The Safety Net

The Seattle Times reported today that welfare caseloads welfare caseloads had spiked up by a third over the past year.

This might seem intuitive. You would expect that caseloads would rise in the down economy. However, over the past 13 years they did not appear to be impacted by either unemployment or real wages. The Times also notes that the increase is most prounced amongst two parent families in economic trouble.

There are a number of different programs designed to help people hit by economic hardship. They include TANF or welfare, unemployment insurance, housing assistance, food stamps and probably most importantly health care. Forty percent of the unemployed have no health care coverage. This might be the time to look at how these programs work together.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009173949_welfare05m.html