The Welfare Reform Act at 30: Work is still the answer

Policymakers ought not forget the special ingredient of the 1996 welfare reform.

Thirty years ago, on Aug. 22, a new era of welfare reform began when President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The legislation, also known as the Welfare Reform Act, was a bipartisan success, a sign of an emerging consensus that giving money away with no strings attached was destructive. The resul…