Copyright 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
March 17, 2002 Sunday, Home Edition
SECTION: Editorial; Pg. 10D

LENGTH: 783 words

HEADLINE: Diploma beats 'I do' in relieving poverty

SOURCE: AJC

BODY:
In his new welfare-reform program, President Bush stresses the importance of putting a Mrs. in front of a woman's name. He should put even more emphasis on putting a B.A. behind it.

Nothing is more effective than education in lifting women out of poverty. With half of new marriages ending in divorce --- the rate is even higher among people on welfare --- a college degree provides more long-term economic security to low-income women than a wedding ring.

Nonetheless, Bush wants to spend up to $300 million steering low-income couples toward marriage. His goal is probably valid: As the president points out, research shows that children fare better in two-parent households. However, there's absolutely no evidence that government persuasion will succeed in pushing people toward the altar or keeping them together once married.

Furthermore, marriage is hardly a direct route to a house in the suburbs, a two-car garage and middle-class bliss. Nor is it a panacea to poverty. After all, 38 percent of poor children in this country today already live in two-parent homes.

"It's like telling Enron to merge with an insolvent company as a way out of bankruptcy," says Peter Goldberg, president of the Alliance for Children and Families.

Instead of playing matchmaker, government is better suited to helping welfare recipients find jobs, get training and to subsidizing housing, transportation and child care expenses not covered by their meager paychecks. Unfortunately, the Bush plan doesn't really address those core problems. In trying to improve the landmark welfare-reform program of 1996, the administration has settled on one basic strategy: Get tougher.

And while that may be appropriate in some cases, it is never the sole answer.

The current welfare program --- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families --- was created to end dependence on a previous welfare system that critics said subverted work and subsidized illegitimacy. To some degree it has worked.

Aided by a robust job market, TANF halved the nation's welfare rolls in five years. Unfortunately, though, many former recipients have landed in dead-end jobs, barely eking out a living for themselves and their kids. Nationwide, 41 percent of those who left welfare still live at poverty levels. Here in Georgia, the percentage of children living in poverty dropped only 1 point between 1990 and 2000, from 20 percent to 19 percent, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Those numbers aren't surprising. Mothers who leave welfare typically take jobs as cashiers, maids or in other low-paid, low-skill fields. The White House contends that these jobs are just steppingstones, but the research shows they don't lead anywhere.

"There really is no growth and no career ladder in most of these jobs," says Barbara Gault, director of research for the Washington-based Institute for Women's Policy Research. "These women don't keep switching to better jobs. They stay in bad jobs because they don't have the skills to get out of them."

As part of its get-tough approach, the Bush plan would also require that at least 70 percent of a state's welfare recipients report to jobs of some sort by 2007, compared with 30 percent now. He also wants those recipients to work at least 40 hours a week in exchange for benefits, compared with 30 hours now.

Creating those additional jobs will be expensive for state programs, in part because many of those on welfare today have very young children, lack a high school degree and often suffer from disabilities or substance-abuse problems. Getting to those folks will require intensive education, training and treatment, but instead of providing the resources to do so, the Bush plan reduces funding for comprehensive educational and training opportunities. Even under the current plan, states spend only 1 percent of TANF dollars on job-skills training.

Child care is another important problem. Single mothers often can't afford to work; their paycheck won't cover the cost of child care, especially for children with disabilities. The average day care subsidy to poor families is $65 a week, which is about half the market rate in Atlanta. And the Bush budget allows no increase in funding for child care assistance.

There's a lingering, sometimes willful misperception that welfare is a hammock, not a safety net, as the cruel cliche puts it. However, the average monthly welfare payment is only $350 a month, which is hardly enough to let recipients recline on a chaise lounge and eat bonbons all day.

True welfare reform creates hope among recipients that they can someday do better. Unfortunately, the Bush reform plan fails that test.

LOAD-DATE: March 17, 2002