But life on welfare should be made inconvenient. Not because we want to punish women for foolishly deciding to have a baby before they had a husband and a job, but because we want to discourage their younger sisters and friends from making the same choice. Yes, welfare reform should be designed to get recipients off the dole. McIntyre, who has spent 32 years in the welfare department, fears the Legislature may be tempted to enact the substition of education for work without extending the work requirement to all able-bodied recipients. That, she says, would be disastrous.
Work is the fastest route out of dependence.
Nothing else can touch it. The best preparation for a job is a job. I believe that so deeply. Jeff Jacoby is a Boston Globe columnist. Comment by clicking here.