Matt Weidinger
- Indexed articles, last 90 days
- 7
- Latest publication
- Sep 23, 2026
- Outlet visibility, for aei.org
- Top 500K sites
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
Latest articles
Understanding the Downbeat Coverage of Encouraging Poverty Data (opens the original)
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Last week’s annual Census Bureau poverty report offered encouraging news about growing US incomes and declining poverty in 2025. As the Bureau’s press release highlighted, real median household income reached “$87,460 in 2025, the highest on record dating back to 1967.” Meanwhile, according to the nation’s official poverty measure (OPM) developed in the 1960s, the overall poverty rate, along with the rate for Hispanics and children, all fell to historic lows. But you wouldn’t know about any of t
The Empty Threat That States Will Stop Operating SNAP (opens the original)
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Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) gave states a choice: Either limit improper payments in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps) or start sharing in the cost of paying for those benefits, which were previously covered entirely by the federal government. SNAP payment error rates have been steadily climbing in recent years, raising concerns over waste and program integrity. The cost share requirement will incentivize states to
Thirty Years Later, Welfare Reform Is Still a Model That Works (opens the original)
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As the 30th anniversary of the historic 1996 welfare reform law approaches on August 22, its legacy remains remarkably positive. Official government data confirm the law’s results include more work and earnings among low-income single mothers, matched by less poverty and dependence on welfare checks. The law also sharply reduced welfare payments to groups that should never have been on the dole, including noncitizens, inmates, and drug addicts, yielding major and continuing savings for taxpayers
Lessons from the 1996 Welfare Reform Law Approaching Its 30th Anniversary (opens the original)
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The 1996 welfare reform law was crafted by congressional Republicans and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 22, 1996. As the 30th anniversary of the law approaches, below are data about some of its major effects, along with a discussion of key lessons for further reforms to the US safety net. One of the signature events affecting the direction of American social policy was the enactment of the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunit
Trump Takes Dramatic Step Toward Curbing Rampant Fraud in State Unemployment Programs (opens the original)
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The Trump administration is threatening to use “every available enforcement tool” to compel states to better protect unemployment benefits against fraud and abuse, which is elevated following an especially severe flareup during the pandemic. The administration’s warning specifically suggests the possibility of cutting federal unemployment insurance administrative funding in states with high error rates. Yet that warning includes a more powerful yet unspoken threat — of reducing federal benefits
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