Those TANF benefits? Pres. Clinton’s answer to welfare? They fell to 20 percent below their 1996 levels in 34 states. And six states have cut them, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Here’s a chart:
And more cuts are planned.
So what does this mean to you, a hardworking American? Well, you just may fall into the abyss, yourself. Or, if you’re blessed to have a job and lucky enough to be holding things together relatively well, you will start to see an increase in requests for public services. And if we don’t or won’t provide those, guess what happens? Emergency services get overtaxed (not in a tax-tax way, but in a used-tax sense) and you will see that in your household budget, maybe in higher insurance premiums or increased taxes to handle emergency medical calls from your neighbors who can’t afford an office visit, who wait to call their local fire department when things get so bad they just can’t suck it up any more. So really? While the Super Committee was a Super Failure, the safety net gets stretched to the point that you can drive city buses through the holes. I’m no math major, but looking out for those who can’t look out for themselves isn’t just the moral thing to do. It makes perfect economic sense.
