"Stimulus Funds for Welfare Jobs Untouched
Desperate though they are to fill gaps in their budgets, more than half the states in the country haven't touched a $5 billion pot of federal stimulus funds meant to find work for welfare recipients.
Leaders in most states have hesitated to pony up the matching funds the program requires to create jobs that might not last after the federal subsidy's Sept. 30 sunset date....
Critics contend states could suffer in the long run, as employers are encouraged to focus on creating cheap, disposable positions rather than long-term job growth.
It's a paycheck, right?
States should "offer incentives to businesses to hire more qualified people, since there is a better chance these people will be retained once the incentives are removed," said Don Sabbarese, director of the Econometric Center at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
The federal infusion does little to get people permanently off welfare, while draining money that could be used to make long term economic repairs, he said.
Yeah, we are too busy giving billions to banks for bonuses.
But THAT is NOT welfare, is it?
"If these jobs are not in areas of sustainable demand and growth, they will not lead to sufficient, marketable skills," Sabbarese said. "And the money spent on these programs will be wasted."
Like the bank bailouts, America!
Wouldn't you have rather had that money go to a poor person?
The emergency fund created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is designed to help states that have seen a rise in TANF costs as more families turn to the federally funded, state-operated aid program. States can use the cash to provide basic financial assistance to families, as well as to pay employers to create or fill low-level jobs with unemployed TANF recipients or low-skilled workers who might otherwise turn to the welfare program....
Or not use it at all.
