Bob Herbert

Government antipoverty programs have made poverty a less serious problem in the United States, argues Bob Herbert in the following viewpoint. According to Herbert, children and the elderly have benefited greatly from safety net programs. He asserts that the welfare bill signed by President Bill Clinton in August 1996, which cut many of the benefits provided by these programs, will increase poverty. Herbert is a syndicated columnist.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What would the poverty rate among the elderly have been in 1995 if safety net programs had not been in place, according to the study cited by the author?
2. According to Herbert, how did government poverty policy differ during the recessions of the early 1980s and early 1990s"

Again and again during the fight over welfare we heard self-righteous, sanctimonious and often very rich politicians...