Free Republic

When Barack Obama ran for president in 2008, he vowed to pour resources into American cities via the Community Development Block Grant program, a remnant of 1970s urban policy. Obama called CDBG an “important program” and praised it for providing housing and “creating jobs for low- and moderate-income people and places.” How ironic, then, that funding for CDBG has withered under President Obama. With the nation facing budget deficits as far as the eye can see, we may finally be witnessing the collapse of a decades-old program that, despite the president’s faith in it, is woefully ineffective. CDBG emerged from...

ACORN Could Get Billions from Democrats' Trillion Dollar Spending Plan "Job Creation" Bill Offers Taxpayer-Funded Bonanza for Organization Reportedly Under Federal Investigation Washington, Jan 23 - The House Democrats’ trillion dollar spending bill, approved on January 21 by the Appropriations Committee and headed to the House floor next week for a vote, could open billions of taxpayer dollars to left-wing groups like the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). ACORN has been accused of perpetrating voter registration fraud numerous times in the last several elections; is reportedly under federal investigation; and played a key role in the irresponsible...

Over six years ago, Congress overhauled much of the nation's welfare system. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 19961 replaced the failed social program called Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The reform legislation had three primary goals: (1) reduce welfare dependence and increase employment, (2) reduce child poverty, and (3) reduce illegitimacy and strengthen marriage. At the time of the law's enactment, many liberal groups made dire predictions about the terrible effect these reforms would have on America's children. In particular, the Children's Defense Fund claimed that welfare...