Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says President Joe Biden’s "welfare" plan won’t help people thrive long-term.
Haley, a Republican, made her comments in a column posted by the National Review on Thursday.
"When I was elected governor in 2010, my biggest responsibility was to lead South Carolina out of the Great Recession," she wrote. "I knew that the most vulnerable families needed more than welfare checks — they needed the dignity of a job and a future.
So we launched a "Welfare-to-Work" program that matched individuals with jobs that fit their talents. Ultimately, we empowered more than 20,000 South Carolinians to find jobs and flourish.
"Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress could learn a thing or two from South Carolina. Instead of "Welfare-to-Work," today’s Democrats are all welfare, no work. This approach will only hold back the people they claim to be helping and won’t help people thrive long-term."
She maintained the proof is in Biden’s "American Families Plan."
"A key feature of the $1.8 trillion far-left wish list is expanding welfare — without asking people to work or even prepare to work," she said. "Despite Joe Biden’s claims, the message of the Democrats is clear: Don’t worry about jobs, we’re sending out checks.
"Firstly, they want to permanently extend COVID’s federal-unemployment-insurance bonuses. Because of COVID lockdowns, there is a federal bonus of $300 a week on top of state-unemployment-insurance checks. That may have made sense when most states closed down in the face of the pandemic. But now it’s just paying people not to work."
She said the plan’s federal bonus would make unemployment insurance pay more than work and make it "nearly impossible" for employers to compete for workers as struggling businesses get set to reopen.
And she added: "Even worse, studies show that long-term unemployment makes it harder for those employees to ever return to work."
Haley also noted the plan will "permanently change the ‘Child Tax Credit’ into a ‘Child Allowance,’ sending families $300 per week per child, and said the cost would amount to $70 billion a year.
"But the cost isn’t the heart of the problem," she said. "While it’s meant to help families get through the worst of the current crisis, it will only create another crisis. Families will be trapped in poverty, when what they really need is a chance to prosper."
And Haley said: "Safety nets can only work when they help people today while preparing them for tomorrow. That’s what I did in South Carolina. It worked in the Palmetto State. It can work across the entire United States."
Bide unveiled his $1.8 trillion, 10-year plan last week to ramp up federal support for American families, with a major expansion in spending on childcare, paid leave, and education, according to Bloomberg News.
The "American Families Plan" is funded in part by $1.5 trillion of tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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