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Since TANF was converted to block grants, only 22% of funding goes to cash assistance to the poor. This is Welfare State 101 knowledge. But the Washington Post does not mention that because now the editorial page is a place that draws its evidence from right wing youtubers rather than researchers.
The block grant nature of TANF allows states extraordinary discretion. According to advocates, this feature would encourage states to design and run programs that best suited their populations. But it also gave them significant incentives and resources to introduce burdens to limit cash welfare payments. As all states have funneled TANF funds into a wide array of different programs, such as job training, childcare support, and tax credits, they have created a confusing web of services and supports—often run by private contractors, including for-profits—that make the benefits and services opaque to those trying to access them. Indeed, only 22% of TANF dollars are spent on cash assistance. In five states, nearly 90% of applicants for TANF are rejected—even as states have accrued nearly $5 billion in unspent block grant funds. State “laboratories of innovations” are often just generating new ways to restrict access to help. Source: https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/fewer-burdens-but-greater-inequality?utm_source=publication-search
January 5, 2026 at 12:52 AM