American in ten is receiving food stamps or some other form of assistance. Recipients include millions of people who are able to work.