Welfare reform is 10 years old. On the 10th anniversary of the act’s passage, there is overwhelming consensus: This single piece of legislation has done America a lot of good — more, perhaps, than all the Great Society measures that preceded it. The reform hasn’t been perfect. But hardly anyone would argue that the legislation was unnecessary, or that the reforms haven’t worked.

The more familiar title, Welfare Reform Act of 1996, gives us only half the picture of what the bill was designed to do. In fact, most people point to how the legislation helped break up intergenerational cycles ofdependency; how it arrested the problem of “welfare queens” who found ways to scam the old AFDC system; and how there has been a dramatic reduction of people on welfare rolls since its passage. But maybe we should dwell on some of its subtler successes by considering the complete title: The Work Opportunity and Personal Responsibility Act. In fact, let’s linger on the “personal responsibility” part, after a brief story: