Tom Blumer has a great review of how the Welfare Reform Act may be exceeding the expectations from when it was signed into law.
From a peak of over 14 million in 1994, and over 12 million at the end of 1996 (over 4.5 million families) when the new law took effect, the number of those receiving welfare came tumbling down to about 5.5 million by the end of 2000 — a decline of nearly 2 million
The index to data for all years back to 1960 is here
Dec. 31, 2000: 5,527 (from year-end 2001 reports)
Dec. 31, 2001: 2,101; 5,276 (from year-end 2002 reports)
Dec. 31, 2002: 2,045; 5,014 (from year-end 2003 reports *)
Dec. 31, 2003: 2,003; 4,844 (from year-end 2004 reports)
Dec. 31, 2004: 1,978; 4,701 (from year-end 2005 reports)
Dec. 31, 2005: 1,870; 4,396 (from latest available 2006 reports)
Mar. 31, 2006: 1,814; 4,231 (from latest available 2006 reports)
* – the Dec-02 column is mislabeled Dec-03 in these reports
The reductions in families and recipients on welfare over the last 5-plus years are almost 16% and over 23%, respectively, which the country’s overall population has increased by about 6%. The percentage of the population receiving welfare benefits has dropped from 1.95% at the end of 2000 to 1.42% — a per-capita drop of over 27%.
The majority of Welfares that ‘left’ the system, either went onto TANF, but MOST went straight onto SSI & SSP.
SSI Supplemental Security Income, and in several States, like California there’s an added cash payment check called, SSP State Supplemental Payment.
Now in January 2009, they just received yet another C.O.L.A., raise and an Individual gets $907 and a couple now gets $1,569.
This includes Foreigner’s that come here at age 65+. They apply & receive SSI & SSP.
Also included are any immigrants with a Sponsor, that can be their own child as their Sponsor. The Sponsor signs an Agreement statement that they are not Sponsoring the immigrant just to get them on Social Entitlement Programs and they IMMEDIATELY go straight to Social Security Administration Offices to Apply & Qualify for SSI and SSP.
California has CAPI, PRUCOL, and many ‘other’ programs that pay Cash payments to illegal, sponsored, non-sponsored, immigrants.
They immediately receive Medicare Part ‘D’ if they are 65+, also, MediCal, MediCaid, EBT-Food Stamp ATM Credit Cards in many circumstances although many on SSI & SSP do not get EBT-Food Stamp Cards some do, they are allowed endless Food Bank food, Food Commodities, Farmers Market Vouchers, HUD/Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, IHSS-In Home Supportive Services, Meals-on-Wheels, Medi-Trans, Free Bus Cards, Free Fishing & Hunting & Wood Cutting Cards, Shuttle busses to everywhere especially to local Casino’s to gamble, it goes on and on.
The Welfare Reform only ‘Shifted’ Entitlement grabbers from one to another.
This is what will happen if Obama goes ahead with his Cuts to Social Security & Medicare.
Seniors will Transfer their Assets to do what many people around where I live call, ‘Poor Down’. Sometimes called a Spend-Down.
This way they can qualify for SSI & SSP.
SSI & SSP pays ZERO TAXES, none. They get 95% of their Property Taxes back in October.
They get Heat & Air Conditioning Assistance also.
Once a person is qualified for SSI/SSP, it is very rare and seldom for them to ever leave this lucrative cash assistance program. I know a man that has been on SSI & SSP since the early 60′s. He’s been on it now for around 45 years.
He was put on SSI & SSP because he could not read and write because in those days if you skipped school nobody sent out a Social Worker to check why.
Many people have the misunderstanding of thinking SSI & SSP is a Paid-Into program. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most if not all SSI/SSP’s have never worked a single day in their lives. As I poster above, many Welfare Mother’s that don’t feel like ever working, become Morbidly Obese or addicted to Meth and/or Alcohol, because it is allowable for them to Qualify for SSI/SSP if they are an Addict and say they have ‘Bi-Polar Depression’ from the Addiction or ‘Anxiety’. It qualifies them for the lifetime checks.
Anyone of any age can Apply for SSI & SSP, there’s no work needed and no age limit.
SSI & SSP is growing so rapidly and quickly as many people discover the amount of benefits and cash, they are getting Pro-Bono Attorney’s across America into courts to convince ‘hearing’ Judges to qualify them for lifetime checks.
A person can say they have agoraphobia, fear of going out of their house and qualify for lifetime SSI & SSP.
As soon as they have received their 1st SSI & SSP checks from Federal & State taxpayers, they begin to live just as they did their whole life, not truely disabled at all only frauding the system to get paid to sit and get high.
I did the US Census as my 1st job in 2000. I live in a tiny mountain community of 256. Out of those 256, only 16 including myself had EVER worked a single day in their lives and were ALL on SSI & SSP. None of them were on SSDI-Social Security Disability Insurance/Income, for those that worked and had enough pay in time and Credits to qualify for Disability while still working on their job.
None had this type of Disability, only SSI & SSP.
There were quite a few that lived most of their lives on SSI & SSP and then it converted to Social Security & SSI & SSP at age 65+.
What I found out was that the Social Securities along with the added low-income assistance of SSI & SSP received more than the few that had worked for over 42 years and were on straight Social Security Retirement and Annuity payments.
So, it pays MORE to go completely onto the ‘Entitlement’ Programs.
The fantasy in the minds of people thinking that Legalizing the Illegals will Rake in the Tax Dollars to Save the Day for Entitlements is completely in denial or totally un-aware of how Latino’s work.
I know how they work because I grew up with them in Los Angeles, and there’s NO WAY they are going to pass up the opportunity to get onto SSI & SSP as soon as they are legalized.
They KNOW all about SSI & SSP and are only waiting to become legalized to go straight to all Social Security Administration Offices and apply & qualify for SSI & SSP.
That will dramatically ADD to the TAX FREE ‘entitlement’ program of SSI & SSP.
There will be so much imbalance from this the entire Entitlement system will Emplode.