December 29, 2025
To restore hope for families in poverty, let states lead on welfare reform
The holiday season offers a renewed sense of hope for many American families. But for…
November 20, 2025
When help holds families back
One of the central contradictions in American politics today is that, despite decades of measurable…
September 3, 2025
The Shifting Composition Of SNAP Households
An underappreciated trend in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—formerly the Food Stamp Program—over the…
August 8, 2025
A win for Wisconsin families: Childcare in the 2025-2027 biennial state budget
Wisconsin’s 2025-2027 biennial budget includes several provisions aimed at improving the affordability of childcare in…
April 28, 2025
Letter to the Editor: Sugary Treats Shouldn’t Be on the SNAP Menu
Allysia Finley is right to question the logic of allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or…
February 3, 2025
Legislators Want to Give Tens of Millions of Free Lunches to Students Who Don’t Need Them
Wisconsin state legislators recently introduced a series of bills to help working families across the state. Among…
April 18, 2024
The Real Story Behind Food Insecurity in the US
Hunger in the US is rising at an alarming pace – or is it? Last year’s…
January 22, 2024
SNAP to it, Congress — we need to address the obesity crisis now
The United States has witnessed historic and escalating rates of obesity among adults in recent…
January 8, 2024
How to Actually Triumph over Poverty
On this day in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an unconditional war on poverty in America…
June 23, 2023
SNAP Can Improve Nutrition, Help Farmers, and Support the Environment
A headline in the Wall Street Journal earlier this year read, “America Is Binging on Snacks,…
May 6, 2023
SNAP Needs a Healthy Overhaul
In the coming months, Congress is expected to reauthorize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),…
August 1, 2018
How Effective Are Work Requirements?
US safety-net programs already use work requirements to address potential work disincentives, and evidence suggests they increase employment and earnings among recipients capable of work. Critics often cite welfare-to-work experiments from the 1990s as evidence against work requirements, but the most relevant programs in those evaluations—“jobs-first” approaches that emphasized rapid employment—produced substantial gains in work and earnings. Although research on work requirements in programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid is more limited and subject to measurement challenges, broader evidence indicates that participation in safety-net programs can reduce employment incentives, implying that work requirements could offset those effects.