Stricter work rules, eligibility requirements, and enforcement have shrunk Michigan’s welfare caseload 19 percent since March 2007 despite an ongoing recession.
“The state keeps pushing, pushing, pushing for people to get a job,” said Marguerite Kowaleski, who heads the Oakland County Welfare Rights Organization in Pontiac. “People are trying to follow the rules. But there are so many hoops to jump through, so many reasons you can get sanctioned or denied. More and more are deciding it’s not worth the bother. They say they’ll just collect food stamps, which are easier to get.”
Limits on welfare can work. Who knew?
