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Welfare Reform: Just DO it
—
MEMO
—
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
To: Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Subject: Welfare Reform: Just DO it
A
recent report
by the Cato Institute pointed out that Massachusetts has the third-most
generous state welfare benefits in the nation (Total Value of Welfare Benefits: $42,515), behind only Hawaii and the District of Columbia
— and second-lowest percentage of work participation
(18%), above only Missouri. Hopefully this bill, while not perfect,
will be the first step in getting this runaway system under control.
Over the past several months, the House has rejected measures such
as requiring Social Security numbers for public housing, having the
Auditor do a complete audit of the DTA, requiring citizenship for
in-state tuition, etc. These and similar amendments have been
overwhelmingly rejected by the House. This callous disregard for the
people paying the bills in this state has been infuriating, particularly
in light of the highly publicized scandals in the EBT program.
CLT especially likes any and all provisions in H. 3737 which
finally crack down on fraud and institute penalties for abuse. For
years taxpayers have been burdened with tax increases while at the same
time all the abuse and fraud in the massive welfare system existing in
this state was ignored.
It’s time for the House to adopt reform by voting for H. 3737,
including those amendments that will make it even stronger.
Chip Faulkner
Associate Director
From Barbara Anderson
CLT Remembers Welfare Reform
As Bill Weld became governor, two things happened: the Commonwealth
had to live with his no new taxes pledge, so reform replaced throwing
good money after bad; and there was public outrage over the existing
welfare system, which not only wasted money but seemed to encourage more
people to be on welfare, and enabled child abuse.
Governor Weld teamed up with Democrats and together they reformed
the welfare system. This led to national welfare reform when President
Clinton worked with Congressional Republicans. For over a decade,
welfare seemed to be working more as it was intended, as a safety net
for those who really needed temporary assistance.
Then recently, we learned about EBT fraud and abuse. We are
grateful to those legislators who have kept this issue alive for reform,
and hope they will prevail with the new bill addressing it. We support
the stronger reforms that have been filed as amendments by Rep.
O’Connell and others. Best wishes.
Barbara Anderson
President
Every tax is a pay cut ...
... A tax cut is a pay raise
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪ PO
Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead, MA 01945
▪ 508-915-3665
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