Work Requirements? The Ongoing Lessons Of ‘America Works’

(Work requirements for government benefit recipients emerged as a major issue in the debt ceiling negotiations, and will be a major issue going forward. It’s time to listen to those who know best the impact of these requirements: former benefit recipients and the community groups that have assisted them.)

In the recent debt ceiling negotiations, work requirements for TANF (welfare) recipients and SNAP (food stamp) recipients became one the most contentious items. Democratic legislators denounced these requirements as “cruel”, “heartless”, and “senseless”, and vowed to continue to oppose them.