In his State of the Union address on January 28, 1988, President Ronald Reagan stated to great laughter that “…the Federal Government declared a war on poverty, and poverty won.”
On July 12, 2018, the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) issued a report declaring that the war on poverty is won; that the “vast majority” have enough to eat; that homelessness is “rare.” This victory, the Council concluded, provided a basis for increasing work rule requirements for welfare recipients.
The CEA report is based upon household consumption, not income measures. So, if work rules cause the loss of consumption ability, e.g., loss of food stamps, fewer folks will be in the “vast majority” with enough to eat.
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