Three examples. First, on July 12, the Obama administration issued a directive that could result in the removal of the work requirement from the landmark 1996 welfare reform law. The work requirement was the heart of that reform, and removing it would mean, in the words of conservative welfare expert Robert Rector, “the end of welfare reform as we know it.” It will likely also mean more people on welfare, should Barack Obama — who has opposed welfare reform from the very beginning — win a second term.
Second, the Obama administration has made a far-reaching effort to increase the number of Americans on food stamps. As National Review’s Rich Lowry reported recently, the number of Americans on food stamps has gone from 17 million in 2000 to 30 million in 2008 to 46 million today. That increase is far more than is warranted by the economic downturn.
The Obama administration wants that number to go even higher. To cite one example, the Agriculture Department — which now spends two-thirds of its budget on food stamps and other welfare programs — created an aggres- sive Spanish-language outreach program to encourage immigrants, whether legal or not, to enroll for food stamps. (Lest anyone put all the blame on Obama, it should be said that former President George W. Bush also increased the number of Americans on food stamps, one of a number of Bush initiatives that made him unpopular with conservatives.)
Finally, a key purpose of Obamacare is to increase the number of Americans covered by Medicaid, the federal health system for the poor. Obamacare expands Medicaid coverage to those with up to 133 percent of poverty-level income; for the first few years at least, all the extra cost will be paid by the federal government.
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