Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney attacked President Obama on the campaign trail, claiming that an executive order issued this week through the Department of Health and Human Services significantly weakens work requirements for welfare recipients. Romney claims as a result that freeriders will increase the welfare rolls in states across the country, shirking their duty to work and increasing the burden on taxpayers like us.
This spindrift spread quicker than one can say âCadillac driving welfare queensââwhich is Republican code for lazy African American women with lots of children who game the welfare system while being discouraged to work.
Romneyâs attack is a cheap but familiar ploy in the Republican Party establishment. The phrase âwelfare queenâ was first introduced into the lexicon of American politics by President Reagan in his failed 1976 presidential campaign, and was later modified by former Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, a speech writer for both Nixon and Reagan with well-documented racist views.
Let me be clear:Â Romneyâs assertion is a lie. The Obama campaign and many independent media and policy sources contend that the rule change does nothing of the sort. Rather, it gives states the kind of flexibility to make their own determination what counts as work and whether it changes the status of recipient benefits. Under the current austerity measures most states have adopted this will have the likely effect of decreasing rather than increasing the number of welfare recipients. This outcome is consistent with the purpose of welfare reform in the 1990âs that wasâshockinglyâspearheaded by bipartisanship between former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former President Bill Clinton.
Romneyâs lie also highlights two facts about his own position and track record that Americans should consider closely. First, Romney says he is for âstatesâ rightsâ and as governor asked for this same flexibility concerning welfare requirements, so any rule change by HHS to grant states more authority to determine their own requirements is consistent with his position. Second, the implicit claim that Obama is being easy on welfare recipients belies Romneyâs own track record as governor of Massachusetts. The AP reports that âas governor, Romney offered welfare recipients free auto insurance, registration, inspections and memberships in AAA.â
Grandstand politicking and election year spindrift pushed aside, the rule change for welfare that gives states more authority to run their own show highlights a different issue that neither candidate has much traction on:Â what do about unemployment, declining wages, and job insecurity.
Although Obama consistently hammers on the message of economic recovery and economic justice going hand in hand, there is a deficit of real policy prescriptions forthcoming about how to reverse the plight of working Americans who are hurting more than ever thanks to Republicanomics. He has been unable to get the Jobs Act passed by a recalcitrant and pitiless Congress. Romneyâs record on jobs at Bain Capital is well-known:Â lower wages, less job security, outsourcing, and anything else to make a fast buck.
The problem is that welfare is increasingly necessary in an economic climate where recovery is slowly grinding forward by the numbers, but without real jobs to make it effective and lasting. Moreover, economic inequality in this country is at its highest point since the Great Depressionâthe wealthiest Americans are reaping the most rewards while the rest of us are suffering. Furthermore, corporate profits and the mountains of cash they are sitting on are at near-record highs, but they refuse to invest in their country.
Forget about the facts, please. Letâs talk about those rich black âwelfare queensâ and how they are cheating us hardworking white males. Thatâs the real message Romney is purveying and it is putrid, ugly, and profoundly un-American.