Welfare then and now: 1990.(15 YEARS OF LIBERAL INTELLIGENCE)

WELL BEFORE BILL CLINTON pledged to "end welfare as we know it, the first issue of The American Prospect included a long article by Kathryn Edin and myself [see "The Real Welfare Problem," Spring 1990] urging liberals to rethink welfare. Our argument rested on two facts. First, both Edin's research and national surveys showed that single mothers seldom survived on welfare alone. Most made ends meet by getting additional money under the table. Second, this was no recent development. Welfare benefits had never been adequate to support a family. Politically, we argued, ...