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The John Batchelor Show

HEADLINE: Cutting Spending and Lost Lessons of '96 Welfare Reform GUEST NAME: Veronique de Rugy SUMMARY: John Batchelor speaks with Veronique de Rugy about evidence showing that increased healthcare spending may worsen outcomes. She highlights the 1996 we

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

News, Books, Society & Culture, Arts

4.52.8K Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 2 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

HEADLINE: Cutting Spending and Lost Lessons of '96 Welfare Reform GUEST NAME: Veronique de RugySUMMARY: John Batchelor speaks with Veronique de Rugy about evidence showing that increased healthcare spending may worsen outcomes. She highlights the 1996 welfare reform, which included work requirements and effectively reduced child poverty and welfare dependence. She argues that the understanding that cutting spending is key to a healthier country is now being lost, as some politicians push for policies creating disincentives to work.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is John Batchel, conversation with colleague Veronique de Rieh, about the plan in Congress to

0:07.1

spend more money on health care. Writing at the Creator Syndicate, Veronique points out with evidence

0:13.7

that spending more does not result in a good outcome. It can make it worse. And indeed, that was one of the things discovered in the late 20th century

0:24.7

of the Clinton administration. Reducing welfare improved the lives of the former recipients,

0:31.2

improved health care, prosperity, the children's lives. This has to do with taxes.

0:38.8

That's right.

0:42.1

Taxes and health care are connected in some fashion that isn't obvious at first.

0:45.8

Here she explains it.

0:48.8

Cutting spending is the key to a healthier country.

0:53.9

There's evidence.

0:56.2

I learn.

0:58.8

Here's Vernique.

1:00.6

So what Adam was talking about, and Adam is fabulous,

1:04.5

was the welfare reform of 96,

1:08.2

that effectively put a lot of constraints on getting welfare, including

1:13.6

work requirements. And it did reduce poverty, child poverty, and moved more people into

1:20.2

the workforce as we could have expected. And it's been just really kind of amazing to see how

1:26.7

effective it has been to reduce child poverty and to reduce dependence on welfare and to reduce poverty overall.

1:35.4

And it was understood for about 20 years, but we're losing that understanding.

1:41.3

And Democrats, for instance, now have actually closed the government just because they want,

1:46.3

you know, bigger extension on a lot more tax credits, tax credits that create an enormous

1:52.5

burden on government.

...

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