THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608290027
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 58 lines
In the case of welfare reform, it didn't take long for reality to bite.
When President Clinton accepts his party's nomination for a second term this evening, he is expected to outline a jobs proposal linked to welfare reform.
Obviously, if the nation's welfare clientele is to become self-sufficient, the single most-necessary ingredient - even beyond motivation and education - is jobs. Coming up with them where the economy is robust and welfare rolls are small will be one thing. Producing enough to go around in an inner-city slum or on a North Dakota reservation will be another.
Clinton has cast his lot with the welfare reformers knowing it's good politics. In fact, the more Jesse Jackson and other Democratic liberals portray the president as coldhearted and stingy, the more Clinton cements his credentials with the broader public as a new kind of Democrat.
But if ``ending welfare as we know it'' is good politics, admitting that in some cases there simply won't be enough jobs to go around is honest politics. As The New York Times reported recently: ``There are nearly 470,000 adults on welfare in New York City, and many experts say that only a small number are likely to find permanent jobs.
``The reason is simple: The city's economy is growing much too slowly to absorb so many inexperienced, unskilled people in a short time.''
Or as an Alexandria, Va., welfare caseworker put it in The Washington Post: ``What concerns me is welfare recipients' long-term ability to provide for their families - to keep a job, find another quickly if the initial job ends in a layoff or termination, to be able to get a second job if the first is only part-time or doesn't pay enough. . . .''
Nonetheless, we have embarked on a course that means hundreds of thousands of poor women will be on their own permanently within a few years. Before his term is over, the next president will have to deal with the results.
To the extent that Clinton unveils a serious proposal for addressing the cracks in the job market, he deserves kudos. To shift the welfare debate in a more-controversial direction before, and not after the election would require the sort of courage critics say he lacks.
The least-incendiary proposals would involve tax incentives to bring businesses and jobs closer to the people who need them. This is a good idea - and, as with most approaches involving the poor, one that has already been tried. Thus far, enterprise zones and similar tax plans have not come close to supplying sufficient jobs for the urban or rural poor.
More controversial would be dollars for job training or creation of public-service employment. The national mood just now may not allow for either of those more-aggressive approaches. But before the last word is written on welfare reform, policymakers may have to consider either or both.
Unfortunately, the national experience over the past 30 years with training people out of poverty or creating jobs for them is not exemplary either. Programs like the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act foundered. The training program with the best results - Job Corps - had a huge price tag.
There are, in short, no easy solutions. But Bill Clinton and Bob Dole should be talking about options now. The clock is ticking, and it may be only a matter of time until reality not only bites but draws blood. by CNB