“Change in welfare rules could cost state $90M”
The incredibly large – and misleading – headline dominating today’s St. Louis Post Dispatch screamed.
The article noted that Missouri may be forced to slash grants to a variety of non-profits because of a change in federal government rules proposed by the Biden Administration. Huge grants to the St. Louis Area Food Bank, Nurses for Newborns, Boys and Girls Clubs and other worthy groups could end.
Actually, killing these grants makes good sense and better policy.
Quick background…
A generation ago federal Aid To Families With Dependent Children money morphed into Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Funding went from ‘as required’ to a federal block grant. This came about because Newt Gingrich insisted that President Bill Clinton reduce welfare spending to force struggling adults into low-paying, union-free dead-end jobs. The Arkansas president (with a wife who had sat on the Walmart board of directors) went along to get along and 1996’s ‘personal responsibility’ welfare “reform” act became law.
That didn’t end poverty, nor did it fill bad jobs.
The idea that helping struggling families wasn’t productive did catch on with Republicans. Over the years benefits froze or were reduced in many states. Here in the Show Me State (a.k.a. the We’ll Show You State) the GOP forced strict limits on Temporary Assistance into state law. For most of a decade a family – most often a woman with a child or two – can receive Temporary Assistance for just 60 months during their lifetime in most cases. Benefits remained minuscule, with Governor John Ashcroft being the last Missouri leader to sign an appreciable increase TA benefits. The result? Let’s look…
TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE
Jan. 2011 Jan. 2024
Children 77,233 9,836
Adults 37,665 3,028
TOTAL 110,888 12,864
Month’s Benefits $10,278,068 $1,245,564
Per Family $ 239.14 $ 232.51
Per Day $ 7.71 $ 7.50
1/24 & 1/11 MMR
Remember, Temporary Assistance gets paid out of a block grant. When the number allowed to get aid drops the state gets to use the largest portion of the federal grant for other things.
That’s the $90,000,000.00 question the Post fumbled.
Yes, aid to non-profits doing good for lower-income families is not a bad thing. And, the state’s reliable grants allow those charities to pay good, non-poverty level salaries to their staffs (even a hundred grand a year or more in some cases).
Here’s my problem: the money, by law, ought to provide direct support to struggling families. As the Post article acknowledges, the Biden team ‘s proposed changes “would ensure more federal and state welfare dollars make it to poor families, rather than being spent on other programs.”
GOP policy in Missouri remains keeping poor people poor. Struggling families can’t be trusted with money. So, as the Post noted, the Department of Social Services instead of looking at ways to expand funds provided to families for rent, utilities, transportation and such is asking the state’s Attorney General to challenge the federal proposal. (Don’t worry, he will.)
Actually, my biggest problem with Missouri’s use of the Temporary Assistance block grant got overlooked by the region’s paper of record: for years federal rules have allowed – and Missouri does this – TA block grant funds to be given to anti-abortion groups. Yes, money that could be used on heating bills for struggling families instead pays for “clinics” where the answer to every question is always the same.
Great system.
Missouri January 2024 Benefits
Food Stamps
Participants 655,779
Benefits $128,296,970
Per Person $ 195.64
Per Meal $ 2.10
MO HealthNet (Medicaid)
Patients 1,393,771 (down 2.7% from 1/23)
Cost $1,221,277,068
Per Patient $ 789.75
Managed Care $ 330.61 Per Patient
Glenn Koenen