WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND ON: WELFARE

Background: Welfare reform has emerged as a major issue partly because the recession has bloated welfare rolls and costs. But the debate also reflects a growing interest among policy-makers in molding the personal behavior of welfare recipients in controversial ways intended to break longterm patterns of dependency.

President Bush has made welfare reform one of the major themes of his campaign, but the Administration has made few specific proposals to reform the system. His major initiative has been to encourage states to experiment with incentives designed to shape the behavior of welfare recipients--for example, by denying additional benefits for women who have children while on relief. The Administration supports an increase in the assets welfare recipients can accumulate without jeopardizing their checks as a way of encouraging entrepreneurship, but opposes Democratic legislation to put more money into training those on the rolls.

Patrick J. Buchanan embraces proposals to deny benefits to recipients who have more children while on the rolls. He also insists that welfare benefits must be set low enough to ensure that even low-wage jobs are more attractive than remaining on the rolls.

Bill Clinton has proposed a major restructuring of the welfare system, in which the government would increase funding on education and training and then require all able-bodied recipients to take private or public-sector jobs after two years on the rolls. Clinton has said that he would allow states to experiment with plans to deny additional benefits to women who have children while on relief, though as governor he would not sign such legislation himself. Clinton has also called for stepped-up efforts to collect delinquent child care payments, an initiative that could reduce welfare costs.

Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. proposes to convert welfare checks into a voucher that could be used to supplement pay in private employment. Brown would allow those moving off the rolls to retain their food stamps and Medicaid at a diminishing rate for five years. Brown would not sign federal waivers that allow states to financially penalize women who have additional children while on welfare.

Average monthly federal welfare grant.

1980: $274 1981: $277 1982: $300 1983: $311 1984: $322 1985: $339 1986: $352 1987: $359 1988: $370 1989: $381 1990: $389 1991: Not available. Source: Administration for Children and Family