BuzzFlash presents The Angry Liberal
exclusively syndicated on BuzzFlash.com

Bush on Welfare Reform: "Hard Work is Good, I've Heard."

February 28, 2002

In 1996, Congress passed sweeping welfare reform legislation aimed at reducing welfare rolls. The same Republicans who would give themselves a pay increase one year later gleefully criticized others for undeservedly taking money from the taxpayers. I'll skip the "Congressmen who live in glass houses" comment and move on to the following: In the last five years, the welfare rolls have decreased from 5.1 million in 1994 to 2.1 million today. Does this mean that welfare reform was a success? Hardly. While I'm sure welfare reform shoved some unwilling folks into the job market, the job market also pulled hard at those same people. Plentiful jobs made it relatively easy to make the move. Of course, that doesn't mean that these new employees could make a decent living, but the prospect of filling low-paying jobs and cutting welfare costs thrilled Republicans. Remember, good conservatives don't care if you live or die as long as you do it quietly and cheaply. Yep, God loves these guys.

Tuesday, presidential place-holder George W. Bush announced a series of steps to further toughen the welfare system. Standing before a backdrop of Dramamine-laden African Americans, Bush talked about values like hard work and self-reliance. (These are only values if you're poor, by the way. By fighting to wipe out the inheritance tax in this country, Bush seeks to assure that the richest kids in America will never have to work or rely upon themselves. Ever. But I digress . . .)

In Dubya's brilliant plan to reduce welfare rolls in the middle of a recession, the national average of welfare recipients who currently have to work, currently at 30%, would be immediately forced to the 50% level, and driven to a 70% level by 2007. In addition, welfare recipients would have to work more hours per week, while trying to find a job and often, raise a family. Rumor has it that the first draft had listed in 87 places the word "bootstraps," but I can't confirm that.

What about the "unemployable" folks, you ask? Those who have drug- and alcohol-riddled pasts? Those who did poorly in school? Those with criminal arrest records? Those who failed at all of their previous employment attempts? Those who have never managed to accomplish a single thing on their own? I say to you, leave George W. Bush out of this. He's got a job.

That's my biggest gripe about Tuesday's announcement. It's not that the policy is short-sighted and mean-spirited. We're all used to that from Bush by now. I'm angry that George W. Bush, a man who has never in his life accomplished anything on his own, would dare to lecture others about hard work and self-reliance. How would he have a frame of reference? The White House has seen its tenants' workloads drop from the famous twelve- to sixteen-hour work days under Clinton to Bush's "Anthrax-schmanthrax! Laura's got meatloaf on the table!" bankers' hours. This is in addition to taking a vacation during the entire month of August, the longest vacation ever taken by a U.S. president (and don't even bother with the "No way! It's only the second-longest!" crap. Swinging by the White House on Friday to pick up clean towels and crushed ice on the way to a weekend at Camp David does not constitute the end of a vacation). Best of all, Bush's salary is double what Clinton made, having risen from $200,000 to $400,000, courtesy of a Republican congress. That's some bargain, America.

In short, George W. Bush is insisting that millions of welfare recipients accomplish something that he himself could not: They must make a success of their lives using only determination and hard work. If that doesn't work, I suggest they file adoption papers proclaiming George Bush, Sr. as their newly adopted daddy. Of course, this would probably produce 2.1 million presidential hopefuls in 2004. And if you're wondering who would win with so many candidates, it's simple. After a quick review in the Supreme Court, they all would.

Write The Angry Liberal at: thebigcheese@theangryliberal.com

© 2002, The Angry Liberal