http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124562449457235503.html
I left in the history for a comparison of today
Welfare rolls, which were slow to rise and actually fell in many states early in the recession, now are climbing across the country for the first time since President Bill Clinton signed legislation pledging "to end welfare as we know it" more than a decade ago.
Climbing Caseloads
See the increase in welfare cases for the 30 most populous states, year-over-year.
Looking Back at Welfare Reform
Journal articles on the Nixon administration's attempted overhaul of the welfare system
Overhauling Welfare: Administration Intends To Seek Broad Changes In Assistance Programs (March 4, 1969)
Nixon Budget Problem Puts Crimp in His Plan For Social Legislation (Aug. 7, 1969)
Import Quotas, Welfare Plans Killed by Senate (Dec. 29, 1970)
A House Divided: Nixon Is Likely to Get Tax Cuts, but Congress Will Push Own Program (Sept. 3, 1971)
Many States Reduce Benefits to the Poor To Ease Cash Squeeze (Dec. 31, 1971)
.Twenty-three of the 30 largest states, which account for more than 88% of the nation's total population, see welfare caseloads above year-ago levels, according to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and the National Conference of State Legislatures. As more people run out of unemployment compensation, many are turning to welfare as a stopgap.
The biggest increases are in states with some of the worst jobless rates. Oregon's count was up 27% in May from a year earlier; South Carolina's climbed 23% and California's 10% between March 2009 and March 2008. A few big states that had seen declining welfare caseloads just a few months ago now are seeing increases: New York is up 1.2%, Illinois 3% and Wisconsin 3.9%. Welfare rolls in a few big states, Michigan and New Jersey among them, still are declining.
