Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare came to my home city, Chicago, to discuss something I am passionate about: the dignity of work.
I know firsthand the way finding dignity in work can spur success – one’s own labor can transform circumstance, elevate status and allow a person to reclaim autonomy. In my 20s, I had the honor of taking care of my ailing mom – but it cost me my job and my income. When she passed away, I had no job, no money, no purpose. In the months that followed, I qualified for most welfare programs. But I never took them. And for that I am profoundly grateful. Instead, I got a job.
It was work that gave me not just an income, but a path back to hope and dignity.
Unfortunately, for too many Americans, this principle has been eroded by a system that often prioritizes handouts over empowerment. Our poor are given some money and told to go away. Today’s poverty story has advanced beyond just food and housing insecurity to a crisis of hopelessness and despair. Meaningful work can fix both.
For decades, the War on Poverty was fought with weapons of good intentions: welfare programs and food stamps. Despite spending over $12 trillion to fight poverty, the national poverty rate has remained between 11% and 15% for decades. In Chicago, it’s higher than it was in 1960 – up from 12% to 17%. While aid can provide short-term relief, only work can serve as a ladder out of poverty.
This was the case for Steven Blake, who sells fruit every day in the heart of Chicago. Years ago, Blake became homeless after serving our country in the military. He found relief and support across service agencies, but it wasn’t until he opened his own business that he found purpose and fulfillment. Today, he hires and trains other vendors – many of whom were once homeless, too.
Blake’s business operates within feet of men and women begging for help. He told me once, “This used to be me. Today I ask everyone that walks by how I can help them.”
That’s dignity. It’s what’s missing from our system today.
The current welfare system has pulled the ladder away from those it aims to help. It discourages progress with the so-called “benefits cliff,” where an incremental increase in earnings can result in a disproportionate loss of government benefits. This has left tens of millions of Americans with impossible choices: struggle to provide for their family by taking a job or earning a promotion, or reduce work activities and receive greater benefits from the government. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta modeled a scenario just like this in which a single mother of two children faced two benefits cliffs when she increased her income. In the models, even a small raise was associated with a net reduction of financial resources by $5,000 and $6,000 – incentivizing her to turn the extra money down.
We need to encourage, not punish, social mobility by smoothing out what is currently a stark drop in benefits when earnings increase. The federal government can do this by implementing a policy to taper off aid as income rises or by offering a grace period when someone’s employment or salary changes.
They can also pass laws to allow states to pursue more flexible and innovative approaches to workforce development, such as mirroring Utah’s “one door” policy, where everyone who receives government assistance has a single case manager and team. This model provides a seamless process for delivering services and getting people the help, job skills and work they need. But more importantly it is cost-effective and efficient. And by having a single team, it reduces the chances of any negative outcomes that arise from too many agencies working on cases in silos.
Another pathway to helping more Americans achieve dignity of work is implementing additional work requirements for those receiving welfare benefits. Our country enacted over 80 government welfare programs in attempts to eradicate poverty, but it failed to consider the harmful consequences of putting people into a system and denying them purpose and autonomy.
Historically, and in recent years, work requirements have been shown to reduce dependence on welfare programs. This was pioneered when the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program required a minimum number of hours worked for cash welfare recipients, overall reducing child poverty and time spent on welfare, while increasing employment. By continuing this trend and requiring able-bodied individuals to work or actively seek employment, we can cultivate a culture of self-reliance and responsibility.
In Chicago, full-time, year-round employment is associated with a 2.3% poverty rate. For those who were unemployed, the poverty rate is 39.7%. Let's give more people the chance to prove how much they can achieve when given the opportunity to work, to prosper and ultimately to flourish.
Our efforts can build a country where the Steven Blakes of this world are not exceptions, but the norm – where everyone who can work has the opportunity, and in doing so finds purpose and pride.
