While welfare has never been in line with America’s core values, help for the poor has. Americans’ sense of, and desire for, community—one of the core values Ellwood pointed to in Poor Support—mandates that we help those who, through no fault of their own, can’t help themselves. While there is no going back to AFDC, helping TANF fulfill its mission—as a temporary hand up—is a worthy goal, one that most Americans may support if the overarching direction of antipoverty policy is to ensure work opportunity for all.
