That said, there are only two alternatives that deserve respect in the debate over welfare reform. One is the fifty-state approach. The other is the national approach. Other proposals, such as cutting off money to single teenage mothers or ending AFDC payments altogether, are ferocious political gestures that if implemented would put God knows how many children out on the streets. President, we will present only non-demagogic alternatives.
Welfare reform is properly the business of the states.
Because dependent poverty, though it exists across the nation, has stubbornly local roots. To deal with local roots, local remedies are needed. Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Maryland, among other states, have launched locally responsive experiments in welfare reform. Thus far each state has had to seek waivers from the federal government to permit these experiments. Let's systematize policy innovation.