{"id":9311,"date":"2017-06-06T23:02:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T23:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=9311"},"modified":"2017-06-06T22:26:22","modified_gmt":"2017-06-06T22:26:22","slug":"trumps-push-for-self-sufficiency-misses-the-point-of-safety-net-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/trumps-push-for-self-sufficiency-misses-the-point-of-safety-net-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s push for self-sufficiency misses the point of safety net programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Campbell<\/a>, Binghamton University, State University of New York<\/a><\/em> and Kristina Lambright<\/a>, Binghamton University, State University of New York<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney<\/a> has tried to justify the Trump administration\u2019s bid to cut or scrap many safety net programs: <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe are no longer going to measure compassion by the number of programs or the number of people on those programs. We are going to measure compassion and success by the number of people we get off of those programs to get back in charge of their own lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In other words, Mulvaney is arguing that the main criterion for a program\u2019s success should be whether it leads to self-sufficiency. But as researchers who have studied ways to evaluate social services, we don\u2019t think this metric makes sense in this case.<\/p>\n

Evaluating government programs<\/h2>\n

Determining whether a government program works involves looking at its goals and whom it\u2019s supposed to help.<\/p>\n

Congress created and has sustained a safety net to help people meet basic needs and reduce poverty, and these are its goals. Many of the people who benefit from it are already working or cannot work because of a disability.<\/p>\n

In short, government-provided social services and benefits are often not simply handouts on the road to a job that will pay the bills for Americans temporarily facing hard times. They also make it possible for the working poor, the disabled, the elderly and children living in poverty to get the food, shelter and medical care they need to survive. <\/p>\n

The proposed cuts are surprising because many of these programs enjoy widespread bipartisan support<\/a>, according to polling by the University of Maryland\u2019s Program for Public Consultation.<\/p>\n

Energy and food aid<\/h2>\n

\n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n