Can Welfare Reform Eliminate Poverty?

This paper describes the existing welfare system, outlines the problems with the system that have led to its being characterized as a "mess," and presents the principles on which President Carter's reform proposals were based. It then analyzes the level and trend in poverty since 1965 and the antipoverty effect of income maintenance programs in general and welfare programs in particular. The contradictions inherent in the goals of eliminating poverty and reforming welfare are discussed, and, in the final section, they are analyzed with reference to the Program for Better Jobs and Income. We conclude that if poverty is to be eliminated, there must be a greater emphasis on increasing the employment or social insurance income, rather than the welfare income, of the poor.