What welfare cutbacks say about the wisdom of block grants, By Pamela M. Prah, June 24, 2011, Stateline.org: “Welfare advocates in Oregon were confounded this spring when they discovered that Governor John Kitzhaber wanted to limit to 18 the number of months welfare families could get cash benefits over their lifetimes – a stricter limit than existed anywhere in the country. Part of their disappointment stemmed from the fact that the idea came from Kitzhaber, a Democrat and one-time emergency room physician who had been viewed over two earlier terms as a supporter of generous help for the needy. ‘We were surprised that the governor had such an extreme proposal,’ says Charles Sheketoff, executive director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy. Kitzhaber, in Sheketoff’s view, ‘went after welfare programs with amputation in mind. We are pleased the legislature did more precise surgery and saved limbs.’ As lawmakers in Salem wrap up their session for the year, Oregon is on track to keep its five-year lifetime limit on cash benefits, the maximum allowed under federal law. But the same cannot be said for other states…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty