Clinton’s welfare reform federalized old poor law family-responsibility principles

Evidence

Clinton’s welfare reform act is infamous for installing both workfare and marriage promotion at the heart of American social policy. It is less well known that PRWORA essentially federalized a principle of poor relief dating right back to the old poor law tradition—the principle, that is, of private family responsibility for the welfare of dependents. Even less well known is the fact that Ronald Reagan first initiated this project as Governor of California in the 1970s, when he sought to revive the state’s old poor law rules for compelling family members to look after impoverished relatives. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 211

Fifteen years later, we find Becker congratulating President Bill Clinton on his efforts to “end welfare as we know it.” These efforts would soon bear fruit with the passage of Clinton’s monumental welfare reform act of 1996—the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)—a piece of legislation that dramatically restricted the scope of AFDC. Clinton’s welfare reform act is infamous for installing both workfare and marriage promotion at the heart of American social policy. It is less well known that PRWORA essentially federalized a principle of poor relief dating right back to the old poor law tradition—the principle, that is, of private family responsibility for the welfare of dependents. Even less well known is the fact that Ronald Reagan first initiated this project as Governor of California in the 1970s, when he sought to revive the state’s old poor law rules for compelling family members to look after impoverished relatives. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 211

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader scholarship tracing neoliberal welfare policy back to pre-modern poor law traditions rather than novel invention. — connects to: Reagan’s California welfare reform enacted neoliberal family-responsibility policies — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 242; Family responsibility for welfare traces to the Elizabethan poor laws of 1601 — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 216; Neoliberal welfare reform aimed to convert natural family charity into legal duty — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 241 (+6 more)
• SEED: Article angle: tracing the 1996 welfare reform’s continuity with English poor law family-responsibility doctrine as a centuries-old lineage of privatizing dependency.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 211

Broader Connections

• Reagan’s California welfare reform enacted neoliberal family-responsibility policies #corroborates (0.82) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 242
• Neoliberal family duty rhetoric derives from Elizabethan poor law logic #corroborates (0.80) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 922
• Family responsibility for welfare traces to the Elizabethan poor laws of 1601 #expands (0.78) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 216
• Neoliberal welfare reform aimed to convert natural family charity into legal duty #corroborates (0.75) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 241
• Public assistance enforced private family obligations before disbursing any state funds #expands (0.74) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 221