Welfare Reform Horror in Mississippi

Bryce Covert and Josh Israel report

Last year, 11,717 low-income residents of Mississippi applied to get a meager government benefit to help them make ends meet. The state’s welfare program, part of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), gives a maximum of just $170 a month to a family of three. These applicants had applied hoping to get at least that crumb of cash assistance.

But out of the pool—more than 11 thousand—only 167 people were actually approved and enrolled in the program, according to state data obtained by ThinkProgress. Every other applicant was denied or withdrew, resulting in an acceptance rate of just 1.42 percent. Statistically speaking, it’s more like a rounding error.

Read their whole post (which also notes that 20% of single mothers in the USA have zero cash income).

I don’t have anything to say. Clearly nothing can be done to address this horror while Republicans are in power in Mississippi and the Federal Government.