Welfare | Welfare Does Not Cause an Increase in Out-of-Wedlock Births

In debating the 1996 welfare reform law, many political leaders argued that guaranteed welfare payments under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program offered women an economic incentive to have children, remain unmarried, and shun employment. As a result, AFDC was replaced by a program emphasizing time limits and personal responsibility. Michael B. Katz asserts in the following viewpoint that the easy availability of welfare payments was not to blame for the rise in out-of-wedlock births and dependency on public assistance. According to the author, limited job...

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