Season 6: The Welfare-to-Work Industrial Complex

The Uncertain Hour

Marketplace

Government, News

4.8 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 March 2023

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There is a growing chorus of politicians who argue that there’s a simple solution to help all kinds of problems, including poverty, labor shortages and government deficits: putting more work requirements into government welfare programs. Some are calling it Welfare Reform 2.0. But as politicians push these programs in the name of ending “welfare dependency,” behind the scenes there’s something else going on. A group of multimillion-dollar corporations have built their businesses on these welfare-to-work policies. And critics say they have cultivated their own cycle of dependency on the federal government.

So where did this idea of requiring labor in exchange for government aid come from? And does it actually help people climb out of poverty? Turns out the answers is surprising — and troubling.

“The Uncertain Hour” is back with season six, a deep dive into the welfare-to-work industrial complex and the multimillion-dollar companies running for-profit welfare centers.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In the last few years, there's been a movement to foot.
0:02.8	We are facing a massive workforce crisis.
0:06.5	From the White House to Congress to state houses across the country,
0:10.8	there's this steady and growing drum beat.
0:14.0	What happens when you pay people to stay home?
0:17.6	They stay home.
0:18.7	Get those people back to work.
0:20.7	It started before the pandemic, but it's only gotten stronger since.
0:25.3	Politicians warning about the dangers of becoming dependent
0:29.2	on government welfare programs that they're making people lazy, not want to work.
0:34.3	Fast food is well-res�rons.
0:36.7	Every single place needs more people.
0:39.3	And these politicians say to fix this problem,
0:42.5	what all kinds of anti-poverty programs need,
0:45.7	from food stamps to Medicaid to public housing,
0:49.2	are more work requirements.
0:51.4	Look for a job, get a job, all of that should be required to work.
0:54.0	In obligation to work, looking for a job,
0:56.4	have a job, or be participating in a job training program.
0:59.4	I actually think we should have work requirements.
1:01.6	If we imposed work requirements on SNAP and on Medicaid,
1:05.9	we would have the ability to save $1 trillion.
	...

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