At the state level, Republicans run the board. And if the federal government takes a step back on welfare, GOP governors insist that they’re prepared to hack away at unemployment locally.
“If we’re in the position to ask ‘mother may I,’ to Health and Human Services” says Republican Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona, “we could really make a difference at the state level.”
That line earned Ducey large applause from a large crowd packed into the Potomac Ballroom at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee and was quickly echoed by Governors Matt Bevin of Kentucky, Sam Brownback of Kansas, and Scott Walker of Wisconsin.
The CEO of Cold Stone Creamery before turning to politics, Ducey believes private business can’t compete with the benefits offered by unemployment. “We’ve got thousands of Arizonans out of work and we’ve got thousands of job openings,” he explains, yet we’ve got a federal government giving people check every two weeks.”
For conservatives frustrated with the current welfare system, Kansas serves as a ready example of reform. And on Thursday, Brownback was more than happy to brag about the experience of his state.
“We said look if you are able bodied without dependents, you have to either apply for work or take job training,” Brownback said, “And we had a decline in the welfare rolls, people’s income went up 120 percent on average, and we tripled the number of people getting out of poverty.”
As a candidate, Donald Trump seemed to embrace Republican orthodoxy on welfare reform. But the president has been mostly silent on the issue since taking office. The gubernatorial quartet believe they can do the lion’s share of the work at the local level.
Judging success will be easy, Walker says. In Wisconsin, the governor said his rubric has been “how many people no longer need insurance not because we kicked them off but because we helped them get a job.”
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
