ABSTRACT
The United States is an extraordinarily wealthy nation, capable of spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year on activities political elites deem to be a national priority, such as defense and homeland security. Imagine in contrast a policy of enlightened welfare reform (costing but a fraction of such huge amounts) directed at making sure the subsistence needs of impoverished lone-mother-headed families are met. Ideally, reform of the U.S. welfare system should improve such families’ lives and should hasten their escape from poverty.
