Paula Dwyer , Columnist

Mend, Don't End, Welfare Reform

The 1996 law promoted work and reduced poverty. But it needs fixing.

July 25, 2016 at 1:15 PM UTC

Paula Dwyer is a senior editor with the New York editing hub, focusing on daily and long-form enterprise. She was London bureau chief for Businessweek and Washington economics editor for the New York Times, and is a co-author of “Take on the Street: How to Fight for Your Financial Future.

They don't have a plan; they just hate mine.
Photographer: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton signed the landmark welfare-reform law against the wishes of some of his closest Democratic allies and with support from his normally hostile Republican foes. Debate still rages over what the law accomplished.

Hillary Clinton, who is set to accept the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday, is caught in the undertow of that dispute. She is reluctant to forswear one of her husband's biggest achievements, yet unwilling to lose faith with her party's liberal wing. What's a good Democrat to do in 2016?