Mississippi’s TANF Scandal Shows How America’s Safety Net Was Built To Fail Families
“When a program serves only a tiny fraction of eligible families, it becomes even easier for officials to treat its funds as discretionary revenue, rather than as a lifeline that must be protected with the same urgency as a widespread benefit such as Social Security. And the broader issue is that despite all the evidence showing its inefficacy, TANF reform still hasn’t happened. We have the lesson of what happened in Mississippi, but we are not having the conversations needed to expedite change. Rather than making meaningful change, we have privileged people who abused resources pointing fingers, while those who are still in need are being punished.”