Study: Welfare pays more than minimum wage in most states

boozeman

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Study: Welfare pays more than minimum wage in most states


Published August 21, 2013
FoxNews.com


Welfare pays more than a minimum-wage job in 35 states, creating little incentive for Americans to take entry-level work and likely increasing their long-term dependency on government help, according to a new study by the libertarian think tank Cato Institute.




The finds come 17 years after the Clinton administration, with bipartisan support from Congress, passed landmark welfare reform legislation that was supposed to move Americans away from entitlements and into the workforce.

However, “welfare benefits continue to outpace the income that most recipients can expect to earn from an entry-level job,” the study authors said. “And the balance between welfare and work may actually have grown worse in recent years.”

Among the other findings is that welfare in 13 states pays more than $15 an hour, compared with the federal hourly minimum wage of $7.25.

The disparity was even higher in nine states in which welfare pays more than the average first-year teacher’s salary and in the six most-generous states, which pay more than the entry-level salary for a computer programmer.

The 52-page study, titled “The Work Versus Welfare Trade Off,” points out a full package of welfare benefits often exceeds take-home pay in part because benefits are tax-free.

The study’s author argues that if Congress and state legislatures are serious about reducing welfare dependence and rewarding work, they should consider strengthening welfare-to-work requirements, removing exemptions and narrowing the definition of work. This could include reducing benefit levels and tightening eligibility requirements.

Cato senior fellow Michael Tanner, who did a similar study in 1995, told FoxNews.com on Wednesday that the problem goes beyond legislative changes and that the country needs to reform its education system to better prepare Americans for the workforce.

He also repeated the argument that entry-level workers don’t stay at that level, arguing just 2.6 percent of full-time worker are poor and only 42 percent of Americans are engaged in work activities, which includes job training and looking for employment.

“We need to get people to think long term,” Tanner said.

The study was also released amid a renewed standoff in Washington and elsewhere over whether to increase the minimum wage.

Fast-food workers in at least seven states have recently gone on strike to demand higher wages.

And President Obama last month again called to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour for those who don’t get tips, saying “No one who works full-time in America should have to live in poverty.”

However, Congress appears to be in no hurry to fully address the issue.
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I do know that a lot of people who are on Welfare are not interested in simply working if the two are roughly equivalent. In fact, quite a few people take a job just to quit and go back on benefits.
 

boozeman

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Bump.

Comment you fricktards. This is a pretty important social issue as far as I am concerned.
 

Clay_Allison

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Bump.

Comment you fricktards. This is a pretty important social issue as far as I am concerned.
I've seen it. People on food stamps buying better food than I can afford then driving away in a WAY better car. I try not to think about it mostly.
 

BipolarFuk

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My advice would be to learn how to take advantage of the system as it is now and get you some free shit.
 

Cowboysrock55

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It's one of the biggest problems with our economy and no one seems to really want to address it. And no this won't address the problem

"Cato senior fellow Michael Tanner, who did a similar study in 1995, told FoxNews.com on Wednesday that the problem goes beyond legislative changes and that the country needs to reform its education system to better prepare Americans for the workforce."

If you give a lazy person the choice between work and no work with everything equal they are going to choose no work. Education is important but it won't fix the laziness issue. You can't force people to learn. It's why I wouldn't be opposed to having some people work to earn their welfare benefits. I'm sure the government could find something useful for people to do to earn their $250.00 in food stamps.
 

boozeman

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My advice would be to learn how to take advantage of the system as it is now and get you some free shit.
Trust me, there is a pretty decent sized segment of the population that does it. It see them every day.

"Eight bucks an hour plus production bonus? Hell, I can stay on Welfare rather than take this job. Ain't nobody got time for dat."
 

Cotton

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We have been all over this topic for years. The system in place will eventually bankrupt this country. That is if you don't consider being trillions of dollars in debt already bankrupt.
 

boozeman

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We have been all over this topic for years. The system in place will eventually bankrupt this country. That is if you don't consider being trillions of dollars in debt already bankrupt.
I don't give a shit about the bankrupting of the country.

I am more concerned about the sociological impact.

It creates an entitled society that honestly thinks things are owed to them and revels in their lower class victimhood.

Nobody wants to work, nobody wants to assume responsibility and it is leading to a new generation of complete freeloading garbage.
 

Cotton

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I don't give a shit about the bankrupting of the country.

I am more concerned about the sociological impact.

It creates an entitled society that honestly thinks things are owed to them and revels in their lower class victimhood.

Nobody wants to work, nobody wants to assume responsibility and it is leading to a new generation of complete freeloading garbage.
Yes, that's a valid concern as well.
 

Smitty

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I don't give a shit about the bankrupting of the country.

I am more concerned about the sociological impact.

It creates an entitled society that honestly thinks things are owed to them and revels in their lower class victimhood.

Nobody wants to work, nobody wants to assume responsibility and it is leading to a new generation of complete freeloading garbage.
Well none of those things would be a problem, if they wouldn't result in the bankrupting of the country.
 
D

Deuce

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I despise the mother's who don't work because they are cashing in disability checks for their kids. I've seen families where the mother has 4 kids and all are on disability for some lame reason, mostly ADHD. That's about a $650/month payment each minimum. All they're doing is pimping out their kids and even if they had a legitimate form on ADHD, they aren't getting them the care they need so they can show to the state that the checks need to continue.
 

dallen

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Time to raise minimum wage!
 
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