Incoming Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) speaking on "Up Front," said,"A single parent with a couple kids can easily get $35,000 a year in total benefits between the health care and the earned income credit and the FoodShare and the low-income housing and what have you. . That's after taxes."
Grothman said he used a 2012 analysis comparing two families: a single parent working part-time and attending technical college full-time, raising two children, and earning $10,000 a year, versus a married couple with two children, with one parent working part-time and attending technical college full-time, and a total income of $50,000. Both families' children are ages 7 and 3. But analysts estimated it would be fewer than 260 out of the Wisconsin's population of 5.7 million.
The conservative 2013 Cato Institute report on the total level of welfare benefits by state examined how much a typical welfare family would receive. About 48 percent of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) adult participants are in Colorado work-related programs.
Comparing Colorado to 50 states and the District of Columbia, total benefits of $27,889 (1995) to $20,750 (2013) yield a decrease of $7,139, for a rank of 39 in the U.S. Comparison of pretax wage equivalents are $31,580 (1995) to $14,750 (2013) a decrease of $16,830 -ranked 38. The hourly wage equivalent is $7.09 - ranked 39 and less than the Federal and Colorado minimum wage.
Welfare benefits packages as a percentage of Federal Poverty Level: 106.2 percent, ranked 39. Assistance from TANF and Aid to Families with Dependent Children averages $462 a month , a 14% reduction from 1995. Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits are $526 a month for Colorado and 24 other states. Colorado ranks 19th in annual housing assistance at $10,673. Monthly utility assistance is $29 - ranked 29th. Women, Infants, and Children assistance is $81 monthly, 35 ranking. Not all benefits are available to every family needing assistance.
Back to Grothman ...
The Cato Institute notes there are 126 separate federal programs available for low-income individuals. There are even more options when state programs and non-means-tested programs are added. It's easy to pick and choose what would make up a person's "welfare package," and tack a number to it. This is essentially what Grothman did with the Wisconsin report. Grothman's statement in the interview lacks context, and his portrayal of a single parent "easily" receiving $35,000 is not accurate.
Chip Tuthill is a longtime resident of Mancos. Websites used for this column: www.washingtonpost.com and www.cato.org
