Background on Welfare & Labor

Welfare-to-Work

• The welfare reform bill, signed by President Clinton in 1996, ended the federal entitlement to welfare, imposed strict work requirements on recipients, and set a five-year lifetime limit for aid.
• In 1995, 88% of poor children received food stamps. By 1998 the figure had dropped to 70%.
• The welfare load currently stands at about 2 million recipients, which has dropped by about 1/3 since the welfare reform bill was enacted.

Faith-Based Organizations

• As welfare decreases, churches and other faith-based organizations (FBOs) pick up the slack.
• Churches are tax-exempt, and donations to churches and other charities are tax-deductible, so federal activity focuses on tax reform to encourage donations, by increasing deductibility on federal and state income taxes.
• Other recent Congressional bills focus on removing restrictions on religious organizations' activities, so that churches can bid on government block grants for performing welfare services.
• The lessening of restrictions on separation of church and state for this purpose is known as Charitable Choice.

Labor Issues

• Total union membership stands at about 16 million workers, or 14% of the workforce.
• Union membership has been falling steadily since 1958, when it stood at 35% of the workforce.
• The minimum wage is currently $5.15. Increasing it requires an act of Congress. Some candidates want to increase it now, and automatically increase it to keep up with inflation (known as "indexing").

Foreign trade and import regulations are covered on the Free Trade page.
Corporate welfare issues are covered on the Government Reform page.
Earned-income Tax Credits are covered on the Tax Reform page.