gary macdougal welfare reform

Missouri’s dreadful welfare system is perhaps the worst in the nation, and Gov. Jay Nixon (D) has a unique opportunity to reform the failing program and provide significant and lasting changes that will improve the lives of thousands of Missouri’s citizens, but all indications are the governor won’t.

When President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act into law in 1996, some Democrats and virtually all Republicans in Congress, led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), predicted the law would lead to dramatic reductions in welfare. They were right.

When the Republican-controlled Congress promoted welfare reform as one of its top priorities in 1995, opponents accused them of being unsympathetic to the plight of impoverished Americans and insisted the proposed policies would end up harming true reforms.