While I was governor, 85 percent of the people on a form of welfare assistance in my state had no work requirement. I wanted to increase the work requirement.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
As someone who grew up in tough circumstances, I know that being on public assistance is not a spot that anyone wants to be in.
But we will say something else. That for far too long in this country, people who can work, people who are able to work, and people who choose not to work: you cannot go on claiming welfare like you are now.
I've been on food stamps and welfare. Anybody help me out? No. No. They gave me hope, and they gave me encouragement, and they gave me a vision. That came from my education.
I believe welfare makes you lazy and unproductive.
The old welfare system was hurting people by discouraging work and marriage. Welfare reform, and now this legislation, will build on the understanding that work and strong families are the foundation upon which we build our future.
For people on social assistance, the loss of free dental care, prescription drugs and subsidized housing can greatly outweigh additional income from working. We've all heard the stories.
We were below welfare. We begged from people on welfare. My father tried to repair our shoes with pieces of bicycle tires.
I wrote my thesis on welfare policy.
I worked my way up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.
There was no welfare state, and people had to rely mainly on the Poor Law - that was all the state provided. It was very degrading, very humiliating. And there was a means test for receiving poor relief.