Letters

摘要

Sir - Your review of Rick Perlstein's "The Invisible Bridge" contends that "grumpy Democrats" claimed that Ronald Reagan's work-to-welfare plan as governor of California "found jobs for just one recipient in every 500" ("Purpose and worth", August 2nd). But this was a tiny part of what Reagan accomplished on welfare as governor. The California Welfare Reform Act in 1971 tightened rules, fought fraud and reduced the number of people on welfare. It also raised the grants of 80% of honest welfare recipients, who had not seen their payments increase at all during the eight years that Reagan's Democratic predecessor was governor. An analysis by Frank Levy of the Urban League, who was no fan of Reagan, called the act "a one-in-a-thousand policy success."