While the fake-news media distract us with accusations, allegations, and assassination of his character, President Trump dutifully goes about doing what the American people elected him to do: implementing, by Executive Order, "Principles of Economic Mobility" designed to rescue our fellow citizens who are trapped in poverty and dependency, moving them from the cushy hammock of welfare to the ennobling ranks of the employed.
The White House website proudly announces the initiative, prefaced by this quote from the President: "We can lift our citizens from welfare to work, from dependence to independence, and from poverty to prosperity." The announcement continues:
ACTION TOWARD REFORM: President Trump’s Executive Order on Economic Mobility takes the first steps toward welfare reform in America.
- The order provides nine “Principles of Economic Mobility,” which will guide agencies that administer public assistance programs to effectively reform the welfare system by directing that they:
- improve employment outcomes and economic independence;
- promote marriage and family as a way of escaping poverty;
- address the challenges of hard-to-employ populations;
- provide more flexibility to States, while ensuring accountability for achieving outcomes;
- streamline services to more effectively use taxpayer resources;
- reserve benefits for those truly in need;
- consolidate duplicative programs;
- facilitate greater sharing of information between States and localities; and
- empower the private sector to find solutions to poverty.
None of this should be controversial. Who can dispute the wisdom of these principles? Who can be against improving, addressing, providing, streamlining, consolidating, facilitating, or empowering? Who would argue that benefits ought not to be reserved "for those truly in need"?
Nor is this a solution in search of a problem: welfare and welfare dependency continue to corrode the soul of America. As the White House notes, "WELFARE ENROLLMENT FOR ABLE-BODIED ADULTS IS AT RECORD HIGHS: Welfare enrollment is at a record high for able-bodied adults in America, despite near-record low unemployment in most places." As much as President Trump has accomplished in only one year in office--Under President Trump, unemployment has hit and remained at near-record lows, and businesses are facing labor shortages. The United States unemployment rate has remained at 4.1 percent for the third straight month, which is the lowest level since 2000. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has not exceeded 4.8 percent during President Trump’s tenure—the culture of dependency has only grown worse. There are, sadly, millions of slackers and shirkers among us:
Welfare enrollment has remained at or near-historic highs. In January 2018, over 74 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a 29 percent increase over the 2013 baseline period. Today, there are a record 28 million able-bodied adults on Medicaid. In fact, since 2000, the number of able-bodied adults on Medicaid has quadrupled.
The numbers don't lie; even when you subtract children, the elderly, and the disabled, you have a scandalous number of idlers. The President, due to his business acumen and his stable genius, has a simple and obvious solution, which the White House announces in appropriately bold font:
WORK IS THE SOLUTION: Adding or enforcing work requirements for able-bodied adults on welfare is an effective solution to help millions of Americans regain their independence.
Skeptics will say that the devil is always in the details, but the White House has the details covered and, therefore, the devil kept at bay:
- The order focuses on increasing opportunities for those in need by:
- strengthening current work requirements;
- empowering States, localities, tribal governments, and private-sector entities to serve individuals and families in need; and
- using taxpayer dollars for their intended purpose, which includes ensuring only eligible persons receive benefits.
- The order directs Federal agencies that administer public assistance programs to:
- review all regulations and guidance documents relating to work;
- ensure such regulations and documents are consistent with the principles for reform;
- send a report to the President on what they can do to get Americans back to work; and
- take steps to implement such recommendations.
After decades of failed "War on Poverty" programs, at last we have a commonsense approach to poverty: "Get a job, lazy bums! Get married, raise a family, and become productive citizens!"
Or else.
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