Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Making Welfare Recipients Work Is a Question of Values

The issue is more about political and moral philosophy than it is about economic policy.

August 1, 2018 at 1:00 PM UTC

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

Fulfilling a social contract? — Fulfilling a social contract?
Photographer: Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images

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The wisdom of work requirements in safety-net programs for low-income Americans is being hotly debated in the U.S. Congress, state capitols and policy circles. In the coming weeks, Congress might expand work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. With the authorization of the federal government, some states are currently attempting to impose work obligations on recipients of Medicaid, a program that provides health coverage to low-income households. The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report in July on expanding such requirements in non-cash safety net programs, including housing assistance programs.

Whether there should be a mandatory work component in public policies designed to assist low-income households is in part a question of technical economics. Do such requirements lead to higher rates of employment among targeted populations? Does the safety net as currently structured discourage work? Do the realities of the low-wage labor market make a proposed requirement sensible policy?